Karan Kanchan: 8 years ago, I attended a concert at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, today I am playing there

Ahead of the Mumbai music producer’s performance at Lollapalooza India 2024 this evening, mid-day.com spoke to him about what to expect and what this means for Indian music producers. He also delves into the learnings from Bollywood’s best Pritam and Vishal-Shekhar in the last one year

Karan Kanchan has had one of the best years of his career till now. “I never imagined the kind of things that happened in the year,” says the Mumbai-based music producer. It is because he started last year by working with Pritam on ‘Tiger 3’ and later working with Vishal-Shekhar on ‘Fighter’, which released this weekend. This is apart from other work that came to fruition in 2023 including producing and composing 'Ishq Nachaawe' for ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ and 'Baazigar' with Divine featuring Armani White, which has been an earworm for many during the year. 

Now, Kanchan performs at Lollapalooza India 2024 this weekend at Mahalaxmi Racecourse on the first day of the two-day festival, which has been co-produced by BookMyShow. Interestingly, the artist says it refreshing to see how music producers like him have been given the stage. “As a producer and artist, you are usually the guy in the back seat to make sure the artist gets their goals and the sound they have in mind. So, my job has always been about enabling other artists to find their sound and giving them songs like how they imagine it to be.” 

Getting the stage 
So, the fact that he gets the opportunity to perform on stage as a music producer, and even share it with some of the biggest artists in the world is big for him. “It is revolutionary for people like me who started from bedroom studios, and this is a win for all the bedroom producers and I'm pretty excited. I am trying to level it up like never before for myself and the audience on multiple levels. it is going to be an entire audio-visual experience. I'm also nervous but more excited,” reacts the producer, who is also a DJ known for his engaging sets including the one at Boiler Room. 

Performing at any kind of festival is a first for Kanchan, who is also going a step further to call it ‘The Karan Kanchan Experience’ because till now he has also played at events. “I started off as a DJ but that is not what I'm bringing to this festival because I'm bringing more of a live experience. There are going to be live drums and guitar, no DJ console. It is going to be just me on stage and inviting all the artists I have worked with, so there is going to be a lot of surprises for sure,” adds the performer, who says even though he has got a challenging time slot, he is going to make the most of the opportunity. 

He further says, “I'm bringing my originals to the show, and not only electronic, but it is also going to be hip hop, b-bop and more. When it comes to live performances, it is more than a DJ pressing a live button. I want to keep my live sets way different than what I wanted to my DJ sets, where I just set a vibe. Here, I am trying to present myself as an artist. There's a lot of thought into each and every song.” 

In a year that Kanchan got to direct the music show MTV Hustle, he clearly intends to go all out with this performance, which he has been rigorously getting ready for. He shares, “As a producer, I have learned so much in the last one year because I got to work and collaborate with so many different artists. I started off as an artist-producer who used to combine a lot of Japanese classical music in music as a J-Trap artist and eventually it went into production. I grew with my production skills.” 

Giving credit where it is due, Kanchan says it was Indian rapper Divine who spotted him for his production skills, and that is how he went on to become one of the first producers to be signed with Gully Gang in 2018. He further adds, “Since then, it's been a crazy journey and I'm glad I took that risk. However, I lost touch with my artistic side but learned so much about being a music producer and get the artist from point A to point B in the least way as possible. I enjoy the process of letting the artist get comfortable around me so much and be themselves. I have seen artists up close that a not a lot of their fans have seen. I feel blessed that I am able to see them in their creative zone. Last year was basically me shape shifting around them.” 

Working with Vishal-Shekhar and Pritam 
So, it is no wonder that some of his most memorable experiences are from the last year, especially while working with Vishal-Shekhar and Pritam – both of whom he has been in complete awe of, for as long as he can remember. “I listen to Vishal-Shekhar and Pritam Da every time I take my car out. I don't listen to pop, hip-hop but I listen to Bollywood a lot. The music I consume is different from what I make. I find it genius of how they make their music. It taps into so many people around the world and everyone knows the songs and the melody by heart. So, it is really inspiring for me to understand what the thought process was behind it. Honestly, I, myself, enjoy it a lot,” he adds.

In fact, Kanchan narrates an anecdote about being in the room with Vishal-Shekhar, when the latter was at the keyboard and making melodies, and when it wasn’t working well with the theme, they would scrap it without thinking too much. He shares, “I liked that they don't get attached to the melodies. They know they are working for the film and the bigger vision and not just for themselves. That is what I learned -- you haven't to be attached to one idea, you have to make sure what is the main purpose and mood of the song and how it is going to connect with the story.” It is one of many instances where Mumbai music producer was left speechless, the other being where he saw Vishal record two lines with melodies in a rush, which literally made him go, ‘What just happened?’ but at the same time realise how everybody has an ongoing creative process. 

Reconnecting with his artist side 
While he has been enjoying the process of a being a music producer, his performance at Lollapalooza India 2024 is probably the first in this year where he retraces his artist roots. He will also probably even go back to exploring Japanese classical music and J-trap music. “It has been a while that I have actually tapped into J-trap, but I am going to do that this year again for sure, hopefully in Japan,” he wishes. 

For more than one reason, this performance is going to be emotional for the artist, who is still in the early stages of his career. “Eight years ago, I attended my first-ever concert at Mahalaxmi Racecourse. When I was going back home by the local train to Goregaon station, I told myself one day I will perform here, and that is finally happening,” he signs off, while highlighting that 2024 is going to all about collaborations and experiments, as fans will get to see more of him as an artist and curator. 

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