Forbes India 30 Under 30 - Karan Kanchan: Turning music into an immersive theatrical experience

"Karan is the hottest beat maker in the current scene. He has the grooves, but he doubles it up with a collaborative personality and entrepreneurial knack," Forbes India 30 Under 30 jury member and singer, songwriter Ankur Tewari says about Kanchan

By Naini Thaker Forbes India Staff

Published: Feb 25, 2025 04:01:18 PM IST

Updated: Feb 25, 2025 04:01:51 PM IST

Full Bio

Karan Kanchan, artist and entrepreneur. Image: Amit Verma; Directed by Kapil Kashyap

In 2015, 18-year-old Karan Kanchan attended the Mad Decent Block Party at Mumbai’s Mahalakshmi Race Course, where he witnessed artistes such as Major Lazer and Giraffage perform live for the first time. The experience left a lasting impression on him. It was at that moment that he made a promise to himself: One day, he would perform at that very venue.

Fast forward to 2024, and Kanchan took the stage at Lollapalooza’s second edition, debuting with his show, The Karan Kanchan Experience. With a vision to fuse music from diverse genres with dynamic visuals, lighting and sound, he created a truly immersive theatrical experience—one that left an unforgettable impression on the audience.

Today, says Ankur Tewari, singer-songwriter, music supervisor, sonic designer, “Karan is the hottest beat maker in the current scene. He has the grooves, but he doubles it up with a collaborative personality and entrepreneurial knack.”

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Kanchan has worked with multiple music artistes and produced songs across genres from ‘Ishq Nachaawe’ (Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, 2023) along with Rashmeet Kaur and Yashraj to ‘Baazigar’ along with Divine. “There are many producers out there who might be better than me, but understanding the artiste is where the main game is,” he says. “When collaborating with so many artistes, you need to make space for them to feel comfortable and be their most vulnerable self while creating art, and I try to allow them to be that.”

In addition to producing music, he’s set up Concertancy, a consultancy that helps music artistes produce better live shows. His team is working with the likes of Diljit Dosanjh, King and Jasleen Royal, among others.

Kanchan came across an electronic dance music (EDM) video in 2012, when he was in school, and that’s when he became curious about how these sounds are made. “I started convincing my parents since I was in class nine that I want to pursue music professionally,” he says. “Eventually, they saw how dedicated I was and supported me to pursue this dream.”

Back in 2015, while at the Mad Decent Block Party in Mumbai, he noticed how every artiste had a unique sound. “I realised I needed to find my own,” he recalls. Inspired by the diversity of music he encountered, Kanchan set out on a journey of exploration, delving into genres as unexpected as Japanese classical music.

Over the years, he has explored all kinds of music from Japanese trap to Indian hip hop, among many others. “He has been the backbone and literally been the main producer for many hip-hop/EDM/pop artistes. Some of the biggest works coming out of the hip-hop/Indie scene have his might behind it. His discipline, music skills and dedication to the craft are exemplary,” says Padmanabhan NS, artists & label partnerships head, Spotify India.

Also read: Kavya Karnatac: A window into the lives of the forgotten people

Kanchan credits his growth to meeting the right people and gaining knowledge from them. “Also, being curious about the technological and creative aspect, and consistently training myself trying to get better at every aspect of making music.”

Looking back, he says, “It was a one-second decision, of clicking this random YouTube-recommended EDM video… it pretty much changed my life. Then, it was just a domino effect.” He adds. “After all these years, I’m still as curious as I was on day one.”

Karan Kanchan (27)

Artist & Entrepreneur

Music