Lights flashing, beats dropping, hearts pumping, there's nothing that raises your energy higher than a good EDM show. KSHMR knows that better than anyone. 

Credited for creating some of the greatest party songs today and known for hosting some of the most memorable festival performances ever, the Indian-American producer and DJ has a way of hyping a crowd with his dance infectious beats and melodies that feel like pure bliss. 

Rising through the music scene as part of the EDM duo Cataracs in the early 2010s, KSHMR – whose real name is Niles Hollowell-Dhar – is one of today's most respected producers, recognised for tracks like  'Secrets', 'Kids', and 'Scare Me'. 

Bandwagon caught up with KSHMR to talk about his musical journey, some of his favourite memories on stage, and what's next. 

Hi KSHMR, what’s been keeping you busy lately?

I've been working non-stop on my soundpack Sounds Of KSHMR Vol 4, as well as finishing some new plugins one of which is a collaboration with Mixed In Key called Mixed In Key Live.

You’re one of today’s most prolific producers today, but how did your love for music begin? Walk us through how you first got into music and what motivated you to pursue it as a career.

My love for music began with hip hop. I first heard Mase and Notorious B.I.G. I brought my Grandpa to buy me CDs that I shouldn’t have had at that age. From there, I fell in love with rock music like Korn and Marilyn Manson. I started doing hip hop production in high school. 

How would you describe the type of music you make? What impact do you hope it has on your listeners?

I make electronic music, a lot of which has been great for the live (festival) setting. I also like to experiment and create worlds using world instruments, especially Indian instruments which I draw from my heritage. I hope the fans get something special from me that they don’t find with many other artists and have fun being transported to the places I take them with these stories I try to tell.

You started your music career and even broke through to mainstream success as part of The Cataracs. What are some lessons that you’ve learned during that period in your career that has made you the artist you are today?

With the Cataracts, I was really trying to figure out my identity. We tried so many different styles and the one that worked the best was in songs, 'Like A G6' and 'Bass Down Low'. We tried to follow that road because it seemed to be working but at some point, I fell out of love with that sound and was confused about why I was making music.

With KSHMR I found that love again and was truly excited about what I was making again.

Share with us the most memorable moment from your musical journey thus far.

There have been a lot of good ones. One of them was definitely when Tiesto brought me out on stage and I showed my face to the world (as KSHMR) for the first time.

The other one was when I was at Sunburn in India and I brought my Grandpa on stage with me. It was a turning point for us because he wasn't confident about my music career but that changed when he saw 30,000 people in the crowd looking up at us.

You’ve collaborated with an array of artists in your career, how do you usually go about choosing your collaborators?

I try to collaborate with people I admire. It's always nice working with someone you have good chemistry with. You can’t know how well it will or won't go until you start working on a song together. So many collaborators I work with bring so much to the table, it makes that process so much easier and more enjoyable.

What does your music-making process look like when working with another artist? How does it differ when compared to making music by yourself?

Making music with another artist alleviates some of the stress. With any song, you reach points where you run out of ideas, you’re frustrated and then you can pass it to the collaborator and they can pick it up and bring fresh ideas in. 

When you’re working on your own, you have total creative control which is nice and it can be experimental but you’re stuck with yourself and you will have writer's block. It's a tougher process. With my album, for instance, the only way to deliver the vision was to work through it myself.

Coming from Indian descent, does your culture and background ever influence the music that you make?

Yes, I think most people associate me with India because of how many Indian instruments and styles I’ve used in my songs. 

You’ve recently released ‘Over You’ featuring Lovespeake. Tell us more about the song and how it was put together

I had a relationship with the writers and it was so clear to me how talented they were. They sent me the idea for 'Over You' and I thought it was so infectious and catchy and asked if we could collaborate. It was a really painless and awesome process thanks in large part to the writers and what a great song they had written.

Moving forward, what is one thing you hope to achieve with your music?

I guess I hope to keep breaking through to new plateaus that challenge me and make me fall in love with music over and over again.

It's been my experience that I’ve had a lot of those breakthroughs and also a lot of lulls where I question if I should even still be making music at all. I trust in the process and know I’ll have breakthroughs again. 

Listen to KSHMR's 'Over You' featuring Lovespeake here.