Music producer Karan Kanchan in a trap

DJ, singer-songwriter and trap music producer, Karan Kanchan uses wagakki and other Japanese musical influences in his music

When music as a career choice is still debated in Indian households, what makes the son of an Indian computer engineer take it up — that too trap music — full time?  “Curiosity and passion,”  says 25-year-old Karan Kanchan.  “I wanted to become a DJ when I came to know that all their music was possible by just a laptop,” says the Mumbai-based well-known multi-genre and trap music producer in India over a Zoom video interview.

Trap music, which was once intrinsic to drug culture,  has evolved into a subgenre of EDM, assures Karan. “That kind of trap goes with vocals and rappers and is all about drugs. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke... with the newer generation, trap music has evolved into newer sounds and newer words. Trap music is heavy bass and heavy drums and what I do is based on an electronic music background.”

Karan considers himself lucky to have had early access to the laptop and internet at home and discovered software that helped him create music.  “Slowly and steadily, I got into music production more than the performance. I am going with the flow and  looking forward to learning new things and acquiring a new skill set in music production.”

Karan’s string of noteworthy productions featured some top names in the industry. He recently produced music for Royal Challenger Bangalore’s anthem ‘Naya Sher’ with rapper Divine and Jonita Gandhi featuring Virat Kohli.

Earlier this year, his remix version of ‘Baazigar’ with Divine, which also featured American rapper Armani White, garnered nearly seven million views and some one million reels were made on Instagram.

He produced music for Red Bull’s international IP - 64 Bars and collaborated with artists like Sikander Kahlon, MC Altaf, and Rawal for the same.

In 2022, Karan teamed up with actor-singer Shruti Hassan to produce her second single ‘She’s a Hero’ an ode to women across the world. The song also features rapper MC Altaf. After ‘Edge’, ‘She’s a Hero’ established Shruti as a versatile artiste, a name to reckon with in the pop music genre.