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Born in Berkeley, California, Niles Hollowell-Dhar (pka KSHMR) grew up surrounded by the niche hip-hop culture of the Bay Area, which shaped his first steps as a producer. However, his Indian roots became a defining influence after spending extended time with his grandparents in India. Travel and exposure to local Indian Culture sparked a deep pride in his heritage. This cultural blend later became the foundation of his sound as KSHMR.
“I’ve been going to India my whole life. It wasn’t something I was particularly interested in at first—until my dad sent me to live with my grandparents. I didn’t want to go to college, which really upset him, so he sent me to live with my grandfather to teach me time management—meaning I had to treat music as a hobby and education as the priority. That plan didn’t work, obviously, but during that time, I traveled all around India, visited hill stations and temples, and my pride in my heritage really blossomed.”
Before becoming a global superstar in the electronic scene, Niles was part of the hip-hop duo The Cataracs. He met the second half of the Cataracs, David Singer-Vine, in High School, after hearing Singer-Vine on a rap CD and recording a diss response.
Together they made waves writing, producing, and releasing club-friendly pop tracks — notably “Like a G6” (which hit #1 on the Billboard charts) and “Bass Down Low”. The Cataracs also produced tracks for other artists, including Selena Gomez. Over time, Niles began assisting on electronic and dance productions even while working in pop, and eventually felt compelled to launch a new, more personal identity in EDM.
The Cataracs
After years of pop success with The Cataracs, Niles felt drawn toward electronic music and creating a project more connected to his indian roots. Even before debuting his solo project, he co-produced massive festival hits like “Tsunami” with DVBBS & Borgeous and “Stampede” with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, both of which became staples in DJ sets worldwide.
In 2014, he unveiled his new alias KSHMR with the explosive single “Megalodon,” a dark, cinematic electro-house track that immediately caught the attention of the global dance community. He quickly followed up with collabs like “Karate” with R3HAB and “Burn” with DallasK — the latter debuting in Beatport’s Top 40 before surging to the #1 spot.
“I chose the name KSHMR because that’s where my family is from, and by drawing on India’s rich musical history, I was able to create interesting hybrids within electronic music. That sound has become my hallmark and something I’m very proud of.”
KSHMR’s true arrival on the world stage came in 2015 when TIESTO introduced him at Ultra in Miami, revealing the mystery producer behind their hit collaboration “Secrets.” The track became one of the year’s biggest festival anthems, cementing KSHMR’s place among dance music’s elite.
Defining Releases & Awards
In 2017, KSHMR launched Dharma Worldwide, a record label dedicated to fostering new talent and championing the diverse sounds that inspire him. Two years later, he expanded that vision with Dharma studios, an educational platform offering producer tutorials, project templates, samples, and plugins to empower the next generation of artists.
Alongside these projects, his Sounds of KSHMR packs have become some of the most downloaded and widely used sample collections in modern music. From cinematic strings to Indian instruments, they’ve shaped the sound of countless tracks across genres and remain a go-to resource for producers worldwide.
KSHMR NOW
Ever present, KSHMR continues to feature in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ awards this year achieving position #23. Niles’ focus for 2025 is dance music with a number of singles set for release on Dharma, a 17 date Winter / Spring tour, a run of headline festival appearances including the KSHMR Live Experience with Orchestra at Ultra Music Festival and Parookaville, all while he continues work on the forthcoming Sounds of KSHMR Vol 5 and his globally syndicated biweekly radio show KSHMR presents Dharma Radio.