Kalmi

The world took notice of music producer Kalmi after the global success of “Big Dawgs”, his revved-up international chart-topper with frequent collaborator Hanumankind. But the artist aka Nikhil Kalimireddy had been baking bangers for well over a decade before his big 2024 crossover, having made beats since he was 15 years old. While Visakhapatnam-raised, Hyderabad-based Kalmi’s galvanising work with HMK has led to him being best known as a hip-hop producer, his solo output spans experimental electronic compositions and pensive piano pieces. He’s also fashioned tunes for singers and songwriters such as Ankur Tewari, KAVYA and Rudy Mukta. This range serves him well in his parallel career in advertising, where he creates the sonic identities and background music scores for well-known Indian and international brands.