Karan Kanchan’s Kitty Party Is a ‘Trip Down Memory Lane’
From cozy dress codes to Y2K aesthetics, karaoke and more, the DJ-producer is on tour through Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Indore, New Delhi, Dehradun and Kolkata until December
Karan Kanchan at his India tour with Social Selects: Karan Kanchan's Kitty Party with MC AB aka Abhishek Gandhi. Photo: Social
When Mumbai mainstay hip-hop producer and multi-genre composer Karan Kanchan had his Boiler Room set with friends in December last year, it was the start of rolling out how important experiential, curated shows were for him.
The hitmaker behind songs like “Baazigar” from Divine went on to host the Karan Kanchan Experience as a live set at Lollapalooza India 2024 and most recently, had another guest-heavy set at Wreckfest in September this year. Now, the DJ-producer has launched Karan Kanchan’s Kitty Party as part of the gig series Social Selects, which travels to seven cities and kicked off on Oct. 20, 2024 in Mumbai and recently brought a distinctively fun-loving and nostalgia-steeped vibe to Chandigarh and Bengaluru this week.
Karan Kanchan’s Kitty Party rolls on to Indore (Nov. 24), New Delhi (Nov. 29), Dehradun (Dec. 14) and Kolkata (Dec. 20) in the coming weeks. He says “I feel like there’s a lot of lot of scope and space of trying out things in the live space, and [I can do it] because of having friends like Hanish [Taneja, sound engineer] also, who’s helping me with all these live experiences where it comes to time coding stuff or putting a show together on the technical side of things.”
Where Wreckfest and Boiler Room sets have called for high-energy (“It’s all been very heavy and rage kind of music,” Kanchan says), the Karan Kanchan’s Kitty Party runs in the opposite direction. With help from artist and MC AB aka Abhishek Gandhi as host, the experience also includes karaoke, housie and dress codes for guests. The music, of course, sees Kanchan DJing behind the decks with a selection of Eighties, Nineties and early 2000s hits. He wanted it to be more than just a DJ playing “retro music.” He says, “I want people to come dressed up in a way that it’s like a throwback party and just bring out the different side of you. Society pressures you to be this very bold and very sophisticated person, but I want to change that when you’re coming to the Karan Kanchan Kitty Party.”
To create that comfort zone, Kanchan believes “audio can be the trigger.” It’s a space for people to have fun while they’re taking a trip down memory lane, whether it’s listening to “Brazil” by the Vengaboys or other songs. While it’s being hosted at Social outlets all around the country, Kanchan wants to turn the club into more of a friendly house party vibe. “I’m asking people to bring out their flip-phones, handicams… some of my friends showed me their wardrobe selections and it’s dope,” he adds.
In a way, the run of shows also marks Kanchan’s first India tour as a DJ. “Social got on board and helped us take this tour to all the Socials out there. We’re doing around seven cities right now, and we’re planning to add more cities,” he says. The main concept in each city is the same – to bring back the kind of hits that may have got forgotten in the fast-moving world of streaming and viral charts. Kanchan specifically highlights all the music his parents used to play to him growing up, from Michael Jackson to Abba and more. He says, “I want to bring that whole dance vibe. It’s not going to be just like famous songs, it’s going to be the energy of the dancefloor and all the songs that I’ve grown up listening to, and I always wanted to play, but in a very curated manner.”
