Arjun Kanungo on Having a Vision for Indian Pop on ‘Industry2’ and Foraying Into Japan

Just as we start our video chat with pop artist Arjun Kanungo in Mumbai, his poodle Kyubi jumps in the frame for attention, only to be pleaded off his lap with a laugh and an apology. The Mumbai-raised artist has just released his second album Industry2 – obviously, a sequel to his 2022 album Industry – as a means to do his own thing after years of making moves that advanced his career as a mainstream singer in India.

With the eight-track album, it’s the first time Kanungo went against current release norms and released two singles – The Weeknd-esque neon Hindi funky pop song “Danger” and the wistful synth-pop duet with Shirley Setia on “Sach Bata Mujhe” – and then put out the full record. Even while swimming against the tide, Kanungo did play it safe by releasing two lead singles which were fully in the realm of commercial pop. “Because I have noticed that while fans appreciate certain types of songs, I think the regular pop songs are the ones that really penetrate and kind of are able to travel,” he adds.

One of the reasons that there is a sequel to Industry, perhaps, is because Kanungo had a lot more things to say about how he wanted to make music. He says, “Albums are like larger bodies of work, which is more about the artist than just the songs. It’s more detailed in the sense that you get a better sense of who the artist is, what they’re capable of, which you cannot in a single [release].” He thinks back to the song “Bura Sapna” from Industry as “almost a fuck-you to the industry.” Kanungo says, “It was just like, ‘I’ve become part of you, but I hate myself.’”

Industry2, then, is the update and pointing to where he is right now, which is a much more globally-focused space. Five music videos were shot in Japan, where Kanungo is keen on building a foundation. Part of that foundation is a song like “India to Japan,” the opening track on the album that features Japanese rapper Cyber Rui and Setia as well, along with vocals from IP Singh and Yash Vaid. It’s a trap-meets-pop song that sees Hindi and Japanese vocals. With Cyber Rui, he met her among seven or eight artists and vibed the most with her. “In Japan, the culture is quite different. Like, the older they get the more popularity they gain, instead of, where young artists have that peak period, and then they kind of go into a lull. In Japan, like the opposite. There are a few exceptions, but on average, the older artists are more successful,” he says.  Cyber Rui, however, was younger and newer among the artists that Kanungo met, and he says she brought a character to life in her verse on “India to Japan.”

Among the other notable strides on Industry2 are “Kismat,” which has a two-minute radio edit but also a six-and-a-half-minute extended version. The latter came first and Kanungo says his team convinced him to put out a shorter version as well for marketability. Then, there’s “Tu Hain” with Zaeden, which Kanungo says sends out the message about his broader vision with Industry2. He points to how the album intended to be a nod to Indian pop artists of a new generation, like himself, Armaan Malik, Shirley Setia, Sanam Puri, Darshan Raval and Zaeden. Kanungo says, “As an artist, my vision was, what if we could restart? I think all of us did stuff in the name of commercialism over the years. What if we could make an album where it was just like, fuck commercialism?”

Kanungo bows out from Industry2 in just that way, with the English song “Destiny.” Previously, Kanungo’s written and performed English music in rock and metal bands, including electronic-rock act Far Travel Music (the band’s guitarist Sanju Aguiar was called on once again by Kanungo to contribute to Industry2). Fans who know Kanungo from these projects were perhaps surprised when he began putting out Hindi music, but so was the artist himself. “I didn’t speak Hindi much until I was 18. We all speak English and Marathi at home,” he says. While touring with legendary singer Asha Bhosle, a rumor began – due to his vocal inflections – that he was from the U.K. It’s been quite a journey from there to being one of the front-running Hindi pop voices in India. The past is still as much part of his future, though. “The 2008 time was the best time in my whole life. We were basically just writing music and chilling in somebody’s garage.

There are two more songs from Kanungo that didn’t make Industry2 that will be released in September and October. There’s an international tour in the works, with September, October and November for India, followed by January and February 2024 in Europe and the U.S.. For Japan, some of his hits are being re-recorded in Japanese, featuring local artists. “We’re trying to do some stuff in South Korea as well. I’m just trying to expand in a meaningful way to these countries where there’s actually some connection. I’m hoping that I can become more conversational and fluent with the language, so we get to a place where it’s like, I’m singing Japanese songs […] That whole journey is going to be quite cool,” he adds.