Label head, Producer, Mix Engineer
With a 4 decade long career spanning music production, live sound mixing, sound recording and mixing, sound design, teaching, and running a music label – there’s very little in the world of audio that KJ Singh hasn’t done.
Known (and feared, in some cases) for his meticulous dedication to audio quality and steadfast support in helping artists hone their unique sonic identity, this approach has made him an integral part of some of India’s most beloved records.
Born in Delhi, trained in Canada and now working in Mumbai KJ has produced and mixed albums that are modern classics like Rabbi Shergill’s debut (featuring Tere Bin, Bulla Ki Jaana), Kandisa and Black Friday by Indian Ocean.
As a mix engineer he’s worked extensively with the likes of AR Rahman (RDB, Guru, Delhi 6, Rockstar,Vinnaithandi Varuyava, Tamasha) as well as Vishal Bharadwaj (Maachis ,Satya, Makdee, Maqbool). His work on Omkara even won him a National Award and a Filmfare. In the realm of live sound he’s done FOH engineering for AR Rahman, Jagjit Singh, Colonial Cousins, Lucky Ali, Hariharan, Harris Jayaraj. As for sound design he’s developed installations at the Sikh history museum Virasat-E-Khalsa, The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) and Shaurya Samarak in Bhopal.
In 2012, KJ launched his label, Asli Music, which aims to help artists make the music they truly want to make without feeling the need to simplify themselves. Their first release was Harshdeep Kaur’s hit Ik Onkar, which KJ also produced.
Early Career
Starting out as a guitarist for his Delhi University College band Graffiti in 1980, the desire to make his group sound better is what led KJ into the world of pro audio. After a short but insightful stint as engineer at the studio of beloved television anchor Komal GB Singh, KJ headed off to Trebas Institute, in Canada to study Sound Engineering and Music Production, in 1985.
Armed with the latest audio gear and a serious drive to bring that quality standard to India, KJ returned to Delhi and spent years composing jingles, title tracks for Doordarshan serials and recording and mixing. He worked closely with anchor, creator and quizmaster, Siddhartha Basu (Mastermind, The India Quiz).
That is until a friend from his Delhi music days called him to Mumbai to mix a film. One that happened to be written and directed by one of India’s finest poets, Sampooran Singh Kalra. Or as you may know him – Gulzar. Maachis, KJ’s first job in Bollywood, as a music producer and sound engineer, released in 1996 and its music was a hit.
KJ soon moved to Mumbai and branched out into live sound engineering and album/film mix engineering. Always on the hunt for new sounds, he used his gear and know-how to support artists he believed in even back then. That’s when he produced Rabbi’s debut album and Indian Ocean’s Kandisa. Both these albums were immense critical and commercial successes. He also co-mixed Hariharan’s groundbreaking album Kaash at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath and Rekha Bharadwaj’s stunning ghazal album, Ishqa Ishqa.
As he began to earn a name and reputation in the industry for being driven by a keen ear for audio-fidelity, KJ was invited to work with AR Rahman. He ultimately went on to become one of his key engineers alongside the masterful H. Sridhar for live as well as film mixes. They would go on to do concerts all around the world running 3 analog mixing boards that had up to 115 active channels to handle all of AR’s guest performers.
Always at the edge of technology, KJ also mixed the music for T.M Krishna and P. Jayendra’s sublime musical project ‘One’ in Dolby Atmos in 2014.
Transition to Entrepreneurship
In 2012, in an attempt to formalise his involvement in nurturing artists, KJ started his label, Asli Music. By 2015 he also began to get involved in larger spatial audio projects that pushed his audio know-how to new and exciting places. Phase II of Sikh history museum Virasaat-E-Khalsa, designed by famed agency Design Habit (led by Amardeep Behl) features music co-created and curated by KJ. Along with the Sultanpur Lodhi installation to commemorate the 550th year of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
In the 2020s, KJ got involved with Ankur Tewari and other multitalented creatives like Kausar Munir, Swanand Kirkire to form the Think Tank for Coke Studio Bharat. Involved in the selection of artists and working with them to creatively problem solve, it led to an iconic launch for Coke Studio Bharat. One that gave the world Achint x Aditya Gadhvi smash hit, ‘Khalaasi’, among others.
Now deeply passionate about building the Indian independent music scene, high quality devotional music and sharing his decades of wisdom with gen-next, KJ looks forward to where his journey in music will take him next.
About Asli Music
The modern music industry rewards speed, familiarity, and obedience to format. Artists are often forced into false choices: be commercial or disappear; be Bollywood/massy or be irrelevant. Asli Music exists in the space between those false binaries. AM believes there is room — and need — for music that does not shout to be heard. For artists who do not wish to flatten themselves into trends. For songs that grow slowly, and stay longer.
Asli is not an escape from the industry. It is a way of remaining whole within it.
Founded by KJ Singh in 2012, the label was created as a home for voices that refuse to shrink, simplify, or surrender their truth. Rooted in honesty, craft, and creative freedom, Asli exists to nurture music that is deeply personal, emotionally fearless, and unapologetic. More than a label, it aims to be a space where artists are encouraged to discover the sound that is truly their own.
Impact and Vision
For over four decades, KJ Singh’s work has quietly shaped the soundscape of contemporary Indian music. Not only through records he has produced and mixed, but through the artists, engineers and musicians he has influenced along the way.
His impact lies in his belief that sound is more than a technical process; it is a deeply human craft. It exists to preserve our truths, memories, connections and emotions. Whether in studios, concerts or museums, his work has consistently championed authenticity over formula and craft over convenience. And it is one that always pays off in the long run.
Through Asli Music, KJ continues work as a producer, mentor, and educator to achieve his dream of building creative ecosystems where artists are empowered, experimentation is frequent and creating without fear is the baseline.
In a bid to move toward this idea of large-scale collaboration, KJ has embarked on a major effort to provide high quality, classically rooted, Sikh devotional music to the world called Sabad Naad.
Ever since his return to India, KJ’s vision was and still is to enrich an artist driven collaborative culture in India. One where knowledge is shared, transparency is mandated and music is valued in dimensions more than just for its commercial reach but also for its emotional or cultural resonance.
At the heart of everything he does is a simple but enduring philosophy:
Good sound can entertain people but great sound will move them.
