Appu Krishnan, an India-LA-based Music Producer, and Songwriter has worked with renowned K-Pop groups like Got7, The Boyz, Wanna One, April, etc, he also took part in creating the popular Produce 101 song, “Pick Me”.

I got to know about him because of the K-Pop India Contest (Bengaluru Region) as he was in the panel of the judges. I was so impressed by his works. So, I requested him for an Interview. The following are excerpts from the email interview on April 27th.

Q1.As you have worked with many renowned international artists, you know the music industry well. How do you make changes when producing songs from different Music industries such as K-pop and the American Music industries?

 -We are usually very intentional during our songwriting sessions. Depending on the genre or artist(s), Song Structure, Tempo, and even sounds might be different. For example, if we know it's going to be a K-pop group with rappers chances are we would have a verse or so to facilitate it. If this is an American solo artist, we might not stack up our hooks with so many harmonies as we would with a girl/boy group. Sounds that are punchy and cut through anything might be favorable for K-pop whereas an Indie US project might have a mellower more organic soundscape. That said there's so much genre crossing these days, it all changes with the project. Sometimes we even rework an older song's production to fit a new artist or current genre.

Q2.From Produce 101 to working with renowned K-pop groups like Got7, The Boys, etc your journey has been amazing. Please give us an insight into it.

- Thank you! Wish I could say it was all planned, but it wasn't :) Produce 101 happened out of nowhere. I was working on a few songs for American projects with producer friends around 2015. One of those demos (then called Moonlight) was pitched to Ryan Jhun and CJ ENM by one of our co-writers Emile Ghantous. Thankfully it took a life of its own, became "Pick Me" and did very well in K-pop. Since then it was more planned. I got a publisher in Korea and we started pitching a lot to JYP Entertainment. Got7 came that way through a songwriting camp we did in LA. Very soon I started "Loudboy Music" company and started having some incredible songwriters and producers to work with. The Boyz was through our main "Loudboy" collaborators- Sugarhouse Publishing and Sound Graphics. I feel very fortunate to have these amazing folks representing our music in Korea.

                                                                           ( Mr. Appu Krishnan in his studio. Pic source: Mr. Appu Krishnan)

Q3.What's the thing about music production which makes you so passionate about it? How has your approach changed over the years?

- I got started in music by playing in bands. I’ve always loved the process of musical parts coming together to create an emotion. It was performance-based at first and now it's the same with recording. I see co-writers and co-producers as bandmates. We have tons of fun experimenting in the studio with ideas and sounds. With the ever-changing technology, we can turn anything into a musical motif or effect, say for example an iPhone voice note chopped up or processing a guitar to sound like some alien screaming :) The biggest difference in the workflow is having an amazing team of Producers and Songwriters here at Loudboy. Everyone comes from a different musical background and I am constantly blown away and humbled by their creativity. It's a huge step up for me to work as a team. So much better than my lonely studio days of the past.

Q 4. Your songs have performed well in the Korean Music industry and have even made it to the Top 10 in the prestigious Goan chart too. If you had to choose one K-Pop song which you enjoyed working on the most, which one would it be?

- Working on "Prism" for The Boyz has a cool story. I came to the studio late one day and happened to walk past my friend Mike Norris's door. I heard rock guitar and orchestral sounds come out of his room. Unusual since Mike doesn't play guitar :)

So I knocked and got in. He was experimenting with some keyboard guitars and it felt so Epic with the orchestra underneath. I asked him what it was and felt like he was just having fun. Then we started talking about what if this was some epic intro to a dance single. Fast Forward to another week, we had the track for Prism. Also, it was our first collab with Melogram writers and Daniel Kim. We've become great friends and collaborators ever since. Even though there were some second thoughts about that intro later, we were so glad the original idea made it to the final version.

                                (Got7 album dye cover and tracklist. Pic source: Mr. Appu Krishnan and Got7 official Facebook account edited by me.)

Q 5. You have produced songs for many K-pop artists. Is there any special memory that you can never forget or cherish?

- Definitely meeting with fans online and also events like KCON. I remember last year I was with friends at KCON LA. We saw folks

who had never met each other just get into dance routines and don't miss a beat! I seriously thought it was rehearsed at first. But then these flash mobs kept popping up all over. It was so cool to watch. I've made some really cool friends from all walks of life. Recently I visited my friend's Korean Restaurant in Pune, India called "Kini". Super cool spot and I would've never met the owner Suyasha if it wasn't for K-pop.

Q 6. For aspiring people who want to work in the Music Production industry, especially those who want to produce K-pop songs, what advice will you give to them?

- I'd say first get very familiar with the music production process by learning music theory, using software, etc. Analyze and reverse engineer songs on charts/top K-pop playlists. You got to figure out the essential ingredients of a hit record and that takes some time.

In the meantime keep building your catalog of songs and start reaching out to mentors (to be part of their team) or publishers/labels.

Once you have some success, then get a bit more experimental and try to carve out a path for yourself or your own brand in this very competitive industry. That might mean fusing your other musical interests into K-pop etc. That's how we push the genre forward. But try doing it after you understand the genre as is. That way no matter what you end up with a hit record.

                                                         (Pic Source: Mr. Appu Krishnan's Official Instagram account edited by Jubby Kumar)

Q7.What are your plans for 2023? What can we expect?

- The biggest news is Music Education. Continuing from your previous question, at Loudboy Music we've always kept an open door to mentor new producers and writers. But as you can imagine it's impossible to listen to all the demos while we need to keep project deadlines. K-pop sessions happen so fast and there's very little time to experiment before song delivery. It's so much better if we can groom young talent from the ground up.

In Jan 2023, I took over as the Director of Garnish Music Production and DJ School in Los Angeles. I've been working closely with the brand's founder David Garnish for years. It's the perfect time for us to run the school out of Loudboy Studios and have real-world songwriters and producers with great credits to teach classes. We cover all genres of music, music technology, and of course DJ-ing.

Taking classes alone is in no way a guarantee to song placements, but students will be in the same environment where writing camps happen and will be learning from some of the best in the industry. I mean, why not learn from folks who actually make the hit records rather than sorting through every music production video online? For more info on the school visit

https://la.garnishmusicproduction.com/

Classes can be online for anyone who isn't local. We are also planning to introduce K-pop-specific courses very soon, so stay tuned!

Other than music education, more songwriting camps happening in April and May, some US releases coming up, etc. So, life is good.