Kshmr was born in Berkeley, California to a Kashmiri Hindu father who emigrated from India, and an American mother. He got his stage name from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, where his paternal side hails from. His singles “Jammu” and “Kashmir” also derive their names from the former. Kshmr, born Niles Hollowell-Dhar on October 6, 1988, is an American songwriter, DJ, music producer, and musician. In 2015, he was ranked 23rd on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll and was awarded highest new entry for the year.
In the same poll, he was ranked 12th in 2016 and 2017, and again in 2020. In 2021, he was ranked 11th in the same poll. In July 2017, he launched Dharma Worldwide, a sublabel of Spinnin’ Records. Kshmr performed at many music festivals, including Coachella, Tomorrowland, EDC, Ultra, and Sunburn.