A 3-hour bus ride to New York City, a surreal listening party, and the unexpected embrace of Wiz Khalifa. That's the story of Akash (Kush) and Krish (Luv) Chandani, the twin duo known as THEMXXNLIGHT, who had their songs featured on Khalifa's playlists and albums.
These pivotal moments marked the beginning of their remarkable journey from a modest following to the forefront of the music industry. Here's the story of the Chandanis, who have blended their talents across music, real estate, and reality TV.
Dorm Room Dreams: The Chandanis commenced their musical venture in the confines of their dorm room at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"We started off making music without anyone knowing," Kush told Benzinga, noting it was a shock to their parents, who accepted it as a hobby––nothing more. "It wasn’t until the Wiz Khalifa album came out that they listened to our stuff and realized it is something we should pursue seriously."
The episode with Wiz had a profound impact on their lives, opening doors to a lucrative career in show business. Yet, other than help from their parents, support was scarce.
"After our parents started telling close family friends about our music, they faced a lot of skepticism. They would get suggestions to take us out of that music stuff and have us focused on science and engineering," Luv added, noting that breaking these stereotypes was an obstacle they faced early on.
Cultivating Natural Talent: Having the perfect pitch, the twins have a rare ability to easily learn new instruments and music styles and improvise with almost anything. This skill is something that also influenced their careers, particularly in the beginning.
"We never actually learned how to read music," Kush confessed.
"Growing up in school, we did band and orchestra, and we’d be playing a song and I’d be just playing along, looking straight at the conductor. She’d stop the class and inquire how I was even playing, but we’d just play along. That was how we operated," he said.
"I just think that playing five or six different instruments while growing up and listening to all kinds of music, like a lot of music in the minor key – Indian music. I think this versatility as well as influence from Weeknd and his Ethiopian roots helped us become who we are," Luv added.
Leveraging The Science: The twins started with bare-bones production, using Apple‘s GarageBand to produce their first tracks, learning art on the go, often by trial and error. Yet, they believe their engineering mindset gave them a solid foundation in this field.
"Our education was in industrial systems engineering, which had nothing to do with anything creative whatsoever. Still, in some advanced physics classes, when we studied about sound waves, we saw similarities that helped us with music," Luv explained, while Kush clarified that he took on more closely to the technical side of their recording process.
"All we initially knew was to click record, but as time went on, I took on to producing beats and going more into fine details of production. I think our engineering background did influence how we create music because we went from writing a song in two weeks to writing a song in half an hour," he noted.
"We have our favorite artists with whom we’d love to work like Drake, Weeknd or Travis Scott. But we also have unreleased collaborations because the other artist’s label has the power over that," Luv said.
Going Back to Roots: After graduating and returning to the West Coast, the brothers joined their parents, Deepak and Karishma Chandani, as realtors, leaning on the THEMXXNLIGHT brand to elevate Chandani Group into the premier South Asian elite real estate brokerage nationwide.
"We have this incredible passion for real estate, which came naturally to us. It’s a 24/7 grind because it is client-facing, and you must be there," Luv said. "We love carrying the family torch."
Reality TV – The Next Chapter: In 2023, THEMXXNLIGHT made their reality TV debut on Amazon.com Inc AMZN Prime’s "Twin Love."
After years in the entertainment industry, they learned that their unique story gives them an exceptionally strong branding foundation.
"I think the reason why we found ourselves committing to appearing on the show came down into two parts. First, because they saw Indian twins – which is very rare. And second, because we were out there, doing entertainment and ‘non-Indian’ things. We stood out in that regard," Kush said, adding that their experience in shooting music videos and real-estate tours made for a seamless TV transition.
The decision was not impulsive; it involved months of research and family discussions. Their appearance on the show, unique as Indian twins breaking stereotypes, integrated their entertainment and real estate expertise.
"It was a family decision since we wanted to make our community proud," Luv said, noting this opportunity also advanced their brands.
Looking Ahead: Weaving music, real estate, and reality TV pursuits, THEMXXNLIGHT envisions limitless possibilities in 2024 and beyond. Inspired by collaborations with twins like Brie and Nikki Garcia, they plan to synergize music events with real estate endeavors.
"There are so many possibilities given where we are. The sky is the limit in 2024," Luv said.
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Photo: Chandani Twins
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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