Photography by Prabhakar Duwarah
Bringing dream pop, psych rock and synth textures among other influences, DEE EN are a Delhi-formed, Goa-based indie band who are known for their constantly evolving music sensibility. The band features Saurav Debnath on vocals and guitar, Aditya Kapoor on vocals, guitar and synths, Ashrey Goel on vocals, bass and keys and Yuvaan Makar on drums. Over six years, DEE EN have progressed from the dreamy atmospheres of their debut EPs to the sharper synth world of their most recent EP, Saturn Return. Ahead, Saurav opens up about navigating six years of making music together and what’s next.
A Living Room Project
‘I think a lot of DEE EN formatively can be traced back to our teenage aspirations of being in a band,’ says Saurav. Fresh out of college, Saurav and Ashrey had moved in together, spending their days writing and producing songs that had initially begun as Saurav’s solo singer-songwriter project. The living room became a rehearsal space, the backyard a place for ideas to linger. When Aditya joined those sessions with his background in electronic music, together with Ashrey's training in classical piano and Saurav’s roots in songwriting, the trio found a language that felt their own.
Their influences were just as varied. Saurav grew up in Assam in a home filled with old Bollywood cassettes collected by his mother. This was before his teenage years introduced him to rock and metal bands like Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Aditya gravitated towards electronic music, while Ashrey brought years of classical training to the table. Those seemingly different worlds folded into the genre-fluid arrangement that would become DEE EN. Within months, those home sessions grew into their debut EP, Whoopsie Daisy and soon after, their first live show.
Photo by Niharika Chauhan
The DEE EN Sound
Ask DEE EN how a song comes together and there’s no single answer. An idea is passed around the band, rearranged, performed live, pulled apart in the studio and is always becoming. ‘If we could stick to one process that worked, then it would become a formula. Also boring… DEE EN doesn't have to be one sound.’ The band lets each song find its own direction, whether through repeated live performances or long hours in the studio experimenting. For their upcoming album, Dada, the band chose to work across cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Faridabad, capturing fragments of life on tour along the way instead of recording in a studio. ‘I started hearing the walls in the music,’ Saurav says, explaining why they had to move out into the physical world in their recording.
The [Saturn] Return
After four years of making music together, DEE EN eventually reached a point where they needed a break. The pause that followed was partly due to the pandemic, but the band also ‘needed space from each other’. With Saurav in Delhi and Aditya in Goa, the two continued working remotely, slowly piecing together what would become their comeback EP, Saturn Return. By the time Ashrey rejoined the fold and Yuvaan Makar came on board, DEE EN had entered ‘the second chapter’ of the band.
While their earlier releases leaned into dreamy guitars and psychedelic textures, Saturn Return brought the band's long-standing love for electronic music into the foreground. Synths, drum machines and dance rhythms stepped out from behind the guitars. Ultimately, ‘DEE EN was always quite synth driven. We love synths! But it always hid under the jangly guitars,’ Saurav says. ‘To constantly explore new dimensions is generally the approach.’ The shift towards an upbeat in music wasn't a departure so much as another step in their musical curiosity.
Building A Creative Ecosystem
Like many independent bands today, DEE EN has had to learn that making music is only one part of the job. Between writing, recording and touring, there are venues to coordinate, releases to plan and audiences to reach. ‘Running a band without management is and was tough,’ Saurav admits, ‘but we felt capable of doing it. I think that's the mindset that runs this band, constantly learning to put all the pieces of the puzzle.'
Rather than chasing every opportunity, DEE EN has also become more intentional about where and how they play, favouring fewer but more meaningful shows. Their experiences of living in different cities and balancing multiple commitments have only reinforced that approach. ‘A modern-day band does not have the luxury...to spend their entire day making music.’ Through their self-produced show and collective Hivemind, DEE EN is creating spaces for audiences and musicians to come together, carrying the community-first spirit that has upheld them through the years. The band is also preparing to release Dada, their next album, later this year or earlier next year.
When I asked what they would tell the band’s 2018 selves, Saurav looked back to something less tangible: their way of being. ‘...though lesser in craft, (they) probably knew how to live with their hearts on their sleeves. They knew how to live in the present. The energy was unreal.’ This probably captures the band’s ongoing pursuit: evolving without losing the instinct to simply make music.
Words Nidhi Soni
Date 17.7.2026