Dualist Inquiry is the project of Sahej Bakshi, an electronic producer who plays guitar on his own tracks. That mix of club production and melodic guitar made him one of the defining Indian electronic acts of the 2010s festival era, and it still marks his records today. This guide goes through the catalogue in order, with what to play from each release.
Titles, dates, track counts and featured artists come from Apple Music India, checked on 28 October 2026. Biographical facts come from our Indian electronic music producers guide and Wikipedia, which cites The Hindu, GQ India, Rolling Stone India and Forbes India. We don't quote stream counts.
Who is Dualist Inquiry?
Bakshi studied music at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. He started out in 2010 in the alt-rock band The Pulp Society, fronted by Imaad Shah, and in 2011 opened for Beardyman and DJ Shadow at The Great Escape festival in Brighton. In 2017 Forbes India named him in its 30 Under 30 list. Wikipedia gives his birth year as 1987.
That rock-band start explains the guitar. Most Indian electronic producers of his generation came to the music through DJing; Bakshi came through a band, and his tracks are built around guitar lines rather than samples.
The records at a glance
- Dualism — EP — 8 Jun 2011 — 4
- Doppelganger — Album — 25 Apr 2013 — 9
- Natural Disasters — EP — 8 Sep 2014 — 4
- Dreamcatcher — Album — 12 Sep 2016 — 12
- Life Forms — EP — 15 Nov 2019 — 4
- Daybreak — EP — 16 Sep 2022 — 4
- When We Get There — Album — 16 Feb 2024 — 9
Singles between them include "Lumina" (2014), "Mayday" and "Fever Dream" (2018), "Closer" featuring Sanchal Malhar (2020), "No Escape" with Rudy Mukta (2023), "Take Me Home" (2024) and "Get You Back" (July 2025, the most recent release). Apple Music India also lists The B-Side Of India: Dualist Inquiry, a fourteen-track DJ mix from February 2025.
Dualism EP (2011)
The debut EP came out through Audio Aashram, per its Apple Music ℗ line. Three tracks run around six minutes ("Orbital", "Qualia", "Gravitat"), plus a spoken-word edit of "Qualia". It's long-form and patient, closer to downtempo than to the festival sound that came next. The ℗ line on Doppelganger, Daybreak and When We Get There reads "Dualism", the same name as this first EP.
Start with: "Qualia".
Doppelganger (2013)
The first album, and the record that defined his sound. Nine tracks, most of them around five minutes, in which guitar melody leads and the beats hold back: "Specter", "6am", "One More Thing", "Exile", "Anathema", "Origin", "Blitzkrieg", "Isoterra" and "Soleil". "6am" is the shortest at 3:22 and the most immediate. "One More Thing" (5:54) is the longest and the best showcase of the guitar-over-synth approach.
Start with: "6am", then "One More Thing".
Natural Disasters EP and "Lumina" (2014)
Released in September 2014, with "Lumina" as a standalone single two days later. Hindustan Times interviewed him at the time about the songwriting on the EP. It's a bridge between the moody debut and the more song-shaped album that followed.
Dreamcatcher (2016)
Bigger and more song-shaped: twelve tracks, most under four and a half minutes, with more guests than any other Dualist Inquiry record. Kavya Trehan sings on "Zero Hour" and "Opaque". "Trainwreck" features The F16s, the Chennai rock band (see our F16s artist page), and "For Joss" features Sohrab Nicholson. Apple credits the ℗ to Sahej Bakshi.
Not every critic loved it: Livemint's 2016 review ran under the headline "Why Dualist Inquiry needs some inspiration". It's still the album where his guitar-led electronica sits closest to indie pop, and the vocal tracks are the reason to hear it.
Start with: "Zero Hour", then "Trainwreck".
The singles years and Life Forms EP (2018–19)
Two 2018 singles, "Mayday" and "Fever Dream", and a four-track remix release of "You & Me" featuring Sanchal Malhar, filled the gap after Dreamcatcher. Wikipedia describes a three-year hiatus before Life Forms (November 2019), a club-facing EP: "Life Forms", "Delta Wave", "Echo Park" and a club edit of the title track. Red Bull covered its release. This is the most dance-floor Dualist Inquiry record.
Start with: "Delta Wave".
Daybreak EP (2022)
Four tracks, each around five minutes: "Discovery", "High & Dry", "Friendly Voices" and "Two Worlds". "Discovery" and "High & Dry" came out as singles in September 2022, a week apart, before the EP. It's melodic and bright, and it points toward the next album.
Start with: "Discovery".
When We Get There (2024)
The newest album came out on 16 February 2024, after three singles: "All There Is" (December 2023), "When We Get There" (January 2024) and "Bloom" (February 2024). Nine tracks, all credited to Dualist Inquiry alone, with no featured guests. The guitar is still at the centre, and it's his calmest record: "Coming Alive", "Days Away", "Mother", "Times Go By" and the closer "My Fire My Light" (5:24).
Start with: the title track, then "All There Is".
After the album
Since When We Get There, Apple Music India lists "Take Me Home" (October 2024), the B-Side Of India DJ mix (February 2025) and "Get You Back" (July 2025). There's no newer album yet, and we only cover what has been released.
Where to start
- One track: "6am".
- One album: Doppelganger, then When We Get There.
- Vocal tracks: "Zero Hour" → "Opaque" → "Closer".
- Club side: Life Forms EP.
Why Dualist Inquiry matters
He was one of the first Indian electronic acts to make the guitar the lead instrument rather than a sample, and one of the few to keep a steady run of albums and EPs going for fifteen years. For the wider picture, see Indian electronic music producers and Indian indie collabs.
FAQ
Who is Dualist Inquiry? Sahej Bakshi, an Indian electronic producer and guitarist.
What is Dualist Inquiry's first album? Doppelganger (2013). Before it came the Dualism EP (2011).
What is Dualist Inquiry's latest album? When We Get There (16 February 2024). His most recent single is "Get You Back" (July 2025).
How many Dualist Inquiry albums are there? Three studio albums (Doppelganger, Dreamcatcher, When We Get There) and four EPs on Apple Music India.
Which bands has Dualist Inquiry collaborated with? The F16s on "Trainwreck" (Dreamcatcher), Rudy Mukta on "No Escape" and Sanchal Malhar on "Closer", among others.
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