Sandunes is the project of Sanaya Ardeshir, a composer, producer and pianist from Mumbai. Her label, Tru Thoughts, describes her as relocating to Los Angeles around the release of her latest album, and her own site now describes her as Mumbai-born and LA-based. Her music is keys-led and mostly instrumental. It draws on jazz, soul, broken beat and electronic production, and it often sounds more like a live band than a laptop.

This guide goes through her catalogue in order. Titles, dates, track counts and collaborators come from Apple Music India, checked on 28 October 2026. Album background comes from Rolling Stone India, Tru Thoughts and the artist's own site and Bandcamp. We don't quote stream counts.

The records at a glance

  • Sandunes — Single (3 tracks) — 9 Nov 2012 — 3
  • Slybounce & Moon Detector Remixes — EP — 24 Nov 2014 — 5
  • Unfinish — EP — 1 Dec 2015 — 4
  • Downstream — Album — 27 Sep 2016 — 10
  • NOLA Daydream — EP — 7 Feb 2018 — 4
  • 11:11 — EP — 6 Sep 2019 — 5
  • Spare Some Time — EP — 22 May 2020 — 4
  • Spaven x Sandunes (with Richard Spaven) — Album — 11 Sep 2020 — 7
  • Nowhere to Stand — EP — 25 Jun 2021 — 4
  • The Ground Beneath Her Feet — Album — 17 Nov 2023 — 13

Her site calls The Ground Beneath Her Feet her third album, which matches the list: Downstream, the collaborative Spaven x Sandunes and The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

The early releases (2012–2015)

The first Apple Music listing is a self-titled three-track release from November 2012. A remix EP followed in 2014, and Unfinish, a four-track EP, in December 2015. These are sketches, but the keys-first approach is already in place.

Downstream (2016)

The debut album. Ten tracks, most of them between three and a half and five minutes: "Mighty Protonic", "Honey Tree", "Closet Jester", "Jack Blaguar", "That's Been Following Me", "Crystal Pink", "Indigo Village", "Something Twenty", "LBDF" and a short "Downstream Outro". It's warm and patient, and it's the clearest view of her early sound: piano and synth lines over loose, jazz-inflected beats. Apple credits the ℗ to Sandunes herself.

Start with: "Honey Tree", then "Indigo Village".

NOLA Daydream (2018)

Preceded by the single "Does Bombay Dream of NOLA" (November 2017), this four-track EP pairs her with New Orleans musician Helen Gillet on the opener, "The Trust". The other tracks are "Does Bombay Dream of NOLA", "Nutterfly" and "Gold Streets". As the titles suggest, it's a conversation between Mumbai and New Orleans.

Start with: "The Trust".

11:11, Spare Some Time and Nowhere to Stand (2019–21)

Three EPs in three years kept the project moving between albums: 11:11 (five tracks, September 2019), Spare Some Time (four tracks, May 2020) and Nowhere to Stand (four tracks, June 2021). Rolling Stone India's 2023 interview treats Nowhere to Stand as her last release before the new album.

Spaven x Sandunes (2020)

A full collaboration with the British drummer Richard Spaven, released in September 2020 on !K7 Music. Seven tracks: "In Readiness", "Tree of Life", "Evelyn", "Can't Say That to You", "Little Ships", "Sustain" and "1759 (Outro)". It shows off her live, jazz-leaning side more than any other record. The partnership continued with "Don't Ask" (August 2021), a single with Spaven and the Mumbai rapper MC Altaf.

Start with: "Tree of Life".

The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2023)

Her biggest record so far, and her debut on the British label Tru Thoughts, released on 17 November 2023. It came after three singles: "The Surge" with Ramya Pothuri (August 2023), "Pelican Dance" (September) and "Feel Me From The Inside" (October).

Rolling Stone India reported that work began in late 2020 with songwriting experiments from a mobile studio in Kodaikanal, and that the album was recorded and produced in Kodaikanal, Goa, Mumbai, Oakland and Berlin, with remote contributions from collaborators in New York, London, Bogota, La Paz, Java and Brasilia. Her site says the title is shared with a Salman Rushdie novel and that the album is about finding home in relationships, ritual, music and memory.

The thirteen tracks bring in more voices than any earlier Sandunes record:

  • Mother Figure opens with Peni Candra Rini.
  • The Surge and Signs feature Ramya Pothuri. Bandcamp describes "The Surge" as "a track about movement, and about migration".
  • Follow Me and Time For This feature KAVYA.
  • Cyclone features Half Waif.
  • Indeterminance and Flamingo Dreams feature Gideon Crevoshay.
  • Feel Me From The Inside, Pelican Dance, Masti, Earthquake and Tsunami are Sandunes alone.

Start with: "The Surge", then "Feel Me From The Inside".

Remixes and mixes since

In 2024 Zed Bias remixed "Signs" and "Follow Me", and OX7GEN remixed "Pelican Dance". Apple Music India also lists two DJ mixes: Tru Thoughts Presents: Sandunes' Movement Mix (October 2024) and The B-Side Of India: Sandunes (May 2025). There's no new studio album yet, and we cover only released work.

Collaborators worth following

Ramya Pothuri, KAVYA and MC Altaf are the Indian names on her records. Abroad, the partnership with Richard Spaven is the most substantial. She also appears on Ankur Tewari's 2016 Side A EP, on "Jhoom" with Zoe Viccaji, a link back into the Hindi singer-songwriter scene.

Where to start

  • One track: "The Surge".
  • One album: The Ground Beneath Her Feet.
  • Jazz side: Spaven x Sandunes.
  • Early sound: Downstream.

Why Sandunes matters

Few Indian electronic producers have built a catalogue this consistent across labels and countries: self-released early records, a collaboration on !K7, and an album on Tru Thoughts. Her records also show how far Indian electronic music has moved from the festival drop toward composition and live playing. For the wider scene, see Indian electronic music producers and Indian indie collabs.

FAQ

Who is Sandunes? Sanaya Ardeshir, a composer, producer and pianist from Mumbai.

What is Sandunes' latest album? The Ground Beneath Her Feet (17 November 2023), released on Tru Thoughts.

How many Sandunes albums are there? Three: Downstream (2016), Spaven x Sandunes with Richard Spaven (2020) and The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2023), plus several EPs.

Who sings on The Surge? Ramya Pothuri, who also co-wrote and co-produced the song.

What is the album title The Ground Beneath Her Feet a reference to? Her site notes that it shares its name with a Salman Rushdie novel.

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