Indie duo Abhidaan talks about their new single kya mere ho

Abhimanyu Singh Champawat: There were several reasons why kya mere ho came to life for us. First and foremost, it’s a song about long-distance love and the intimacy that exists in missing someone. Both of us connected deeply with those emotions and drew from our own experiences while writing it. Secondly, before kya mere ho, we had released a number of upbeat, feel-good songs about being in love. This time, we wanted to explore a different side of that experience — something more delicate and vulnerable, yet emotionally weighty. We wanted to capture the longing, uncertainty and quiet moments that often accompany love from a distance.

Vardaan Dobhal: There wasn’t a specific reason why we wanted to tell this story. It happened very naturally. We knew we wanted to write about love and it’s a subject we both enjoy exploring through our music. A lot of our songwriting comes from our own experiences and emotions and asking for reassurance from someone you love is such a vulnerable thing. Sometimes, that’s all you really need — a simple reminder that the person is there, that they choose you and that the love is real. That’s the beauty of songwriting. It doesn’t always begin with a message you’re trying to communicate. Sometimes it begins with a feeling and you simply follow it wherever it wants to go. One of our favourite things about the song is how the story evolves by the end. The entire song revolves around a question — ‘kya mere ho?’ It’s filled with longing, uncertainty, overthinking and the need for reassurance. It’s that anxious voice inside your head wondering whether the person you love truly feels the same way. But towards the end, something changes. The question slowly becomes its own answer and turns into ‘haan mere ho, mere.’ For us, that's the emotional resolution of the song. The person finally stops questioning and realises that the love was already there. The reassurance they were searching for had been present all along. In many ways, the song is a journey from doubt to certainty, from anxiety to acceptance. That’s what makes it so special to us.

Abhimanyu: Funny story — when we first started working on the song, we imagined it as a very stripped-down acoustic track. We were listening to a lot of singer-songwriter music at the time and thought we’d make something in that space. The one thing we were sure about was that it had to have beautiful love lyrics. As we began experimenting with the production, though, we realised the song could go in so many different sonic directions. So, we slowly built a world around it. There wasn’t a specific line that came first, but once we had the opening line of the song, everything really took off from there. We knew exactly what emotion we were chasing. After that, it became less about forcing lyrics and more about following the feeling wherever it wanted to go.

Vardaan: The process of making kya mere ho was very different because most of the songs we’d made before were more upbeat and energetic. Even when the lyrics explored vulnerable or emotional themes, we were naturally drawn towards adding a sense of bounce, movement and optimism to the music. With kya mere ho, we took a completely different approach. We focused on writing lyrics that were simple yet deeply emotional and paired them with a soundscape that felt atmospheric, immersive and, at times, almost explosive. We wanted the music to carry the same emotional weight as the words and truly translate the feeling of longing and intimacy that sits at the heart of the song. The entire process pushed us out of our comfort zone and became a valuable learning experience. It helped us grow as artistes and, more importantly, led us to a sonic space that feels incredibly natural to us and closely aligned with the identity we’re trying to build as Abhidaan.

Abhimanyu: One of the reasons we were drawn to alternative rock for kya mere ho was that the song’s emotions demanded a larger sonic canvas. The lyrics are intentionally simple and direct, but they carry a lot of emotional depth. We wanted the music to expand those feelings and reveal the deeper layers of emotion within the song. Alternative rock gave us the freedom to explore those contrasts. There are moments of calm, intimacy and reflection, but also moments that feel overwhelming and chaotic — much like the experience of missing someone you love. The atmospheric textures, dynamic shifts and explosive sections allowed us to translate those emotions into sound in a way that felt honest and natural. More than anything, we weren’t trying to fit into a particular genre. We were simply following what the song needed. As we experimented, we realised that this blend of emotional songwriting, atmospheric production and alternative-rock influences felt very authentic to us.

Vardaan: The best thing about our creative process is that we’re friends first and musicians second. Because of that, communication has always come very naturally to us and we’re really grateful for it. After spending so many years creating together, we’ve come to understand each other really well. We can almost predict when the other person is going to say yes to an idea and when they’re going to say no. One rule we’ve always had is that we only keep what both of us genuinely love. Even if it’s a tiny lyric, a melody or a production choice, if one of us isn’t fully convinced, it doesn’t make it into the song. We think that’s one of the reasons our music feels so authentic. We both write individually as well, so there are always plenty of voice notes and lyric drafts floating around. Sometimes one of us brings an idea to the table and then we finish the journey of the song together. Other times, like with kya mere ho, the process starts together from the very beginning. A great example is a video we have from one of the writing sessions for kya mere ho. We spent almost 30 minutes trying to write a single line. When you watch the video, it’s actually quite beautiful. Both of us are suggesting ideas, interpreting the same emotion in different ways, disagreeing, building on each other’s thoughts and slowly finding a line that feels right to both of us. That’s pretty much our entire songwriting process in one moment. The same thing happens with production. We’ll sit in a room, throw around ideas, experiment and see where the song wants to go. Over the years, we’ve found a creative rhythm that works really well for us.

Abhimanyu: A lot has changed, honestly. We can hear ourselves growing up through these songs. Kahan Chali was our debut single. We were still in our first year of college and simply wanted to put out music. It sounded exciting to release our own songs. We had no grand plans. We were learning everything as we went along. We had friends in college who helped us with everything — cover art, video assets, photographs, all of it. We’re always grateful to them because they believed in us when we were just starting out. Over the years, we’ve become much more confident in who we are as artistes. Earlier, we were mostly focused on songwriting. We had ideas for how we wanted things to sound, but we didn’t really know how to produce them ourselves, so we worked with other producers. One of the biggest changes has been learning production and developing our own sonic identity. Our sound has matured a lot — not just in terms of production quality, but also in the choices we make, the sounds we pick, the arrangements we create, the emotions we choose to highlight and even the way we approach songwriting. We understand our strengths much better now. At the same time, we’ve never stopped experimenting. Besharam Iraaday and Laapata had a completely different energy from some of our other releases and we love that. We never want to feel restricted by one style or genre. If there’s one thing that feels different today, it’s that we have a much clearer understanding of what Abhidaan sounds and feels like. With kya mere ho, it felt as though all the pieces came together — the songwriting, the production, the emotions and the storytelling. It feels like a very honest representation of who we are right now. More than anything, though, we’ve grown as people. What’s really special is that people haven’t just watched us grow as artistes — they’ve watched us grow as friends too. Abhidaan has always been more than music for us. It’s been a journey of two best friends figuring things out together and we’re grateful that so many people have chosen to be a part of that journey.

Vardaan: The biggest thing we’ve learned is that life doesn’t reserve anything for you. Nobody is sitting there waiting to hand you opportunities. You have to go out, knock on doors, put yourself in different rooms, stay curious and create opportunities for yourself. As independent artistes, that’s been one of the most valuable lessons for us. You need to approach your goals with a sense of urgency and keep moving, even when things aren’t happening as quickly as you’d like. Performing at festivals has also taught us a lot about gratitude. Standing in front of thousands of people is something we used to dream about when we were kids making music in our rooms. Whenever we’re on a big stage, there’s always a moment where we look at each other and think, “This is what we always wanted to do.” We genuinely love performing. Both of us fell in love with music because of the idea of sharing songs with people and hearing them sing those songs back to us. That's still one of the most special feelings in the world. Festivals are especially exciting because you have to earn the crowd’s attention. Not everyone there knows your music, so you have to engage them, connect with them and make them feel something within a short set. That challenge has taught us a lot as performers. Sharing stages with artistes like Anuv Jain and Raman Negi is also a reminder of how much more there is to achieve. You see artistes who have built something incredible and, instead of feeling intimidated, it motivates you. It reminds you that there’s still so much more to learn, create and accomplish. More than anything, those experiences push us to keep working harder. They remind us that we’re on the right path, but also that the journey is much bigger than where we are today. And honestly, that’s exciting.

Abhimanyu: We’re already planning our next release, which should be coming out within the next few months. kya mere ho helped us discover a sonic space that feels very natural to us, so listeners can expect our upcoming music to continue exploring similar emotional and sonic territory. This year, people can expect multiple releases from us. We’re constantly writing, experimenting and refining our sound,and we’re excited to share a lot more music in the coming months. We’re also working on a few collaborations that we’re looking forward to revealing soon. Alongside new music, we’re putting a lot of focus into developing our live show. As a duo, we’re exploring new setups and performance rigs to create a more immersive experience, even with just the two of us on stage, while working towards eventually assembling a full band. We’ve been experimenting with live looping, incorporating new gear and finding ways to make our performances feel bigger, more dynamic and more engaging for the audience. It’s a very exciting phase for us, both in terms of the music we’re creating and the live experience we’re building around it.