Dualist Inquiry’s EP Daybreak not only represents the next stage in the composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist’s sonic evolution but also marks a period of personal exploration and growth. Written between November 2021 and February 2022 while the musician, aka Sahej Bakshi, and his wife were waiting for the birth of their first child, the songs—as he told his followers on social media—were the result of the artist “journeying inwards” and “drawing inspiration from the multitude of emotions I was feeling—wonder, fear, hope, isolation and courage, to name a few”. The EP’s title was partially inspired by a new hobby that Bakshi took up towards the end of last year: surfing. “I would leave before sunrise for [the beach], which is a 40-minute drive from my house,” he tells Apple Music. “[On the way] I would get to listen to music in a way that I haven’t ever had a chance to [do before], which was a very enriching experience for me. That routine was definitely part of the process of writing new music and, in a way, digging deeper into my own knowledge of electronic music.” Bakshi’s drives were soundtracked by DJ sets from his favourite artists like Dan Snaith (Caribou, Daphni), Four Tet and Jon Hopkins. He also listened to the output of European labels such as Ritmo Fatale and Moustache Records—influences that he admits crept into his work in the studio. He says he “listened to a lot of synthwave” because “it related to the broad family” of electronic music that he was listening to when he started out. “French house, French touch and the whole Daft Punk family of artists is basically how I learned electronic music,” he adds. As a result, Bakshi ended up leaning on synthesisers a lot more in the EP—almost as much, in fact, as he does on the guitar, which has frequently been his signature instrument. “I do still use the guitar,” he tells us, “but I’m enjoying the freshness of having a different instrument doing the heavy lifting.” The result is a collection of tracks that’s perhaps his most atmospheric to date. “There’s a coasting kind of nature to the EP,” he adds. “It just flows along. It’s like driving on a road. I actually think of this as driving music, in a sense.” Bakshi takes us through the making of the record, track by track. “Discovery” “[It represents the feeling you get] when you’re in a new landscape or terrain. The image that keeps coming to my mind is that you get somewhere, you’re going camping or something and it’s daylight, and you pitch a tent, and then you come out [of it] for the first time in the middle of the night and [see] how stunning the stars are and the sheer beauty [of it all]. It feels like a whole new environment. Maybe that’s a metaphor for the feeling of complete change and sort of reacquainting myself with my new reality, which is definitely tinged with hope but it also has the feeling of resolve and putting your best foot forward. “[Becoming a parent] is definitely a part of it because of how big a life event that has been. But at the same time, even for myself as an artist, I allowed myself to hit this big reset, especially when the pandemic started. There was a long period of just letting things be and really letting go of the past and looking forward with new eyes, with a fresh perspective. Because I had enough time to just do what I was doing without the regular pressures of being a professional musician. “I definitely went with an atmospheric approach where a lot of found sound was used, for example the sounds of children playing in a park, birds chirping in the morning and what I imagine walking into a cave full of fireflies sounds like. Fictional sounds that depict that walk in that new environment for me. The feeling that everything is going to sparkle around you and there are wonders around every corner.” “High & Dry” “[This track] is me being honest about feelings of helplessness or at times feeling out at sea [and] not [being] entirely comfortable, emotionally speaking. And finding some kind of resonance and solace in the vocals where [you hear a woman] singing ‘don’t leave me alone’. I retuned the vocals completely. I found the sample on an open-source repository. It was something that someone, I think, sang into their iPhone and put online. I just liked the emotion, the way she’s singing, ‘I’m begging you please….’ The way her voice trails off… “I can think of a really huge number of situations that can make me feel like that on any given day. I was exploring [a sense of] helplessness, of being in the state of complete surrender and loss of control, where you feel like you’re hurtling towards something and you don’t really know what that is. But also you want more agency. “This was one of those pieces that came about in a really familiar way. This was me just being my own self and throwing something together for my own fun and private enjoyment in the studio. The whole goal is to try to write as honestly as I can. By honestly, I mean writing whatever I find most evocative of my emotions and whatever I find most soothing or comforting or healing.” “Friendly Voices” “It’s like the recovery from ‘High & Dry’, when you perhaps realise that you’re not all alone. There are friendly voices whispering into your subconsciousness. These could be your internal voice, your support system, your friend—whoever’s there to give you a few words of encouragement. “I guess you could say it’s the most dance-friendly song on the EP. I definitely didn’t intend it that way. This one is that chapter where the walk is continuing and you’re basically moving forward. There’s a sense of those friendly voices that come and help you along your way. They’re speaking and the scenery begins to reflect that. It’s dance-y because the beat is more confident and sure-footed. And the whole thing is moving with a certain momentum and energy and there’s this feeling of strength, almost.” “Two Worlds” “This one is definitely me expressing the intensity of things in general. It feels quite cinematic, like the day of reckoning for somebody [when] all of their demons are gathered in one place waiting to meet them. This is the point where all the preparation and all of the knowledge and everything will be tested. I really felt this mood of showing up for battle—and prevailing. It has that euphoria. “I actually had beats running a lot more heavily through the song and the live version is very compatible with a rumbling 4/4 treatment. But I actually stepped back from that, because removing a lot of the kicks and removing that rhythm lent this weightlessness and almost like a slow-motion, bullet-time kind of vibe through it, which culminates in these really massive drum rolls. That’s a bit of an homage to Dire Straits and Pink Floyd—bands that really create an atmosphere on stage. I see [this] as a set-closer. It has an air of finality, like a conclusion.”