Artist Spotlight: Parekh & Singh made Kolkata sound like a dream-pop city, and then split

In February 2025, a Kolkata duo posted a short note on Instagram saying their interests and ambitions had drifted apart, that the band was closing a circle, and that the music would carry on. For fans of Parekh & Singh, it was the end of one of Indian indie's best-loved catalogues.

If Men I Trust, Beach House or Tame Impala's softer side lives on your phone, this is the Indian band to go back to. Nischay Parekh (vocals, guitar, synths) and Jivraj Singh (drums, electronics) met as teenagers at school in Kolkata. They released their debut Ocean independently in 2013, and the song that made them, "I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll", was re-released in 2016 when the UK label Peacefrog Records picked them up. Its video crossed two million YouTube views, a big number for an Indian indie band at the time.

Their sound is dreamy synths, loose drums and easy melodies, the kind of bedroom pop you can leave on all night.

Start here

"I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll" is the front door: sweet, a little goofy and instantly catchy.

"Ghost" (2017) is the sound of the band growing up. Slower and moodier, with a video that also passed two million views.

"Summer Skin" (November 2018) is the one for a late-night bus ride, warm and slightly faded at the edges.

"Sleepyhead" (March 2022) comes from their third and final album, The Night Is Clear, which they surprise-released on 29 August 2022. It is the closest thing to a goodbye they left us.

"Karma Police" (2020) is their cover of the Radiohead song. Worth hearing for what a different city does to a familiar chorus.

Why now

The band is over, but the catalogue is still live: Ocean, Science City (26 April 2019) and The Night Is Clear all sit on streaming. They went on hiatus in January 2024, and by February 2025 the split was official. New listeners can still hear the whole arc, from a school-friends project to a polished third album.

Nischay Parekh has started again under the name TV Dinner, whose first single "Guessing Games" is a quieter acoustic song he wrote in 2016 and finished years later. A second single, "Non Believers", followed in April 2025. Jivraj Singh has said he is stepping into other areas of interest.

If you like them, try

• Kamakshi Khanna: she sang with the duo on "Chhan Chhan Chhan" (January 2022), and her own songs live in the same soft-focus world.
• Peter Cat Recording Co.: another Delhi band that never sounded like anyone else, shadowier and more jazz-leaning than Parekh & Singh.
• Prateek Kuhad: you probably know him already, but if you only know the hits, go deeper into the quieter tracks.

More on the duo on their ADMC artist page.