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Zaeden: Electronic Music and Indie Pop

Sahil Sharma, better known as Zaeden, is one of the rare Indian artists to have lived two musical lives — first as an EDM DJ-producer playing global festivals, then as a Hindi pop singer-songwriter. Born on 2 July 1995 in Gurgaon, Haryana, he has reinvented himself in public, and his audience followed him both times.

Early Life

Zaeden was born in Gurugram, India, and attended The Heritage School, where he played the tabla and piano throughout school. At the age of 14, he began performing as a DJ, making mixtapes and distributing them among his friends. He briefly studied mass communication at Amity University, Noida, before relocating to Mumbai to study sound engineering. He chose the stage name Zaeden because his given name felt too common, and the name suggested "out of the box thinking".

The DJ Years

In 2014, Zaeden released his first single, "Land of Lords". That same year, his remix of Coldplay's "Magic" aired on Dutch DJ Hardwell's radio show Hardwell On Air, making him one of the youngest DJs to be featured on the show. In 2015, he signed with Spinnin' Records and released the single "Yesterday" with American DJ Borgeous. In 2016, he was the closing act for David Guetta's concert in Mumbai, and in 2017 he opened for Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour in Mumbai. In 2018, he performed at Tomorrowland in Belgium, which he has called the peak of his journey as a DJ.

Becoming a Singer

On 5 September 2019, Zaeden released his first Hindi non-film song, "Tere Bina", followed by an acoustic version with Jonita Gandhi. The shift was, in his words, more of a personal evolution than a career move — as he grew, so did his voice, both literally and creatively. Becoming a singer-songwriter let him express things his DJ sets could not.

Genesis 1:1 and Beyond

In 2021, Zaeden released his debut album, Genesis 1:1, an 11-track project that cemented his status as a leading voice in Indian indie pop. He followed it with his sophomore album Zaeden 02 in 2024, finding a wider fan following than in his DJ days. His popular tracks include "Tere Bina", "5 AM", "Dreams", and "Deewana".

Why He Matters

Zaeden's reinvention is a lesson in following the music rather than the brand. He walked away from a successful DJ career at its peak to sing in Hindi — and proved that audiences reward honesty over comfort.

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