Lyrically, the track explores emotional inadequacy and the exhausting games we play for affection. Centered on the devastating line “If being more enigmatic makes you happy, that is tragic”, its deliberately looping structure mirrors the obsessive cycles of the mind — all while maintaining a punchy, haunting energy that makes it impossible not to move to.
“This song is about feeling like you’re not good enough for someone and having to play it cool to win their affection,” the band explains. “We wanted it to feel quite repetitive to signify how my thoughts kept circling. ‘You talk for hours’ is actually about the thoughts in my own brain.”
The creative spark for “Habit” came in the wake of a breakup, built around its central lyric. The track took on a new life during debdepan’s artistic residency at Westway Lab in Portugal, where a week-long collaboration with Portuguese electronic artist/DJ Phaser pushed the self-described “untrained musicians” into fresh sonic territory. What began as a melancholic idea was transformed by a driving beat that perfectly framed the song’s bittersweet edge. Final recording took place with Mike Collins in Ramsgate and was completed at London’s Strongroom Studios with producer James Minas.
As the first glimpse into Lovers & Others, the track sets the tone for a collection that chronicles the complexities of love, identity, and friendship through debdepan’s dramatised lens. Written entirely in the year since the duo relocated to Margate’s thriving creative community, the EP balances introspective vulnerability with a “pretty sad girl but also kind of party” duality — a reflection of late-night shifts in the town’s buzzing nightlife scene paired with long, contemplative coastal walks.
Where OMEN established their dark pop credentials, Lovers & Others sees debdepan lean deeper into dance-driven arrangements without losing their grunge-inspired bite. The result is a refined, genre-blurring sound that is as emotionally charged as it is physically irresistible.
Formed in March 2022 after writing together in lockdown, the Margate-based pair Chelsea and Grace quickly made their mark through Pie Factory Music’s Emerging Artists programme, leading to the release of their breakthrough single “Darkest Hour” in September 2022. The track gained radio play across the U.S. and Europe, breaking into the Deutsche Alternative Charts and earning the duo a publishing and label deal with Archangelo Music.
Since then, debdepan’s live reputation has soared, with standout performances at Westway Lab (Portugal), Pro Weekend (Spain), and Focus Wales, alongside support slots for Cumgirl8, Miki Berenyi, and most recently, Pete Doherty on his 2025 UK tour. Their music continues to receive crucial support from BBC Introducing and BBC 6Music, cementing their position as one of the UK’s most exciting new alternative acts.
“Habit” is released August 28th, 2025 via Silent Kid Records, with Lovers & Others following in November. UK and German live dates will accompany the release.
