Nishant Ramteke

Nishant’s engagement with music began at a very early age, when, as an adolescent he heard Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice being played through a cassette player. He began mimicking his vocal style and that propelled him to take up the Sufi style of singing. He went on to learn Indian classical music as well, but never really fell in love with it, as his heart still resided with qawali music form. He continued his musical journey throughout his teen years focusing only on Sufi music and the omnipresent Bollywood music, with no particular interest in contemporary western music. Till the day, a friend in college introduced him to Porcupine Tree’s music, namely the song ‘Lazarus’. Nishant was intrigued by the peculiar arrangement patterns of the prog-rock genre and over time delved deeper into the music and the vision of Steven Wilson. Mr. Wilson remains a huge influence on his music apart from his alma mater. While pursuing his master’s in Sound Design at Film and Television Institute of India, he came up with the blueprint of his first two music projects. During his time there, his engagement with different forms of arts and the medium of films enabled him to think along the lines of a narrative and helped him in writing and structuring an album with a consistent theme. That, combined with the technical resources of the school at hand, proved to be a breeding ground for his musical persona.