Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Ketato Nergadze
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory is from when I was about four or five years old. My parents bought an upright piano and brought it into our home. I remember it becoming my favorite “toy” and I spent most of my time with it, figuring out melodies by ear from things I had heard before.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
When I was fourteen, I accidentally found two very beautiful chords on that same piano. I felt an immediate urge to turn them into a song, because I didn’t want those chords to just disappear. I remember struggling a bit with writing lyrics — I decided to write in English, which isn’t my native language, so it was quite a challenge. But I really enjoyed the process. After that moment, I realized that songwriting was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
My current project is my debut LP album, which I recorded together with my band. I formed the band in January 2025 because I wanted to bring songs to life that felt too empty without a band arrangement. We worked on the album during the summer in my bedroom studio, and it’s currently in the mixing stage. The album is called Raw, and thematically it brings together songs about personal experiences, trauma, inner battles, and observations. I chose the title Raw because every song is raw — both in its arrangements and in its recording style. The sound is intentionally unpolished, unlike much of today’s music, and stylistically it carries a nostalgic early-2000s vibe. Interestingly, raw spelled backwards becomes war, which reflects the album’s themes of inner conflict, trauma, and introspection.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I would ask them to imagine a blend of acoustic instruments and electronic textures, wrapped in a melancholic, warm, and nostalgic atmosphere.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Learning how to produce my own music completely transformed my workflow. I enjoy producing just as much as songwriting. Creating music on my own helped define my musical style and sharpen my artistic voice. Today, it doesn’t really matter what genre I’m working in — whether it’s indie alternative or a jazz ballad — everything is connected by my personal taste and intuition, which naturally ties everything together.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
From a production perspective, I work in Logic Pro — it’s the most comfortable DAW for me. A condenser microphone is essential, as I often record acoustic instruments as the main rhythmic foundation of my songs.
Another crucial instrument for me is my Prophet synth. I started producing with it, and even though there are countless sound libraries available, I love that the Prophet is analog. You can get endless variations from a single sound, and it’s never exactly the same twice. Because of that, I see it almost as a living organism, and I use it almost everywhere.
When it comes to songwriting, there aren’t strict requirements. I usually write with an instrument, but many times I’ve written songs without one — on the street or on a train. In those moments, recording ideas on my phone is vital. Forgetting a good idea is genuinely painful. As David Lynch once said, someone could almost kill themselves over that — and he wasn’t being ironic.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Elliott Smith has been my discovery of 2025, and I’ve been listening to him a lot. I feel a very strong connection to him as a person. I can’t fully explain why, but his world fits perfectly into mine.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
My personal experiences are exactly the ideas behind my songs.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I don’t really think about listeners taking a specific emotion or message. I don’t see my music as something purely personal, or as something that fully belongs to me. I don’t believe I completely know the messages within it.
My creative process feels more like dictation — the universe dictates, and my mission is simply to listen carefully and translate it into form in this reality. I don’t fully know what the messages are myself, and I can’t define what they should mean for others. The only thing I can say is that a higher power wants me to be doing this.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Being present, enjoying the process, calmness, honesty, and the courage to say in lyrics what would be difficult to say in everyday conversation. Music has taught me responsibility — to give it what it truly needs.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I don’t have a specific dream venue or festival. Any space that is acoustically well-designed, built with care for the artist’s sound, carries its own concept, and holds an interesting energy — that would be my dream place to perform.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke, Zero 7, George Harrison, Aphex Twin, Stevie Wonder — and a million others
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Linktree – https://shorturl.at/cMzdy
your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I dream of playing shows abroad with my band. I want us to tour — traveling and performing at the same time would be the perfect scenario. I would also love to perform with a symphonic orchestra.
Another big dream is to go to the U.S. and play intimate acoustic concerts in small venues.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope they discover the music
