Some artists stumble into music. Others are called to it long before they ever understand why. For Rentiér, music wasn’t a choice he made one day. It was something that lived quietly inside him from the beginning.
Born and raised in Nagaland, India, Rentiér grew up surrounded by sounds, stories, and emotions he didn’t yet have the language to express. He sang before he ever thought of singing as a skill, but it wasn’t until the world shut down during the 2020 pandemic that he finally discovered what his voice really had to say. With nowhere to go, no distractions, and a head full of thoughts, he began writing songs. What started as a way to release emotions became the foundation for an entirely new chapter of his life.
Music That Crosses Borders
If there’s one moment that shaped Rentiér’s destiny, it came wrapped in the glossy melodies of ABBA. As a child, he obsessively replayed his parents’ cassette tapes, mimicking every harmony and inflection, convinced by his cousin that ABBA was a local band living nearby. When he learned the truth, that they were Swedish, it lit a fuse in his imagination.
It was the first time he understood the superpower of music. It doesn’t care where you’re from. It just connects.
That realization planted a seed he couldn’t ignore. By fourteen, still deep in his sad boy era (which he proudly admits he never grew out of), he stepped onto the stage for the first time. Singing was one thing, but songwriting was something else entirely. He became obsessed with how songs were built, studying interviews with legends like Mariah Carey and Timbaland, fascinated by how they created entire sonic worlds.
“So I decided to try it myself,” he says, “just to see if I sucked or not.”
Spoiler alert. He didn’t.
A Sound That Doesn’t Sit Still
Rentiér creates alternative pop and RnB, but that’s only the starting point. His music pulls from everything he loves. Textures, moods, stories, emotions. He blends them into something uniquely his own. Genre, for him, is just a toolbox.
He plays piano, though he’ll be the first to say he isn’t trying to be a virtuoso. The piano is a place where his ideas are born, where melodies and emotions first take shape.
His inspirations span eras and styles. Beyoncé, Jeff Buckley, Björk, Sade, Sufjan Stevens, Ralfi Pagán, Aaliyah, and Doja Cat. He also grew up idolizing powerhouse vocalists like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Sam Cooke, Luther Vandross, and Freddie Mercury.
From Cloud 8 1/2 to The Shape of Wonder
Rentiér officially stepped into the music scene when he released his first single, Cloud 8 1/2, produced by his friend Rina. It was a promising start that hinted at a much bigger universe brewing in his imagination.
That universe came to life with his debut EP, The Shape of Wonder, released on November 28 and produced by his friend Hjen. The project isn’t just a collection of songs. It’s a narrative. A human falls in love with an alien, their love burns bright, and then comes the inevitable end. The EP blends atmospheric sounds, spoken word, and seamless transitions, creating a cinematic, otherworldly experience. It’s music you don’t just hear. You enter it.
He dreams of turning the project into a visual world someday, but as he humorously puts it, quoting Prince, “I ain’t got no money.”
The Moment Everything Changed
For someone who always felt like an outsider, sharing music publicly wasn’t just intimidating. It felt surreal. He imagined ridiculous scenarios. Spotify glitching his voice so he’d sound like a distressed crow. Random strangers reporting his music out of spite. Total silence.
Instead, something beautiful happened. People connected with the music. They felt it. They heard themselves in it.
That support has become the most rewarding moment of his journey so far. What began as a private outlet has turned into something much larger. A community he never thought he’d find.
What’s Next for Rentiér
Right now, Rentiér is focused on performing the EP live, sharing the energy and emotion behind every song. He wants listeners to build memories with his music the way he once did with those old ABBA tapes.
New releases may not be dropping immediately, but this is not the end of his story. It’s just the beginning.
“Stay tuned. In the meantime, keep streaming The Shape of Wonder.”