MĀYĀ by Nicolas Mortelmans

Nicolas Mortelmans is a passionate sitar player and multi-instrumentalist from Antwerp, Belgium. Nicolas is a fusion sitar player and student of Indian classical music. In 2010, he bought his first sitar and left for India. He fell in love with the mystical sounds of the sitar and immersed himself in it. For the next 7 years, he went to India every winter to study the traditional way with different sitar masters. Since 2017, he has been trained by the world-renowned Anoushka Shankar.

Nicolas sees music as a world language that can melt away the differences between cultures and transcend words, a universal force that transcends all limits of rational thought. With his music, he tries to create a unity that can connect us to the core of existence, an unending search for the deepest sounds of the soul that can expand our consciousness. Improvisation is an important part of his sitar playing that connects us to the present.

Live, Nicolas plays an electric sitar with which he tries to build a bridge between his recent love for Indian music and his roots in rock, jazz and electronica. Nicolas has an open mind and literally any musical style or tradition can inspire him. His concerts can be both meditative and explosive.

MĀYĀ is his debut album as a leader of his own band.

Nicolas is a fusion sitar player from Belgium & student of Anoushka Shankar. Nicolas sees music as a global language. Live, Nicolas plays an electric sitar with which he tries to build a bridge between his recent love for Indian music and his roots in rock, jazz and electronica. Nicolas has toured Europe and Asia several times. MĀYĀ (2024/WERF Records) & SPACE (2025/ Rotkat Records)