How they Began
Srikar Nanduri and Manas Panchavati have known each other since childhood, thanks to their families' long-standing friendship. In middle school, Srikar formed close bonds with Ahbi Manhass and Tanmay Joshi, quickly becoming friends with all three. When they transitioned into high school, Srikar and Ahbi attended a different school from Manas and Tanmay, where they met Marco Luka. The four friends, Srikar, Ahbi, Marco, and Tanmay, shared a passion for music, leading Ahbi to experiment with music production using FL Studio.
In 10th grade, the trio of Ahbi, Srikar, and Tanmay secretly gathered at Ahbi’s house while his parents were away. They came together to create an original R&B beat that sampled the song “Tum Se Hi” from the film “Jab We Met”. When Srikar’s mother called him home for dinner, he asked if his friends could stay the night, and after some persuasion with both Srikar’s and Ahbi’s parents, they agreed. They continued working on their song, using couch pillows to reduce echo while recording with wired headphones that had a built-in microphone.
After they released their sampled song, Manas joined in, since Srikar knew he could sing. Marco, initially the group's photographer and graphic designer, contributed by creating cover art for their tracks. The dynamic collaboration energized their music-making process, and the group was soon impressed when Marco shared his cover of Khalid’s “Hopeless,” which received encouragement from Srikar.
The band decided to feature Marco in one of their early songs, “Go Away,” which they released on SoundCloud. After releasing their first song, the group brainstormed names during a PlayStation call and ultimately chose “Weston Estate,” inspired by the neighborhood across from Tanmay’s house. Thus, the foundation of their musical journey was established, marking the beginning of their shared adventure in music.