Born on May 16, 1968, in Rome to a father who was one of the main producers in the 1970s Italian prog scene (and whose own father was a piano teacher), Niccolò Fabi began learning about music early in life, studying recording techniques at age three and classical piano at five. By 13, his interests had shifted to contemporary artists, and he played drums in a Police cover band and learned the acoustic guitar in order to sing songs by artists like Bob Dylan and James Taylor. Soon, he had moved to bass, playing in a funk band in high school, the whole time spending time in the studio with his father learning about the process of recording. In the early '90s, as a student in Rome studying medieval manuscripts, Fabi played in various clubs around the city, befriending and collaborating with fellow singer/songwriters like Max Gazzè and Riccardo Sinigallia. It was the latter who brought Fabi's demo to Virgin in 1996, setting him up for a deal.