Ashton Nyte is a South African-born singer, songwriter, producer, composer and front man of the South African alternative rock band The Awakening. Nyte has released six solo albums both as Ashton Nyte and Ashton Nyte and the Accused in addition to his numerous releases as The Awakening. He is considered to be a pioneer of alternative music in South Africa, and has been described as "something of a musical genius" for his typical method of composing, playing and recording each instrument himself on most of his releases. Nyte is widely known in South Africa for his chart-topping cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" and several other top singles. His signature style combines baritone vocals akin to David Bowie and Johnny Cash, with instrumentation that ranges from alternative rock to post punk to Americana and even lo-fi indie rock. Nyte has been based in the USA since 2009.