Som Wardner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Som Wardner

Som Wardner performing live
Background information
Birth name Som Wardner
Born Colombo, Sri Lanka
Origin London, UK
Genres Alternative rock, post-punk, post-grunge, shoegazing, nu gaze
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter, composer
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1999–present
Labels Euro: Infectious, Warner, PIAS
USA & Japan: Epic
Associated acts My Vitriol, Shock Syndrome
Notable instruments
Yamaha Pacifica
Gibson SG Junior

Som Wardner is a Sri Lankan-born British musician and socialite, best known as the frontman of the band My Vitriol.

Wardner was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and raised as a Sinhalese Buddhist. Noted for artistic abilities from an early age, Wardner had one of his art exhibitions opened by the President of Sri Lanka.

Wardner's family emigrated to the UK when he was 10 years old. He was educated at St. Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent where his family relocated to. As a teenager, he formed punk rock band Shock Syndrome with classmates, which went onto local popularity, but split upon departure of the three members to the University.

Wardner formed cult alternative rock band My Vitriol whilst a student at University College London. He was the sole composer on their critically acclaimed[1] album Finelines, released on Infectious Records (Warner Music Group) and Epic/Sony Music in the United States and Japan. The band had Top 40 hits in the UK, appearing on TV shows such as Top of the Pops, however Wardner called an unexpected hiatus for the group just as the act was breaking into the mainstream, leading to much speculation and mystery surrounding the group's departure from the spotlight.

Despite only one full length record to their name, the group have been credited with influencing many newer artists,[2] and ushering in an effect-laden genre labelled NuGaze, ironically a moniker coined humorously by Wardner during an interview in 2003.[3][4]

Wardner regrouped My Vitriol in 2006 to perform a sell out show at the 1,500 capacity Koko in London. The band have been performing since, going on to play prominent festival slots such as Download Festival, and headlining the Guilfest and Offset Festival. My Vitriol released 'A Pyrrhic Victory' EP, and a two sold-out UK tour followed in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, the band embarked upon headline tours across Europe, and performed two headline shows in Tokyo, Japan.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Metacritic Reviews of Finelines". Retrieved August 14, 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Kerrang 'Songs that changed my life'". Retrieved July 18, 2009. 
  3. ↑ Rogers, Jude (July 27, 2007). "Nu=Gaze". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Skey, Jamie (July 27, 2009). "Nu=Gaze". Southampton. Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.