Sunday Driver (UK)
Encyclopedia
Sunday Driver are a Cambridge and London based fusion band with English folk and classical Indian influences. In 2009 they became popular within the UK Steampunk
scene.
Sunday Driver were formed in the summer of 2000, though lead singer Chandrika "Chandy" Nath had earlier composed some of the songs whilst monitoring ice floes near the South Pole, during a field trip in Antarctica, collecting data for the British Antarctic Survey
.
An Arts Council
grant back in 2004 paid for training workshops with renowned sitar
ist Baluji Shrivastav.
In 2009, Sunday Driver were the opening band at the first Asylum Steampunk Festival, held at The Lawn Asylum
, Lincoln
, the same year they opened the Cambridge Folk Festival
. They also played the steampunk festival in 2010 and headlined the main Ball there in 2011.
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
scene.
History
"Sunday Driver" are named after a gene (SYD) originally found in fruit flies.Sunday Driver were formed in the summer of 2000, though lead singer Chandrika "Chandy" Nath had earlier composed some of the songs whilst monitoring ice floes near the South Pole, during a field trip in Antarctica, collecting data for the British Antarctic Survey
British Antarctic Survey
The British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....
.
An Arts Council
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
grant back in 2004 paid for training workshops with renowned sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
ist Baluji Shrivastav.
In 2009, Sunday Driver were the opening band at the first Asylum Steampunk Festival, held at The Lawn Asylum
The Lawn, Lincoln
The Lawn, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England is a notable Greek revival building constructed as a psychiatric hospital which now operates as a catering hall....
, Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, the same year they opened the Cambridge Folk Festival
Cambridge Folk Festival
The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. It occurs...
. They also played the steampunk festival in 2010 and headlined the main Ball there in 2011.
Albums
- Sacred Cow / The Man from Bombay (2001) (Demo Compilation)
- More than Flies (2002) (EP)
- Underground (2003) (EP)
- In the City of Dreadful Night (2008) (Debut Full Length Album)