Biography

Blending dramatic indie electronica and woozy alt-R&B, Warhola is the solo project of Belgian musician Oliver Symons (Bazart, Noble Tea). A native of Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor in the province of Antwerp, Symons first found the national spotlight at the age of 15 as a competitor for the Belgian entry in the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. He won and presented his song "Shut Up" to an international audience that November. Less than two years after his 11th-place finish, he founded the indie rock band Noble Tea with guitarist Emiel Van Den Abbeele, guitarist/keyboard player Daan Schepers, bass player Moreno Claes, and drummer Antony Foscez. They released the Solitary Motions EP in 2012. In 2014, Symons finished his studies at PXL-Music in Hasselt, where he established Warhola. The project's off-kilter debut single, "Unravel," surfaced in March 2015. Symons also formed the synth-friendly indie pop group Bazart in 2015, and they released an eponymous EP that November. The band reached number 12 on Belgium's singles chart with "Goud" in early 2016, and Symons issued Warhola's debut EP, Aura, that April. Later the same year, the Bazart EP reached number 42 on the Belgian album chart. Behind the additional Top 20 singles "Chaos" and "Nacht," Bazart's PIAS-issued full-length debut, Echo, hit number one. During this time, Symons was also establishing himself as a producer for acts such as Tsar B and Felix Pallas, and he returned to his solo project in 2017, releasing the single "Jewels." The hip-hop-infused "Promise" followed in March of 2018. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi