Faris Badwan
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Faris Adam Derar Badwan (born 21 September 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the Horrors, and more recently as half of
Cat's Eyes Cat's Eyes are an alternative pop duo formed in early 2011 by vocalist Faris Badwan (known for his work with English indie rock band the Horrors) and Italian-Canadian soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira. History The band ...
.


Early life

Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and English mother, Badwan grew up in
Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
and Hillmorton,
Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
along with three brothers. Badwan attended the public school
Arnold Lodge School 'Look to the end' , established = 1864 , type = Independent day school , gender = Coeducational , lower_age = 4 , upper_age = 18 , enrolment = 300 , head_label = Headteacher , head = David Preston , chair_label = Directors , chair = Gar ...
in Leamington Spa before obtaining a scholarship in 1999 to the exclusive public
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
Rugby School, where he met future Horrors bassist and
synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
player Tom Cowan, also known as Tom Furse. When Badwan was 12 he became friends with future music producer
Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
. Continuing his education, Badwan moved to London to study
illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2004, eventually deferring from his studies to concentrate on his musical career with the band.Paphides, Pete (2006)
The rocking Horrors show
, '' The Times'', 18 August 2006, retrieved 2010-11-06


Musical career

Badwan is best known as vocalist for the Horrors, an alternative rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005. Their debut album, ''
Strange House ''Strange House'' is the debut studio album by English rock band the Horrors, released on 5 March 2007 by Loog Records. Content The band announced the title via a MySpace bulletin on 11 January 2007. The album subtitle, "Psychotic Sounds f ...
'', was released in 2007. Badwan became notorious for his onstage activities, which have featured violence, the use of black paint to mark audience members, scaling anything available and using items found in the stage area to antagonise the audience.Horrors Singer Attacked During CMJ Performance
, ''
SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', 1 November 2006, retrieved 2010-11-06
Badwan and his band were thrown out of venue Great Scott in Boston in 2007 after he accidentally smashed a ceramic bust of Elvis Presley on stage.The Horrors Thrown Out Of Concert Venue
, contactmusic.com, 16 March 2007, retrieved 2010-11-06
Prior to forming the Horrors, Faris took part in pseudo-punk band the Rotters, named after the novel '' The Rotters' Club'' by
Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, '' What a ...
. Faris released a one-off single under the pseudonym of Lumina, teaming up with ex- Ipso Facto member Cherish Kaya to record a cover of the Black Lips song "I'll Be With You".The Horrors' Faris Badwan to release Black Lips cover
, '' NME'', 7 August 2009, retrieved 2010-11-06
This recording appeared as a
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
on the Black Lips single "Drugs". Faris appeared on the TV show '' Soccer AM'', scoring in the spot kick challenge. He talked about his love of football, confirming that he is a Blackburn Rovers supporter. In early 2015, Faris and his brother Tarik Badwan (lead singer of
Loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
), announced that they would be launching RAFT Records, in partnership with Vinyl Factory. They collaborated with renowned designer Marc Donaldson to create the label's aesthetic. The first release was a four-track double 7" EP featuring
Skinny Girl Diet Skinny Girl Diet is a British political punk band, often described as riot grrrl, formed in London, England. The group consists of singer, songwriter and guitarist Delilah Holliday and drummer Ursula Holliday. Biography Sisters Delilah and ...
, Niqab, Puffer and Jet Black. On September 21, 2020, American hyperpop artist Dorian Electra announced their project, ''
My Agenda ''My Agenda'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Dorian Electra, released on October 16, 2020. Promoted by the singles " Sorry Bro (I Love You)", "Give Great Thanks", "Gentleman", "M'Lady", "Edgelord", and the title track, ...
'', with Badwan appearing as a featured artist on the track “Iron Fist”. The album was released on October 16, 2020.


Cat's Eyes

In 2011, Faris collaborated with Canadian opera singer
Rachel Zeffira Rachel Zeffira (born Rachel Anne Santesso) is a Canadian soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist, currently based in London, England. She is also one half of the duo Cat's Eyes, the other being Faris Badwan of the Horrors. Life and work E ...
under the moniker Cat's Eyes, releasing the ''Broken Glass'' EP and a self-titled full-length album. In February 2015, Cat's Eyes released the soundtrack for Peter Strickland's film ''
The Duke of Burgundy ''The Duke of Burgundy'' is a 2014 British erotic romance drama film written and directed by Peter Strickland, and starring Sidse Babett Knudsen as Cynthia and Chiara D'Anna as Evelyn. The film was screened at various film festivals, including ...
''.


Production

In 2016 Badwan produced "Stained", the debut single by acclaimed London-based band,
HMLTD HMLTD are a British art punk band from London, formed in 2015. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Henry Spychalski, guitarist Duc Peterman, bassist Nico Mohnblatt, drummer Achilleas Sarantaris and keyboardist Seth Evans. Background ...
. In February 2017,
Hercules & Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, d ...
released the single "Controller", featuring Badwan on vocals. In 2018, the Norwich-based duo Let's Eat Grandma released their second album, "
I'm All Ears ''I'm All Ears'' is the second studio album by the British musical duo Let's Eat Grandma, released on 29 June 2018, through Transgressive Records. Four singles preceded the release of the album: "Hot Pink", "Falling Into Me", "It's Not Just Me", ...
", featuring two songs co-written and produced by Badwan and
Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
, "Hot Pink" and "It's Not Just Me". The LP went on to win Album of the Year at the Q Awards, where Badwan presented the band with their award.


Artwork

Badwan's illustrations have also earned admiration; his artwork has been featured on releases by the Horrors, the Charlatans and
Hatcham Social Hatcham Social are an English indie pop band. The group first met and formed in New Cross, London in 2006 and have since released a string of singles on indie labels, followed by three studio albums. With the debut album, they made headway in th ...
,The Horrors' Faris Badwan for Milan art show
, '' NME'', 16 October 2010, retrieved 2010-11-06
and in '' Vice'' magazine. His "Drawing a Straight Number Nine" exhibition in London featured a drawing series of 100 new works by the frontman.The Horrors' Faris Badwan to exhibit his art in London
, '' NME'', 7 July 2010, retrieved 2010-11-06
Due to its popularity, it was then taken to Milan, Italy. In September 2021, Badwan's new exhibition, "Call and Response", opened at the Masterpiece Gallery in Dubai. A collection of paintings inspired by phone conversations during the pandemic, Badwan "utilised each call to document and decipher the unintentional interpretations of conversation". In an interview with Emirati publication The National, Badwan explained, “I’ve always been interested in the looseness and natural feeling of the drawings you make when you’re on the phone – when your mind is completely clear and you are having a conversation, meanwhile your hand is engaged in some parallel dialogue.”


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badwan, Faris 1986 births Living people English male singers English rock guitarists English rock singers English rock keyboardists English people of Palestinian descent Musicians from Kent People from Bexley People from Warwickshire People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Central Saint Martins English male guitarists 21st-century English singers 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male singers