Eliot Paulina Sumner is an English musician, actor, and electronic music producer. Sumner's debut album, The Constant, was released under the band name I Blame Coco, while solo work has been released under the name Eliot Sumner. Sumner is the child of musician Sting and actress Trudie Styler.
Career
I Blame Coco
Sumner began writing songs at the age of 15, and signed a multi-record deal with Island Records at age 17. Sumner spent six months writing and recording a debut album, The Constant, in Sweden with producer Klas Åhlund, keyboardist Emlyn Maillard, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Al Shux under the band name I Blame Coco. The album included elements of pop music, electronic music, ska, and punk. The first single, "Caesar", featured Swedish pop singerRobyn. The next single, "Self Machine", was released in July 2010. According to Christian Wåhlberg, Sumner's manager, Åhlund, had been keen to work with Sumner because he saw the "punk rocker" in them. Wåhlberg said that the electropop sound of the album was influenced by Darcus Beese, president of Island Records, and that if Sumner had signed to a different record label, the music would have been different.
Solo career
In 2014, Sumner said their music would be released under their birth name, Eliot Sumner. Later that year, they released the EP Information, and in 2016 the full album Information appeared. Sumner's contributions to other musicians' albums include vocals for the song "End of the Road" by Sway and the single "Splash" by Sub Focus. Sumner sang a cover version of the Radiohead song "Creep" with Clint Mansell for the soundtrack to the movie Filth.
Acting career
Sumner appeared briefly in the films Me Without You and Stardust. They made their adult acting debut in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen in 2020. They are set to appear in the upcoming James Bond filmNo Time to Die.
Personal life
Eliot Paulina Sumner is the child of musician Sting and actress Trudie Styler. Sumner was born in Pisa, Italy, grew up in Wiltshire, England, and was educated at Bryanston School and then the Fine Arts College in London. Sumner grew up at Lake House, the family estate near Stonehenge, and has two brothers and a sister, an older half-brother, and a half-sister. Family gave Sumner the nickname "Coco". Drawn to the outdoors, Sumner spent a lot of time alone in the woods. They were given their first guitar at age four or five, wrote their first song at age 13, and signed a record deal four years later. After recording and touring with I Blame Coco, they lived alone in a cottage in the Lake District of England and became interested in house music. Sumner also works as a DJ in European dance clubs under the moniker "Vaal". Sumner's sense of smell was lost after a brain injury in 2009. In December 2015, when asked if they identified with a particular gender, Sumner replied that they did not believe in gender labels. Sumner said in February 2020 that they prefer gender-neutral pronouns.
Awards and honours
I Blame Coco was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Virgin Media Music Awards in 2010.
