Quick Biography

School and bands

Jay was born in Exeter, Devon on 4th August 2000. Son of ex-Devonair radio presenter Gordon Sommerville. Since a young age, Jay has always wanted to play instruments, surrounded by a family of music oriented individuals, like his father, and uncle, bouncing from guitar to taiko drumming in primary school, he eventually found drumming when his teacher showed it off in a music lesson in secondary school, and from then on he realised this is what he wanted to do.

Jay’s school life was nothing spectacular, getting alright grades in GCSEs and having a small friend circle. It was after secondary school and going into college that his love for music started to take off, going to Exeter College in 2016 to study Music Performance, and Music Production, both at BTEC Level 3. Here he got to start using equipment and be more hands on with the drums, microphones, and mixing consoles than ever before, solidifying his passion that he wanted to become involved with music as a career. Finishing his time there with a Distinction* in music production and a Merit in music performance.

In 2018, Jay moved out of Exeter, to go to Plymouth for his degree in Music Production & Sound Engineering at dBs Music. Here he met a lot of like minded individuals that shared a passion for music and production, which led him to join a couple of local metal and rock bands, slowly making a name for himself in the local music scene as a competent drummer in Plymouth. This led him to Soultone, which agreed to endorse him after seeing his skill and the bands he was playing with. With a cymbal endorsement backing him up, he is focused on becoming a dedicated, and driven musician who can be looked up to and inspire other drummers in the future.

On the side, he also picked up guitar and bass to accompany his musical repertoire with help from his teachers in college, who encouraged him to learn. This was due to a module that he needed to compose a couple of original songs, and with only drums, he found that a little difficult. However, he started to play basic chords and built his skill up enough to start writing his own compositions for himself, and for other people (which can be heard in the portfolio page).