Ollie tunmer - drums & percussion

To download Ollie's CV please click here

The early years

Ollie received his first drum lesson when he was 10. Prior to this he had been hitting pots, pans and whatever else he could find with a pair of wooden spoons. His teacher gave him a great foundation for rhythm theory and stick technique. For a 10 year old, this sounds slightly dull but Ollie has been grateful ever since that he stuck with this for a while before moving on to the kit.

The music scene in Brighton has always thrived and there were, and are countless opportunities to get involved with it. Ollie remembers being the youngest attendant of a Drumathon at Sussex University. One of the guest performers was Luke Cresswell, co-founder of STOMP who would, many years later, become Ollie's boss.

School and college

Throughout his time at Longhill High School and the East Sussex Academy of Music, playing opportunities were abundant. The ESAM Symphony Orchestra were asked to play at Glyndebourne for a newly commissioned youth-opera ‘Misper’. This alongside several orchestral tours around Europe provided Ollie with some truly memorable experiences.

Whilst at college Ollie also became Principal Percussionist with East Sussex Youth Orchestra, with whom he toured to Italy and Paris and accompanied world-renowned concert pianist John Lill in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3.

University

Ollie studied Music Performance at Kingston University, where he developed a passion for Afro-Brazilian through his lessons with Sam Alexander, a respected authority on the subject.

Ollie's final recital gave an interesting indication of where he had reached musically, including an introductory broom solo (later to be built upon in STOMP), a untuned percussion piece based around Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’, a four-stick marimba epic called 'Rhythm Song', and a conga solo.

Life as a musician in the real world

Having graduated Ollie headed to Brazil for a three and a half month musical journey where he played with samba reggae group Swing do Pelo in Salvador, learned ‘pandeiro’ (Brazilian tambourine), in Sao Paulo and finished the trip playing in the Rio de Janeiro carnival.

On his return to the UK Ollie joined Carnival Collective, whose ‘outside the box’ approach to Brazilian percussion Ollie rather liked. Described by some as an ‘anti-samba’ band, CC play drum’n’bass, ska and swing, amongst others, on Brazilian percussion accompanied by a full brass section, guitars and vocals. Ollie has been involved in the release of three of their albums and appearances at clubs, festivals and train stations throughout the UK and Europe.

STOMP

Ollie's claims to fame have largely been generated through his involvement with STOMP. He was originally hired as a workshop leader and then went on to join the London and European Tour casts. Having been a fan of the show since he saw it as a child this was very much a dream come true. The one downside of this amazing opportunity was that all else that he was doing had to stop. Ollie still remembers being backstage at a theatre in a small town in Holland, watching Bjork playing live at Glastonbury with just the slightest feeling that ‘I should be there!’. Moments like these and the ever-growing desire to play in bands again turned his focus away from the road and back to Brighton.

Currently

Ollie has been leading STOMP-style Body Percussion and Samba Percussion workshops for several years. He performs in STOMP’s new show 'Pandemonium - Lost and Found Orchestra', which is touring the USA during Autumn 2010 following runs in Brighton, Amsterdam, London's Royal Festival Hall and a box office record breaking run at the Sydney Opera House. Ollie still facilitate workshops for STOMP throughout the UK and recently performed with the London cast at the O2 Arena to open the Channel 4 Comedy Gala.

He plays drum kit and percussion for several ongoing projects including projects including The Irrepressibles and Gabby Young & Other Animals - check out the Bands page for more details....