Bipolar Sunshine

Manchester native Adio Marchant records under the name Bipolar Sunshine, where he blends pop, R&B, and dance into a style all his own. His work, consistent with the name he chose, pits opposing emotions and atmospheres against one another while ultimately arriving at hope and optimism. Working independently he has issued distinctive alternative R&B on projects such as the 2018 EP Imaginarium and tracks like the 2021 single “Answers.” Wider recognition has come chiefly through his many featured appearances, above all DJ Snake’s 2015 release “Middle,” which earned gold or platinum status across eight countries. Additional frequent partners include Baauer, Illenium, Whethan, and San Holo.

Prior to beginning his solo output in 2013, Marchant served as lead singer of the six-piece ska group Kid British. Finding the multi-writer process overly limiting, he chose to go it alone after the band split in 2012. Teaming with producer Jazz Purple, he set about shaping a sound and persona meant to provoke thought while remaining stylistically wide-ranging. This vision of alternative pop quickly attracted supporters, among them A$AP Rocky and London Grammar, who both voiced early approval. In June 2013 he put out his first EP, Aesthetics, and followed it that November with Drowning Butterflies. For several years he continued to self-release material until signing with Polydor in 2014. Guest vocal spots on dance tracks soon multiplied, among them Lane 8’s “I Got What You Need” and DJ Snake’s “Middle,” the latter surfacing late in 2015 and achieving major global success.

The Gryffin collaboration “Whole Heart” surfaced in 2016. The next year Marchant issued several pieces, among them the introspective single “Are You Happy” and his interpretation of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” Bipolar Sunshine’s third EP, Imaginarium, reached listeners in 2018; around the same time he joined Rabbithole for The Visionary Tape and appeared on San Holo’s track “Brighter Days.” In 2019 he worked with the Avener, Illenium, and Niko the Kid while also earning a co-writing credit on “Brown Skin Girl,” the Beyoncé, Wizkid, and SAINt JHN cut featured on the soundtrack to The Lion King: The Gift. Further credits arrived in 2020 when he joined Baauer’s album Planet’s Mad and released “Ex Wifi” alongside Chloe Angelides. Throughout 2021 he contributed to multiple San Holo recordings as well as Surf Mesa’s “Lose My Mind,” while also unveiling the solo tracks “Gone” and “Answers.”