Since 2012, nomadic artist Oliver The Faraway has been crafting the deep and mysterious experiences of life into music, visual art, poetry and prose. The breath of inspiration that has given life to this work is his deep love of the natural world, and the timeless mysteries and humour of a life spent living on the road.
As a performer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he works to unite the spirals of his steel string guitar, visionary story-telling lyrics and a versatility that extends across a range of instruments. Drawing on influences such as Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank in his earlier years, he has created an original and haunting branch of fingerstyle folk guitar that is the canvas on which he paints songs, reflecting an enchanted world. Oliver also takes inspiration from blues, jazz, swing, ragtime, Celtic folk and all kinds of world music.
Oliver’s instrumental range includes silver flute, Celtic tin whistles, Indian and ney flutes, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar, spoons and foot percussion, creating richly layered compositions that evoke the spirit of old-time bardic traditions while remaining deeply contemporary. His extensive repertoire of original compositions and interpretations of others’ work reflects a lifetime of dedication, exploration, and a deep connection to music and storytelling.
In recent years, Oliver has been creating sound journeys for meditation and yoga, using improvisation with a range of stringed instruments, flutes, percussion and shruti box, to guide listeners through deeply introspective experiences. These immersive sessions, hosted in central Portugal, reflect his intuitive connection to human emotions and his ability to transform music into a tool for healing and self-discovery.
As an artist, Oliver’s creativity is boundless. A gifted illustrator and poet, his work explores themes of transience, nature, and the human condition, culminating in his 2024 book, ‘Faraway’. Together, his music and art form a cohesive, multi-dimensional expression of his vision to re-enchant life using the power of creativity and to imbue our world with mystery and magic once again, inviting audiences to connect with the beauty and impermanence of this world.
