Oli Steadman
| Oliver Steadman | |
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| Born |
November 3, 1987 Johannesburg, South Africa |
Oliver "Oli" Steadman is a British-South African multi-instrumentalist and member of the Oxford-based band Stornoway.
Steadman started his career in the Oxford music scene, having arrived in the city at age 15 (visiting the UK temporarily from South Africa, for a brief stay which, for family reasons, turned into an unintended permanent move). During his final years at school Oli became a founding member of Stornoway, an Oxford-based act who went on to tour the world and release two top-twenty albums through labels 4AD and Cooking Vinyl (plus further music via Pledgemusic, AWAL, and on their own label).
Teaching himself production while on the road with Stornoway, Oli developed a reputation as a talented studio producer and live sound director, collaborating on projects for fellow artists in the scene, while managing & mentoring local musicians including Willie J Healey and Balloon Ascents/NEVERLND. During this period Oli established the Sofar Sounds branch in Oxford; also those in Birmingham and Winchester (in collaboration with local artists The Qazi Experiment and Josh Savage respectively).
In early 2013 following a visit home to South Africa and a confrontation with the traditional music of his childhood, Oli founded Count Drachma, a group playing traditional Maskandi music from South Africa. The band swiftly gained notoriety for their hectic touring schedule, energetic performances, intricate live looping of multiple melodic instruments (recorded through BOSS digital delay pedals), and their highly entertaining & educational stage banter; Count Drachma were invited to play at festivals from WOMAD to WOOD to Festival N°6, co-headlined London's Southbank Centre with the Mahotella Queens, and filmed a documentary with The Guardian's Education channel. The other founding members having moved to the USA for personal reasons, the lineup is now fluid but Oli continues to record and tour, bringing authentic, traditional South African music to UK audiences (the music is also Oli's attempt to address his homesickness for life in KwaZulu-Natal). The name is thought to have been inspired by the unfolding financial crisis in Greece at the time of the band's formation.
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Wikipedia