Oliver "Oli" Steadman is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

Stornoway

Steadman is a founding member of

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

and through them is a volunteer with many nature conservation trusts including

HIWWT Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England. The trust describes itself as the leading local wildlife conservation charity in Hampshire and t ...

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

, and

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

365 Days Of Folk

In 2024 Steadman started ''365 Days Of Folk'', a spin-off of

Jon Boden Jon Boden (born 17 March 1977) is a singer, composer and musician, best known as lead singer and main arranger of Bellowhead. His first instrument is the fiddle and he is a proponent of "English traditional fiddle style" and also of "fiddle si ...

's A Folk Song A Day, featuring daily recordings of traditional music, mostly with guest vocalists.

Other projects

Steadman has worked as a studio producer for artists including

Nick Cope Nick Cope (born 8 December) is an English musician running regular music sessions in Oxfordshire for young children and their families. Cope also performs at schools and theatres and music festivals in the UK and overseas. He presents a progra ...

, and as composer / musical director at the

Stephen Joseph Theatre The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on the ...

, also serving as manager to many artists,including Willie J Healey, The People Versus, Blue Bayou, and Balloon Ascents / NEVERLND. In 2013 Steadman founded Count Drachma, who were invited to play at festivals from

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

WOOD Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

to Festival N°6, co-headlining London's Southbank Centre with the Mahotella Queens, and filming a documentary with

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

's Education channel. In 2014 Steadman founded music-tech startup Tigmus, with Stornoway's touring trumpet player

Thomas E Hodgson Thomas Hodgson is an English musician and ethnomusicologist, who studies algorithms and AI in global contexts, with a particular focus on Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora. Previously a British Academy Fellow at King's College, London, Hodgs ...

. Since 2015 Steadman has been endorsed by Aria Bass Guitars, touring with 2x basses ''Detroit 313-DR'' & ''Detroit 313-BB'', and recording with ''FEB-F2/FL'' or a Mexican

Fender Jazz Bass The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to "J-Bass") is the second model of Bass guitar, electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Fender Precision Bass, Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midra ...

. All are strung with roundwound strings except the Fender, on which Steadman has played with exclusively flatwound strings since 2009. In 2024 Steadman established "Traildance".

References

External links

Oli Steadman on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steadman, Oliver South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African bass guitarists Living people 1987 births Musicians from Johannesburg 21st-century bass guitarists