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Name: Oliver Darling
Nationality: British
Occupation: Guitarist, singer, songwriter
Recent release: Oliver Darling's Lees Blues is out via Another Planet.

Tool of Creation: Guitar
Type of Tool: Fretted musical instrument
Country of origin: Unclear, possibly Spain / Italy.
Became available in: The modern guitar gradually developed between roughly 1200 and 1600.

If you enjoyed this interview with Oliver Darling about the guitar and would like to explore his work and various projects in more depth, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



What was your first encounter with the guitar? What was it about it that drew you in?

My Mum brought me a guitar from a jumble sale after I expressed an interest in playing after hearing Jimi Hendrix's “Purple Haze” at primary school.



At the time I was a big Michael Jackson fan (who around then had Eddie Van Halen and Slash on his records), and I guess I heard that wild 60s infused guitar swagger and the unusual combination of notes and it made me want to know more about it, and maybe even be able to do it someday! (Another one for Google, but I bet Eddie and Slash were big Jimi fans ...).

I practised a bit, and started having lessons - of course I wanted to do the flashy stuff, but retrospectively I was very lucky as my teachers wanted me to learn the basics first, which gave me a good grounding and understanding for music later on. I didn't have an electric guitar until about 4 years after I started.

Just like any other instrument, the guitar has a rich history. What are some of the key points from this history for you personally?

Going electric was an incredibly important turning point for the guitar and all music as we now know it, but I also like to look at the guys behind the guitars - the influencers and innovators, and seeing what players took from their influences and what they did with it.

Music was integral at the core of the 60s revolution of the mind, and the electric guitar was no doubt a big part of this. Jimi Hendrix was one of the guys that took the guitar to a new place. Even earlier, Johnny Guitar Watson with tracks like “Space Guitar” was starting to push conventional boundaries.



Another hero of mine is Eric Clapton, who with the Bluesbreakers album and Cream changed things in other ways, and some say gave birth to heavy metal. Some of Eric's influences were Freddie King, Big Bill Broonzy, and Robert Johnson, and this is where the tree fascinates me ... Firstly, you listen to Lonnie Johnson, then Big Bill Broonzy and Robert Johnson (apparently no relation), and you can clearly hear the riffs and ideas that each of them took from Lonnie and where they went with it …



Then you listen to Freddie King and you can hear Peter Green and Eric playing his riffs … not the same ones, they both took something different, but unmistakably Freddie riffs. Then they did their own thing with it, went off on tangents. They were all inspired, then innovated, which I think is the beauty of it ... like the artist going abstract. That jump - from Lonnie Johnson to heavy metal! And no doubt Lonnie Johnson was inspired by someone before him.



When talking about electronic devices, we often think about their “features”. But the guitar is a complex device, too. What are some of its stand-out features from your point of view? How would you describe its sonic potential?

Pickups are probably the most important thing on an electric guitar … genius … god knows how they work … I mean I know they're magnets that convert metal string movement into an electric signal, but the detail they convey ... just genius! When you listen to guys like Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen you realise the potential …

It's incredibly versatile and can sound so far removed from it's starting point. Compare that to the acoustic simplicity (though equally as sophisticated) of Big Bill and Robert Johnson and you can start to see the spectrum, it's huge.

There's also the classical players, flamenco and the fingerstyle / rag thing like Chet Atkins … incredible. And the more modern players that are tapping for percussion, using bows, effects and loop pedals … I'd say its sonic potential is endless.

Instrument design is an ongoing process. Are you interested in recent developments for the guitar in this respect?

No is the short answer! In this respect I'm a romantic! I think they've already made the best stuff - Gibson, Martin, Fender, National, Dobro … I need no more! Oh, classical guitars too ...!

Tell me about the process of learning to play the instrument and your own explorations with it.

It was a while ago so I don't really remember how I did it.

A lot of music is maths and understanding patterns, once you see those it all seems a bit more manageable. But then you get better and can appreciate how good some musicians are - it's like you don't really get how great they are until you improve - then you realise how bad you are! I've heard that story a lot from other musicians too - I think if you're someone who thinks you're great and don't have anything to learn then you're in a bad place.

After learning the theory side there was a lot of practice … and I wish I did more now, but these days having to be a writer, recording engineer, producer, social media whizz, website manager, video editor, gig booker etc there aren't many hours left in the day. The catalyst for my latest album was the first lockdown when I had time to sit down and record without distractions.

Somewhere between patterns and practice you find yourself in the world of music and that's when the fascination takes over and you start wanting to learn for the sake of learning and for the love of it. You can suddenly hear everything.

What are specific challenges in terms of playing the guitar?

I guess I've already touched on this, but to summarise, depending on the style and technique you want to go for it will be the guitar (and this is not as simple as it sounds - my 000-28 is my top choice of around ten 000-28s … they're not all exactly the same and a lot aren't what you want) and with electrics, the amp. If you want to sound like Rory Gallagher you'll need a Strat and an AC30! Then it's practice - and that isn't always just a matter of weeks or months, often it can take years.

I really think that's it … hand size etc doesn't really matter … look what Django did.



What interests you about the guitar in terms of it contributing to your creative ideals? How do you see the relationship between your instrument and the music you make?


I love guitars for their textures, and using their different textures to enhance your songs. I always think you can have at least three guitars for each track! Just for a simple song you may want an acoustic rhythm part, an electric rhythm, then an electric lead ...

Resonator guitars can add such a unique colour to a song … but there's a spider bridge, a biscuit bridge and a tricone, some all metal and some partially wood … and they all sound different! A rosewood bodied Martin and a mahogany Martin have totally different textures, and there's also the body size and shape to consider … but you might want a Gibson acoustic sound rather than the Martin thing! Then there's the infinity of electric guitars and amps .... you could write a dissertation on this!

I guess with my music, I build up an idea in my head of what I want to hear from the sounds I've heard on other records … sometimes that guitar sound works on that type of song. And I go for that ... I wouldn't try to put a guitar on that for me doesn't fit in order to add some kind of character.

How would you describe your personal style of playing the guitar?

Varied! I love a lot of different styles and genres, but I've really gone after trying to emulate Big Bill Broonzy, Peter Green and Johnny Moore … not at the same time as they're very different players! I hope it comes out as my own thing when I do original stuff though.

For adding textures to a track I might be referencing something in my head from an Eric Clapton or a Michael Jackson record. It really depends on what kind of song I'm doing. If I do a Chuck Berry song I play Chuck Berry riffs!

I sometimes feel like a guitar chameleon, but I suppose it will never sound exactly the same as someone else … and we're all influenced by someone. I like that someone might hear a nod to Peter Green or Johnny Moore in my playing.

What does playing your instrument feel like, what do you enjoy about it, what are your own physical limits and strengths?

Sometimes it feels great, sometimes it feels like hard work! It can be the room or conditions … when it's too cold it can be horrible … being outside changes the sound … big rooms, small rooms, low ceilings and high ones, even power supplies, it's always different. When it's good it feels really sweet and easy, like a Federer backhand looks!

My limits would definitely be not practicing enough, and not having time to sit down and learn riffs from other players that I want to add to my repertoire. Not sure about physical limits … I use heavy strings which means I can do some things easily (like get good tones at low amp volumes) but limits others. My ability to shred for instance … but that doesn't matter because I don't want to!

Some see instruments merely as tools towards creativity, others feel they go hand in hand. What's your take on that?

I think in the case of the guitar that it can definitely shape the sound and style of a player. An example would be one of my heros, Big Bill Broonzy.



He used a Martin 000-28, and although you can try to emulate his style on another model of guitar, it won't sound the same. Also, the key features that allow dexterity to achieve that style are not as accessible, making it harder to generate that sound - it should be easy to play, you don't want to be grinding away at it, but playing quite light and having it flow out.

It could then be argued that that particular model of guitar shaped his whole sound, his style evolved from having that guitar. Another example would be resonator guitars, whose thick, nasal honking sound is perfect for playing slide with.

Then there's electric guitars, and amps. Another hero of mine, Peter Green wouldn't sound the same, and maybe wouldn't have played the same had it not been for his signature out-of-phase pickup sound.



Freddie King said he didn't like playing Fenders because he couldn't get his thumb under the strings. Personally, I find that different guitars (and amps) due to their restrictions (or lack of them) make me play in very different ways.

So I guess in answer to the question, a bit of both - I certainly use different guitars for different things, but in turn they shape the way I play.

Are there other guitar players whose work with their instrument you find inspiring? What do you appreciate about their take on it?

I've spoken about my influences a lot already, so would only add that one of the most important things (after their actual guitar sound) that all my heros have in common is their timing and taste, which together you would call phrasing, and I hope I've been able to take that on and that it's apparent in my playing.