Olivia Orman shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Olivia, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
For me, it is music and the whole process around bringing songs to life. I have always enjoyed listening to various styles of music, but when I wrote my first songs in 2018, it wasn’t necessarily because I aspired to become a musician. It was kind of accidental (no pun intended!) in a way, but has become an ever-evolving pursuit.
I find it important for my music to remain how it comes to me. It usually starts with a simple lyric, melody, or harmony, and then I construct and augment the song around that. I never defined what genre of music I wanted to write, but it predominately comes to me as folk.
Folk music can create many different experiences for the listener. For some, it strengthens their connection to nature and humanity. For others, it can be deeply spiritual. I think folk music allows us to find ourselves in a way that is missing from the world today, and I hope more people continue to discover it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Olivia, and I have always found myself working on creative projects. This includes everything from books to websites, businesses, needlework, and music. I often refer to myself as a “hobbyist” because I am always pursuing my interests and usually have a few projects going at a time.
To make any sort of meaningful progress, it is important to hone in on the most important project(s) and really dedicate time, effort, and attention toward those. For me, that is my folk music.
As earlier stated, I wrote my first songs in 2018. Those songs then became part of my first folk album concept, which I worked on harmonizing and augmenting through 2024. Without realizing that this would happen, I started working on my second folk album concept this year and am most of the way through it.
I am still a ways away from releasing this music, but I look forward to the day that I will share it with the world.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I don’t think there was one singular moment that shaped how I see the world, but rather a culmination of moments that shape how I see the world to this day. Most of those involve nature and music.
There are many times I venture out to trails I find inspiring and walk and observe in silence. I think this is a great way to become more attuned to nature and what’s going on in our mind. There are also many times I pair specific songs with specific places. These tend to be the experiences that I find the most memorable and leave the largest imprint on me.
When a song takes you to a different place or time, that is one way to know it is truly a special song. I strive to do the same with my own music.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
No one willingly wants to suffer for the sake of suffering. However, I have found that, many times, there are lessons I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
One is that it takes time, practice, and dedication to become a master at one’s craft. It can take several attempts to figure out how to do something correctly, and I’ve learned on many accounts that rushing into something results in me having to undo what I originally did anyways. So, slowing down and taking incremental (but proper) steps is what I try to keep top of mind, and to, above all, enjoy the process.
There are many other lessons I’ve learned from taking the hard way around, and many of the lessons are simple in thought but involve taking a different approach. The main takeaway is to keep redirecting the mind back to what was learned and choose to do differently to increase the odds of succeeding.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
In my opinion, there are certain signs to look out for when it comes to fads and real foundational shifts. Fads tend to be mainstream, short-lived, materialistic, and (more often than not) result in people living in self-destructive ways.
Real foundational shifts, on the other hand, tend to be more hidden, have a sense of longevity and depth, and result in people living in a more wholesome way. There is more richness and color. There is more fullness.
The same applies to music. Some has a similar effect as fast food, some has more nourishment for the soul. I think it’s important that we not only seek out music that provides more enrichment, but ways of life and community that supports this as well. We need it more than ever.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
I hope it would be some sort of impact from thoughts I’ve provided in conversations. If something I said inspired someone else to create a meaningful change in their life, I think that would be a pretty good legacy to leave behind.
Contact Info:
- Other: If you saw something in this interview that was interesting and you’d like to connect, you can email [email protected].
