Oli Silk was born March 7th 1979 in West London, England. He began playing the keyboards at age 11 and throughout his teenage years played various variety shows and theatre productions. Meanwhile he began to take an interest in music production, making his first album at the tender age of just 13! "It was just some really basic keyboard dance grooves, with improvisations over the top, recorded onto cassette. I still have a copy lurking under my bed somewhere!" reveals Oli. Nevertheless the seeds were sown and the coming years would see Oli become more serious about his playing and production.
Oli's first foray into smooth jazz came when he teamed up with college friend Danny Sugar in the late nineties. 'Sugar and Silk' was born, and their first record 'Fact or Friction' was released in the U.K to critical acclaim. Oli's brother Simon, having had years of music industry experience in recording and management, used his expertise to oversee the project, and became instrumental in the promotion of not just this first project, but every smooth jazz project Silk has been involved with to this day. The duo went back into the studio in 2000 to record their second effort, a smoother, more polished affair entitled 'Duality', typified by uplifting funky grooves, sax led contemporary soul, beautiful vocal works and a bit of fusion thrown in for good measure!
The featured saxophone player on 'Duality' was James Vargas, and after striking a musical rapport, the two set about on another project - this would be a self-titled, debut album for James, with Oli holding the production reins. The record soon caught people's attention, not least Les Cutmore - CEO of Trippin' N Rhythm Records, who promptly signed the album for the U.S market. It was released in summer 2004, and America finally got to hear the talents of Oli and James at work.
designed by Sugarcube Creative Studios
Oli and James played their first two gigs at the beautiful Avalon Casino Ballroom as part of Art Good’s Jazztrax 2004 Catalina Island Jazz festival, opening for the legendary David Sanborn. The two then made a return to California the following May - this time taking in Thornton Winery in Temecula, opening for trumpeter Chris Botti and The Wave's Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Jazz Festival in Newport Beach.
This is where one chapter ends and another begins. On their return, James made a firm decision to follow his own musical path and the two went their separate ways. Working by himself for the first time in years, Oli decided to embark on something he'd wanted for some time - to record and produce an album of his own. Simon approached Trippin' Records in late summer of 2005 with the idea and they agreed to sign Oli for a multi-album deal. With his brand new purpose-built recording studio recently completed, the timing and environment were both perfect to begin such a project. - The result was ‘So Many Ways’.
2006 was a fantastic year for Oli. It began in May with the release of his first single ‘Easy Does It’. The song was very well received at radio, and spent nearly 6 months in the Radio and Records/Billboard Smooth Jazz national airplay top 30, peaking at number 20. Meanwhile, the album was released in early August to critical acclaim and a mere two months later, Oli was back on Catalina Island, but this time to perform his debut showcase alongside such SJ stars as Nick Colionne, Brian Culbertson and The Jazzmasters.
The year was rounded off triumphantly with Oli recieving two prestigous ‘2006 debut artist’ awards, from Smooth Jazz News and Art Good’s Jazztrax.