Olli Juhani Varis

The story behind the sound

Olli Varis is a Finnish composer and musician. Olli’s musical endeavours began with punk rock at age eleven; progressing rapidly to folk, he played in groups Värttinä and Maria Kalaniemi & Aldargaz among others. He later graduated from and became a lecturer at the Sibelius Academy. Varis worked as sideman, session musician and band member playing on over thirty albums, earning gold and platinum records and touring on four continents. From 2000-2010, Olli ran a studio primarily recording acoustic music. In his compositions you will hear unique recordings from his special collection of rare Nordic instruments such as one-of-a-kind kanteles as well as guitars, percussion and hardware synths. Olli’s passion for nature and the wilderness resonates in his music, bringing in echoes of beautiful, peaceful moments by a misty morning lake. He has toured with Finnish pop singer Erin, and his recent work includes music for advertising and TV.