Solo Work: Streng på Streng & Serendipities

“My solo work represents an open, unconstrained universe away from traditional band structures, focusing on free acoustic landscapes and spontaneous composition. This path was initiated with my solo debut album 'Streng på Streng' in 2021, and further expanded with the release of 'Serendipities' in May 2025. Utilizing a massive array of global string instruments acquired through decades of international fieldwork, these solo releases showcase an organic balance between rigorous technical virtuosity and spacious, meditative silence”

SERENDIPITIES (2025)

"The photograph on the front cover is a cherished memory from 1974, captured by my mother. It features my father and me, capturing the exact moment I believe I decided to become a guitarist and a musician. This album is a direct reflection of my nearly 50-year journey with a guitar in my hands.

Each of these spontaneous improvisations holds a piece of all the music I have studied, absorbed, and internalized along the way. Some of my favorite moments in life are when I can simply sit down and play—with no plans, no fears, and no intentions. It is within those profound moments of flow that conscious and unconscious choices, coupled with a touch of chance, lead me toward entirely new musical discoveries."
— Ole André Farstad

"In an open and free universe – completely alone... This time he has thrown himself out into deep waters without a life jacket." — Tor Hammerø, Tor de Jazz

Album Availability & High-Fidelity Audio

Serendipities is available on all major streaming platforms, but for the ultimate high-fidelity listening experience, head over to my Bandcamp Page. There you can access the album in premium 24-bit/48kHz studio-quality download and streaming, as well as order the physical Compact Disc (CD) and 12" Vinyl Record editions.

Inside the Tracks: The Linear Notes

FLUX (09:50)

The opening track is a nearly 10-minute raw, spontaneous improvisation on the classical nylon-string guitar. The piece serves as a direct canvas for my lifelong connection to the instrument. My foundation dates back to my classical studies at Agder Musikkonservatorium (UiA), which I completed in parallel with my jazz degree in 1998. I have always carried a deep devotion to classical repertoire—from Baroque masterpieces like J.S. Bach's Chaconne to Romantic Spanish and Latin American literature.

However, my approach is heavily shaped by a 27-year relationship with the art of Flamenco, nurtured through regular field studies in Cádiz alongside modern masters like Andrés Martínez and Óscar Lago (celebrated guitarists for Sara Baras and Rocío Molina). Guided by the explosive, "dirty," and fiercely dynamic ethos of Paco de Lucía, combined with the boundary-pushing solo piano improvisations of Keith Jarrett, I have long sought a space where muscle memory and idioms dissolve into total fluid flow.

"Flux" was captured completely raw, with no post-production editing. It consists of two consecutive improvisations joined together after an interruption in the studio. It represents my favorite musical state: sitting down with no plans, no fears, and no rigid stylistic frames, allowing total immersion to push the guitar into entirely new, risky, and uncharted territories.

FRACTAL (08:11)

For "Fractal," the sonic landscape shifts toward micro-sampling and structural repetition. Performed on an acoustic steel-string guitar utilizing a Drop-D tuning, the piece is built around an organicharmonic theme that surfaced during a tracking session.

To expand the acoustic geometry of the guitar, I routed the signal through a Hologram effects processor, which actively samples, granulates, and randomly pitches and stretches the notes in real-time.The result is a shifting, modular dialogue between fixed acoustic chords and unpredictable electronic artifacts, creating an evolving digital fractal out of a singular human impulse.

Streng på Streng (2021)

Streng på Streng represents the beginning of my ongoing solo acoustic timeline. In this continuous project, I orchestrate a vast array of unique global instruments curated from over 20 years of intensive ethnomusicological field research across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Rather than executing traditional arrangements, I treat this collection as an experimental laboratory. My creative process centers on transferring technical paradigms between entirely unrelated instrument families—applying flamenco attack to African plucked lineages or microtonal slide geometries to Western classical strings. By manipulating these parameters, I seek to reveal fresh acoustic idioms and write entirely novel multi-string compositions.

"Like all musicians, Farstad is inspired by many sources, but he has managed to carve out his completely unique expression and his own distinct sonic landscapes from this. He is an exceptionally talented and imaginative musician who dares to take his time..."
— Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen

Stream and purchase the album in premium high-fidelity formats on my Bandcamp Page.