ADVERTISEMENT

AMG Presents Moonboots

Woke Music
Culture Magazine

Tales of Loss: How Marc Oliver’s Daughter’s Abduction Inspired His Country Songs

Meet the Danish recording artist Marc Oliver
07-01-22   Anders Højberg Kamp

The artist Marc Oliver has been left devastated after his daughter was abducted to England, leading to a heartfelt collection of songs.

ADVERTISEMENT

AMG Presents Moonboots

“During a FaceTime call, my daughter said she missed me, and that inspired me to write the song How Much Longer,” shares Marc Oliver, the 31-year-old Danish country artist who is gearing up to release a series of new country rock tracks, including How Much Longer, Heartache, and the title track of his upcoming album, Help Me Believe.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement

Design. Build. Launch. No Code Needed.

From portfolio websites to full webshops – Elementor lets you build custom WordPress sites visually, fast and beautifully. Join 14M+ users who choose freedom, flexibility, and full design control.

“It’s often said that country music consists of four chords and the truth, and that’s the path I’ve taken as well.”

Drawing inspiration from country legends like Luke Combs, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Brad Paisley—who also wrote about his daughter—Marc cites Paisley as a major influence.

Marc Oliver in the studio, channeling his emotions into music.
Marc Oliver in the studio, channeling his emotions into music.

The creation of these songs took a year, much of which was spent during lockdown, grappling with the trauma stemming from his ex-girlfriend’s decision to leave Denmark for England with their young daughter two years ago. He opens up about his experience over a cup of coffee at Baby Factory recording studio.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement

Sabochini Caps & Beanies Drop

Exclusively at Headz Up

As Marc, with his visible tattoos and sunglasses, discusses the painful ordeal, a tremor in his voice occasionally betrays the emotional weight of his words. His mouth quivers slightly, a physical manifestation of how deeply this experience has affected him both mentally and physically.

“The songs have been a way for me to project my feelings, and each track is heavily inspired by what I’ve gone through. If you know my story, you can hear it in the lyrics. Writing them has been difficult, but it’s also been therapeutic,” he explains.

Abduction of His Daughter

The past few years have been extraordinarily tough for the country singer, who once had a bright future ahead of him. At just 25, he borrowed 350,000 kroner to pursue a music education in London, where he met the mother of his child.

In 2018, he returned to Denmark with his English girlfriend.

“But she struggled with mental health issues,” Marc recalls.

According to him, the mother didn’t have a job and was minimally involved in their daughter’s upbringing. While Marc balanced three jobs, he was also the one taking their daughter to daycare and waking up at night to soothe and change her.

In November 2019, he and his girlfriend agreed that she would take their daughter to England for a holiday, allowing the child to spend time with her grandparents.

But neither the mother nor the daughter ever returned to Denmark.

“It became a very dreary Christmas, as you can imagine. One evening, I happened to watch Rejseholdet, where a character seeks full custody, and that sparked a thought in me.”

Marc embarked on a significant legal battle.

The Court Case Begins

It wasn’t that the mother prohibited Marc from seeing his daughter.

However, if he wanted to visit, he had to travel from Denmark to see her, with visits being short and monitored on the mother’s terms. When he proposed taking their daughter to Denmark for periods, the mother insisted that the child was better off in England.

Thus began a mountain of paperwork for Marc regarding the abduction case. It took him six months to secure a lawyer, complicated by England’s exit from the EU.

A half-year later, they were finally able to go to court. However, because of Marc’s extended absence, the court deemed that he had shown “tacit acceptance” of the situation.

Marc argues that the long absence was due to lockdowns, the mother’s demands, and the lengthy process of navigating a legal case in post-Brexit England, which made the proceedings more challenging.

Still, he managed to secure FaceTime calls with his daughter three times a week.

Moving to England

In response to the court ruling, Marc decided to move back to London, hoping to see his daughter. Although he had a British daughter and job prospects, he could only stay for three months.

During those months, he saw his daughter twice for three hours each time. The mother was present during the visits, monitoring every move. When Marc made a TikTok video announcing that he could finally see his daughter, it garnered thousands of views—but the mother was furious.

From her perspective, it was she who had been forced out.

“We’ve gone back and forth on this numerous times. I have it in writing, which was presented in court, that she knew she took our daughter and that she understood it was wrong, but she lives in a different reality.”

When Marc returned to Denmark, he hoped to say goodbye to his daughter, but the mother canceled his final visit.

Back to Court

In November 2021, as his daughter turned four, he asked the mother if he could come over to wish her a happy birthday. She then stated that if he wanted to maintain contact, he would have to go through a contact center, typically used for fathers who are incarcerated or deemed unfit.

Now, they are set to return to court this January, where Marc will seek permission to see his daughter during holidays and every fourth or fifth weekend.

“But the mother disagrees. Fortunately, there are laws in place that entitle me to visitation. I’ve been paying child support without any assistance from the Danish government.”

At present, he can only connect with his daughter via FaceTime, and those calls are often abruptly ended if Marc speaks Danish or if the call takes place anywhere other than her home.

“In the past, I might have processed my experiences through nightlife, but during lockdown, I picked up my guitar. I was fortunate enough to work from home, allowing my songs to come to life,” he shares.

Besides the songs, Marc Oliver has connected with other fathers facing similar situations.

Now, he hopes to see his daughter again.

Marc Oliver’s album Help Me Believe was released in January and is available on Apple Music and Spotify.

More like this

More from Woke Music