Author: Clive

Avon Sunset – for BBC Countryfile

Soundscape Composition

This is the sound piece that I composed and produced for BBC One’s Countryfile Television programme when I was featured on the show on Easter Sunday 2026. I captured the raw field recordings during filming sessions with the crew and presenter Matt Baker in The Avon Valley on the edge of The New Forest. See my previous post for more detailed notes about the shoot. But for now, just press play and…

Imagine yourself at dusk in woodland with a forest stream rippling through the trees. Then wandering out into a wide, open water meadow, just as the sun sets, deep and golden in a clear springtime sky with lapwings calling through the gathering dusk.

This soundscape composition contains a number of different field recordings together with gentle ambient sounds that the landscape suggested to me.

You’ll hear woodland birdsong and the sound of a stream recorded from just above the surface and also from below with a hydrophone. The deep bass sounds within the stream are created by slowing the underwater recordings down several octaves.

The landscape suggested a soft Rhodes piano which I used to sonically describe the delicate woodland atmosphere.

Gradually we move out of the trees towards open water meadows into the sunset. As we go, you’ll notice a change in the ambience which is heralded by the rhythmic sounds of a wire fence and the closing of a metal gate.

A smooth Moog synth melody enters, reminiscent of the distant sounds of lapwings calling across the water meadow.

Finally, a soft, nylon string guitar drifts in amongst the soundscape with a restrained tune that subtly duets with the calls of the lapwings as the piece fades away into the sunset.

If you like this composition, then do have a good old root around this site. You’ll find lots of pieces of my music and soundscapes in a similar style, with most produced to offer you some peace and relaxation from our increasingly busy world.

Always best on headphones – your personal sonic escape! Thanks for stopping by.

Incidentally, if you’d like to see the broadcast then you can find it on BBC iPlayer by following this link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002ttfl

It starts at around 36 minutes into the programme!

Out Filming with Matt Baker for the BBC Countryfile Easter Special

I was delighted recently to be contacted by BBC Countryfile and invited to appear in the Easter Special episode of the popular Sunday night TV programme on BBC One.

I’ve been out with a film crew and presenter Matt Baker for two days. On day one we were on location in the Avon Valley on the outskirts of The New Forest where I was recording birdsong, atmospheres and the gentle sounds of a stream both from above and below the surface using a hydrophone in the water, I also recorded the sounds of wire fences – which sound like huge stringed instruments when captured up close, plus a wide variety of other field sounds.

During the shoot, I handed Matt one of my portable recorders and showed him my techniques for capturing sound, and we ended up both getting some great raw footage.

On day two, the whole crew came back to my studio here in The New Forest and I explained on camera how I develop the raw field recordings into a finished piece of music through blending natural sounds together with appropriate ambient musical elements.

During the studio filming, I introduced my unusual technique of repurposing an Akai MPC – a device more usually used for dance and hiphop – to manipulate, sequence and blend our previously-recorded field sounds.

It turns out that Matt Baker – who was absolutely great and looked after me wonderfully through the whole shoot – is very musical and so I gave him some guitar phrases that I’d composed for the piece to play, and also a little melody on my Moog synth.

I had an absolutely BRILLIANT time with the film crew and producer and loved every minute of the two days. The result will be going out Easter Sunday 2026. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished film, which I understand will be six minutes or so in duration – and instead of the usual Countryfile end music, they are apparently going to play out the show with the sound piece that we created.

New Forest Sounds on prime time National TV! Who would have thought?

In my next post, I’ll upload the completed sound piece for you to enjoy.

Incidentally, if you’d like to see the broadcast then you can find it on BBC iPlayer by following this link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002ttfl

It starts at around 36 minutes into the programme!

December Rain

December Rain

Ambient Music Composition

Imagine yourself looking out of a window at the countryside deep in winter, watching gentle December rain and just making out distant rumbles of thunder…

I think there’s something quite soporific and mesmerising about soft rainfall and with this atmospheric soundwork, I’ve tried to capture something of that feeling. The musical elements that combine with the natural sounds are inspired by an indistinct and misty, soft early morning here in the forest.

I hope it offers you a few peaceful moments in your busy day!

Like everything else on this website, it really sounds best on headphones.

New Forest Sounds and Amberfern

For those of you who enjoy the sounds and music I’ve been adding to this site over the last few years, may I suggest having a listen to some of my older work, which went under the name of “Amberfern” – inspired by the golden fronds that cover much of the forest woodlands and moorland areas in the autumn?

I’ve never mentioned it here before, but way back in 2011, I was extremely fortunate to get signed as Amberfern to a record company in California called Real Music for a multi-album deal. Three CD releases resulted; Quiescence – A World at Peace, Aquaessence – an Ocean of Calm and, from a planned series called Distant Horizons, Mediterranean (which is my personal favourite of the three).

I’m very proud to still remain on the label, which has latterly been taken over by Myndstream and the famous Cutting Edge Group who are based in the heart of Beverly Hills, Hollywood with a clear mission to:

Release the power of music to improve the health and wellbeing of billions of lives globally and transform wellness through the power of sound.

Here’s a link to my artist page on the label:

https://www.realmusic.com/artists/amberfern/

Whilst the original physical CD’s are no longer available, all three of my albums are still on worldwide general release and can be found on all the big streaming platforms. Nowadays, tracks from them are often heard within carefully-curated digital streams that the label produces for some of the finest health spas around the world.

If you like the output from my newforestsounds project, then I think you may perhaps find some of the tracks on those albums nice to listen to as well, and you may even like to check them out. My goal back then was the same as it is now – to create music to calm, relax and improve your wellbeing.

Anyway, here are the original cover images, which I’ve always thought were quite beautiful in the own right…

Hello, it’s nice to be back!

It really is, especially after all this time…

I thought I’d finished with my newforestsounds project, but with all the wars, unrest, upheaval and changes that are happening in our increasingly complex and stressful world, I felt that perhaps we could all benefit from some more quiet, gentle music and sounds inspired by nature, so I’m setting to work all over again to compose and produce a new new series of atmospheric soundworks simply for your listening enjoyment, all meticulously handmade in the heart of The New Forest using subtle instrumentation combined with sounds from the beautiful natural world that surrounds me here.

No annoying adverts. No charges. Nothing. Completely free to enjoy as usual… Just for you.

I recently saw the following quote somewhere. I think it perfectly encapsulates what I’m trying to do:

“The more stressful times become, the more we need relaxing music to take us away from some of that stress. If our music can help with that, we’ve done something good.”

I hope that you’ll find newforestsounds a nice place to retreat to sometimes, especially when the wider world seems to be just too much to bear. Just pop on some headphones, close your eyes and drift away…

If you feel you’d like to subscribe to the site, which is simple and easy, then you’ll automatically get a link to each new piece of music or soundscape that I add, sent direct to your inbox, so you won’t miss a thing.

You’ll find the subscribe button at the bottom of the Welcome Page. On some phones and iPads, a little subscriber button seems to automatically pop up at the bottom of the screen, making it even easier.

Painted with Sound: Listen to the Forest sound installation at New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst

I’m delighted to be able to tell you that a gallery show featuring my sounds is about to begin in the heart of The New Forest at Lyndhurst, and you’re all invited…

Painted with Sound: Listen to the New Forest runs from 10th September to 2nd October at the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst. Original soundscapes and ambient music combine with large cinematic projections for a mesmerising, immersive experience.

This time I’ve set my sound works to beautiful cinematic projections of forest scenes. The result has produced a genuinely immersive environment where visitors are actively encouraged to chill out on comfortable seating for as long as they like. Entry is free, (although the centre, which is a charitable trust do welcome donations) and the installation is open from 10am to 5pm seven days a week. I think you’ll find that it’s the New Forest as you’ve never heard it before. 
 
The wide-ranging forest soundscapes that are featured include natural environmental sounds, bubbling streams, the bustle of the villages, traditional forest activities, birdsong, peaceful ambient music and a whole lot more besides. It’s a complete compendium of the New Forest in sound. 
 
As many of you know, my working method revolves around recording all sorts of sonic fragments from within the forest, which I manipulate, layer and assemble into unique soundscape compositions and ambient musical pieces. I try to consider every noise from the forest as potential material for these compositions in the same way that every colour is potential material for a visual artist. Quite simply… it’s painting with sound… 
 

“In the New Forest, sound is often overlooked and goes unnoticed, but I believe that everyone’s forest experience can be improved and deepened by giving more attention to it. Now, thanks to the New Forest Heritage Centre, I’m able to show how varied, interesting and often beautiful the soundscape really is, bring it to centre stage and give everyone the unique chance to have fun enveloping themselves in forest soundscapes for the very first time.” 

From the Forest Radio Show: Episode 3

From the Forest Radio Show

I have become a presenter on One World Music Radio with a one-hour show called “From the Forest” which I’ve uploaded here for you. This is the third of a regular series of shows for the station.

From the Forest is a unique radio show that brings the wellness benefits of a forest direct to you wherever you are. The concept is simple; we wander together through England’s beautiful New Forest — the place I call home — accompanied by immersive, organic ambient music and soundscapes that I’ve created, inspired by each of the locations we visit. The show promotes mindfulness and the chance to connect with nature through sound. I look forward to welcoming you along.

One World Music Radio can be reached HERE. They have lots of shows covering many different genres for you to enjoy, and are the number one radio station in Europe for the genres covered.

Episode Two of my From the Forest series can be found on New Forest Sounds HERE

From the Forest Radio Show: Episode 2 Winter Focus

From the Forest Radio Show

I have become a presenter on One World Music Radio with a one-hour show called “From the Forest” which I’ve uploaded here for you. This is the second of a regular series of shows for the station. This episode celebrates winter in The New Forest.

From the Forest is a unique radio show that brings the wellness benefits of a forest direct to you wherever you are. The concept is simple; we wander together through England’s beautiful New Forest — the place I call home — accompanied by immersive, organic ambient music and soundscapes that I’ve created, inspired by each of the locations we visit. The show promotes mindfulness and the chance to connect with nature through sound. I look forward to welcoming you along.

One World Music Radio can be reached HERE. They have lots of shows covering many different genres for you to enjoy, and are the number one radio station in Europe for the genres covered.

Episode One of my From the Forest series can be found on New Forest Sounds HERE

In case you’re interested, I’ve produced an album called A Forest in Winter. It’s available from all the main digital retailers and streaming services. Here’s a link to it that gives you the choice of listening to it on a variety audio platforms: A Forest in Winter

The National Park Authority New Forest Awakening Festival 2022

I feel very honoured to have been invited to contribute a variety of sounds to the New Forest National Park Authority’s New Forest Awakening Festival for the second year running, and also to compose the festival’s theme tune.

Forest Awakening Theme

I woke up one morning listening to the dawn chorus, and the thought struck me that it would be interesting if I could try to ‘conduct’ an orchestra of forest birds and animals, and have them sing or sound in perfect rhythm, and by the wonders of recording technology I’ve managed to do that within this composition, which aims to create an almost classical, English pastoral feel and evokes The New Forest waking up first thing in the morning. It became the track “Forest Awakening” and the theme for the festival…

Here’s a link to it as used in the festival

The festival is a response to the climate and nature emergencies in the New Forest and ran for the first time in 2021, when the messages about the climate and nature emergencies reached 815,000 people, with almost 70,000 people engaged with the online posts or events.

Saturday Beside the Stream

The second of my sound pieces from the festival is an ambient piece called “Saturday beside the Stream.” Imagine relaxing with a favourite book, or taking a picnic beside one of The New Forest’s mesmerising and beautiful meandering streams. If you can’t be there in person, then perhaps this may serve as the next best thing. Absolutely designed to be dreamy. Drift away….

Here’s a link to it as used in the festival

Starry Skies

CPRE’s Hampshire Star Count took place during the festival. Starry skies are one of the most magical sights the countryside can offer. The trouble is, light pollution not only limits our views of these skies, but also disrupts wildlife’s natural patterns. Research shows that light pollution is now leaving fewer stars than ever visible to the naked eye, and so the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) asked for help to track how light levels are changing in Hampshire, and encouraged everyone to get together with family and friends between February and early March 2022 to help count the stars in the Orion constellation.

The New Forest Awakening Festival’s organisers used another of my ambient music pieces to promote this event. They said…. We thought we’d get you in the mood for stargazing with this beautiful ambient music composition called Starry Skies. Composer Dr. Clive Brooks of New Forest Sounds said: ‘We get some beautiful starry skies deep in The New Forest. I think there’s an awe-inspiring majesty to them, which I tried to capture with this composition.’

Here’s a link to it as used in the festival

The New Forest is a very special place. More than 50% of the area is of international importance for nature, and some sites have the highest possible conservation status. It has the largest area of lowland heath in Western Europe, shaped by the free-roaming animals owned by commoners. Commoning is the traditional system of land management with rights attached to properties allowing people to turn ponies, cattle, sheep and pigs onto the open Forest.

The rare heathland and wetland habitats in the New Forest are havens for wildlife, some of which are declining in other parts of the UK. Ground-nesting birds such as the curlew, Dartford warbler and mystical nightjar can all be found in the New Forest. All six species of the UK’s native reptiles live here too, as well as 63% of Britain’s 24,000 types of insects, 75% of all dragonfly species and over 2,700 types of fungi.

The climate emergency is putting these fragile landscapes and habitats under threat, with hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters changing nature’s balance in the future. The global crisis for nature is mainly due to land management practices, pollution and urban expansion. It is being worsened by a changing climate that is driving changes in the numbers and distribution of our wildlife species.

Land in the National Park is essential to mitigate climate change; sequestering and storing carbon, supporting wildlife, providing clean water and preventing flooding. Let’s take care of it together.

From the Forest Radio Show: Episode 1

From the Forest Radio Show

I have recently become a presenter on One World Music Radio, presenting a one-hour show called “From the Forest” which I’ve uploaded here for you. This is the first of regular series of shows for the station.

From the Forest is a unique radio show that brings the wellness benefits of a forest direct to you wherever you are. The concept is simple; we wander together through England’s beautiful New Forest — the place I call home — accompanied by immersive, organic ambient music and soundscapes that I’ve created, inspired by each of the locations we visit. The show promotes mindfulness and the chance to connect with nature through sound. I look forward to welcoming you along.

One World Music Radio can be reached HERE. They have lots of shows covering many different genres for you to enjoy, and are the number one radio station in Europe for the genres covered.