Tag: soundscape

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!

After Midnight – Dark Ambient Atmospheric Music Mix

Ambient Music Mix

St. Barbe, an art gallery and museum in Lymington, on the edge of the forest, asked me to compose and produce a soundtrack to accompany an art exhibition that they were running. It was called Unsettling Landscapes – The Art of the Eerie. Amongst the artworks, there were many paintings of strange eerie trees and dark woodlands. My task was to use these paintings as inspiration for the creation of an hour-long atmospheric, dark music mix. So here it is for you to enjoy. If you’ve ever felt that The New Forest was a bit scary in the deep woodlands, then you’ll get the vibe of this piece straight away. Although it’s unsettling, I think the music is somehow quite immersive and involving at the same time.

It’s best listened to on headphones late in the evening or beyond!