Amberfern is a composer of meditative healing music and lives and works in the heart of England’s New Forest National Park. He has spent over thirty years in the music industry. In addition to composing and production, he has taught music widely and founded a significant international music organization that has won major business awards. He is also author of several music books and some 200 magazine articles, has a degree in cultural studies and is currently completing a PhD. The artist name Amberfern comes from the ferns that grow throughout the nearby ancient forest woodlands, and in the autumn turn a golden amber colour.

Music has always been an encompassing passion, and Amberfern has been a full-time professional musician since 1978. He originally commenced his recording career writing and producing music beds for television commercials in the early 1980s. He plays and composes for an increasingly wide variety of instruments including assorted types of guitars, basses, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, drums, percussion, ethnic flute and hang drum, together with a growing number of unusual and evocative world instruments.

Work Methods

Amberfern works from “The Green Room”, his forest studio, which is equipped to professional standards, and from which his music progresses through composition and writing to completed master recordings for licensing, release and international distribution. He generally works alone, enjoying the flexibility of being able to work calmly, slowly and expressively within his own rural studios, using technology to send the work around the world as required. Whilst this demonstrates a clear benefits in the use of technology, Amberfern contends that it must not be allowed to overwhelm or smother nature, and believes that there is a need for both “computers and campfires” and that, in musicmaking, a balance must be sought between the use of machines and the natural rhythms and sounds of nature.

In the spirit of this, Amberfern will often leave technology aside and integrate ethnic instruments with organic field recordings of sounds from environmental sources into his compositional spaces to evoke liquid essences of mysterious landscapes, with the intention of projecting listeners into unusual, exotic places as they bathe in the music. Although new and experimental in approach, Amberfern’s music benefits greatly from the structuring influences of jazz composition, making it appealing, accessible and easy for a wide cross-section of the public to engage with and enjoy.

Living in a forest, Amberfern naturally considers nature to be the supreme audio resource, and will often use organic field-recorded waveforms as starting points for musical sounds, which are meticulously blended with analogue synthesis to evoke specific tonal colours and reactions. He terms this sound-design technique “electronic ecology”, a blurring of the boundaries between music and environmental natural sounds. He believes that this combination holds a key to provoking strong emotional responses from listeners, as they gently wrap themselves around the resulting unique sonic colours that fuse into the completed musical pieces. The music is always intended to function as aural dream-texts and visions of possible worlds with which to bridge time and geographical location, trigger distant memories or connections and become a healing tonic for the soul.

A primary creative influence is that of landscape, and Amberfern will on occasions compose out in the field in distant locations with simple musical recording tools on an Apple iPad to try to capture the simple essence and immediacy of a landscape in front of him, in much the same way that an impressionistic painter will work. These sound sketches are then taken back to the Green Room for development. An example of this technique in action is the track Paleokastritas from the Quiescence: A World at Peace album, which started life on location on the Island of Corfu in Greece.

Comments (10)

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Philip Hutton said:

... Being new to the New Age scene I had the Privilege of providing a few Native American Style Flutes which have been used in Amberfern's latest Album "Quiescence". I was given the opportunity to hear the album in the development stage and found it provoking and relaxing all at the same time. Having been given a copy I play it all the time in the car being especially usful when sitting on the A2 or M25. The use of natural sounds mixing and enhancing the various instruments is very well done and the finished album is a credit to the Amberfern Studio.

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July 13, 2011
Votes: +4

Suzanne Doucet said:

... Amberfern is an outstanding new age artist, who is pushing the envelope of this genre into new directions. I fell in Love with his music two years ago and have been a fan since! Amberfern's music has a very unique, uplifting quality and his blend of various world, ambient and natural elements is superb. His sounds and instrumentation is excellent! Amberfern's new album Quiescense - A World at Peace is a masterpiece. Highly recommended.

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July 15, 2011
Votes: +5

Christian Burrell said:

	... Really great and professional quality music! We don't see all that much of it these days, glad to here Amberfern are making a new masterpiece! The way everythings done and composed is obviously a huge process and i wish best of luck to them!! -Chris
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July 31, 2011
Votes: +4

Claire Holmes said:

	... Beautiful music that takes you to a place of complete calm and inner peace. Amberfern has given us the opportunity to listen to his blend of unique instruments through his genius work in this album. The feeling that fills your soul when you sit back, close your eyes and listen to Quiescense really brings the words 'A World at Peace' to a reality through his music. Outstanding!
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July 31, 2011
Votes: +2

Amberfern said:

... Hello, Amberfern here... I would just like to say thank you so much for all the positive and uplifting comments about the new album, which is out in October. Prior to this, I think you will be able to listen to snippets of some of the tracks on this record company website. Thanks again to all of you for your real kindness and encouragement, it really means a lot. I'm currently working on new material for the follow-up which is due out in the Spring of 2012... More details soon.

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July 31, 2011
Votes: +2

Sophie said:

	... ... I am really looking forward to the release of the new Amberfern album, and hearing what else is to come in the future.
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August 01, 2011
Votes: +2

Adam Gates said:

	... Really looking forward to Amberferns future release, it will be great to hear snippets of the tracks shortly.
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August 04, 2011
Votes: +1

Lisa Jane said:

... Amberferns music creates the perfect atmosphere, especially when performing treatments on clients in a hotel and spa environment or when treating someone in the comfort of their own home, its natural and inspiring approach to music makes every listener calm, peaceful and transports them to complete tranquility, making the experience so much more indulgent, the perfect backing for any spa/salon and mobile therapist. Would absoulety recommend to clients and other spa owners! I look forward to October when the new album will be out!

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August 05, 2011
Votes: +1

Astreaux World said:

	... Wonderful and focused new age music. Have been playing it on our station for a couple of years now. Looking forward to continued support of his new works on our station! Looking forward to hearing the new releases! Congratulations!
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August 07, 2011
Votes: +2

Beth Hilton said:

	... I find great beauty in the way Amberfern combines music and nature into a serene and organic sound that is uniquely his own. I'm very happy to have been a part of bringing his music to the U.S., and wish him great success!
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August 29, 2011
Votes: +1

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