Ian Arber
Film & Television Composer

Ian
Arber

Bold and multi-faceted — writing memorable themes that fuse traditional, electronic and experimental instrumentation.

Ian Arber is a British composer, known for his work on season 2 of "Drops of God" on Apple TV+, StudioCanal series "Paris Has Fallen", BBC thriller "The Capture", ITV/Hulu thriller "Red Eye", "War of The Worlds" for MGM+ and Disney+, and Netflix originals "The One" (2021) and "Medici" (2018–19).

Ian Arber's rapid rise in the British film and television industry is underpinned by his bold and multi-faceted approach to composing — writing memorable themes that fuse traditional, electronic and experimental instrumentation.

Ian's recent work includes Apple TV+ hit series Drops of God, StudioCanal's action thriller Paris Has Fallen, the ITV/Hulu thriller Red Eye, Disney+'s documentary series Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All, contributing music for Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man movie, and the feature film Bolan's Shoes.

Further credits include Netflix's DNA-matching viral hit The One, season 3 of Disney+ and Epix original War of The Worlds, Showtime psychological thriller The Stranger in Our Bed and four seasons of Acorn TV's detective drama The Chelsea Detective.

Ian scored the BBC's The Capture, with Blur's Dave Rowntree — viewed by over 22 million people in the UK. The score featured manipulated organic textures with experimental analogue synths, and memorable motifs to depict the world of duplicity and intrigue.

Ian collaborated with Imogen Heap on the vocal elements for Netflix's The One, Dave Rowntree on the BAFTA-winning documentary Bros: After The Screaming Stops, and rap legend Nas on the title theme for I Am Bolt.

A classically-trained cellist and pianist, and collector of exotic instruments, Ian often incorporates these in his scores in unconventional ways, blurring the lines between traditional and modern experimental techniques. He is inspired by collaboration, working closely with filmmakers to create a truly original concept and musical language for each project. He relishes the opportunity to create a powerful and productive working relationship with filmmakers, maximising the collaboration to produce distinct work.

Ian broke out into the British film and television industry with his distinctive scores for BBC comedy drama Quacks, starring Rory Kinnear and Rupert Everett, feature-film My Name is Lenny starring John Hurt, followed by award-winning documentaries I Am Bolt, Hitsville: The Making of Motown, the Oscar-qualifying Sisters of the Wilderness and the Grierson Award-winning Show Me The Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall.

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