Forrest Smithson

“Engaging in deeply personal musical expression is a true soul medicine for me. It is like showing up at a well, and in that well is the vast expanse of my life’s experiences, existing as intensities waiting to be drawn up and woven into expressions of unity that convey the beauty and mystery of life,” 

Forrest Smithson is an American composer from Northern California, most known for his acclaimed catalogue of Ambient Electronic compositions.

A lifelong musician, Smithson creates masterful excursions into new territories of lyrical, harmonically unique, modern musical textures and atmospheres.  Forrest’s musical creations emerge from a natural affinity for embracing diverse elements and variables of sound, holding them in awareness as a unified event, creating sonic presentations of wholeness within form. 

Forrest has long nurtured a deep musical connection. A student of many influences, from avant-garde, film music, modernist electro-acoustic music, to medieval and early music, his music is colored with elements necessary to bring diverse qualities into a unified expression. 
 

 In recent years, the musical expression of the inner growth occurring in his own life came into very clear focus, resulting in eight recent commercial releases, including Sphere to Locus 29, Dreaming time, OOTI  with a ZMR #3 ranking for all of 2015, Reversal of Thought, Journey of the Outshining Source, The Accomplished View, A Right Use of Will, and The Healer's Way.  Dreaming Time  was a “Best of CDs of 2013” by Backroads and a top-10 ranking on ZMR in 2014.  
 

The 2018 release of The Accomplished View was nominated for a ZMR best ambient album. The 2019 release, A Right Use of Will  was nominated for best electronic album. 
 

Smithson’s 2017 release Journey of the Outshining Source, , was a ZMR top-10 and was nominated for best ambient album for 2017 by Zone Music Reporter and One World Music.  Tracks from all of these albums have been played on highly regarded shows such as Hearts of Space, Spotify, Echoes, Sirius XM “Spa”, Star’s End, and Ultima Thule.  Smithson’s albums are available at online sales sites such as ForrestSmithson.com, iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby. 

 “My experiences in life are deeply mirrored in my music.  My life’s work is to help people transform themselves, to move into an experience of wholeness that honors their individuality and uniqueness of expression.”