Ambient Minimalist Composer 

& Landscape Photographer  

Darren J Harris (b. 1967) is an ambient electronic minimalist composer based in Brisbane, Australia.   

"For me, ambient music is a set of sounds that emphasise a certain quality of stillness, of silence, that allows space for a listener to just be, instead of imposing on or reinforcing his/her/their ego. It creates the outward space and opportunity for inner exploration and discovery, an opportunity to let go and drift, to transcend or dissolve, for your whole being to be illuminated and float as a momentary here and now presence without linear boundaries. A space that is at once private and open, connecting and intuitively freeing, a suspension of the noise, clutter and shouting of the daily banality of endless doing. Ambient music is a tear in the fabric of ego”.

Darren's influences are many and varied, from Eric Satie, Harold Budd, Roger and Brian Eno to Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Brahms, Shostakovitch and Peter Sculthorpe.  

He creates melodic ambient and electronic music that is transportive and reflective of his interests in transformative psychology, photography and art.

Self taught in jazz and blues guitar from the age of 12, Darren took up learning synthesisers and piano in 2013. He released three ambient albums before studying classical composition with noted Australian composer and teacher David Hush for three years. These studies abruptly came to an end in July 2021 when Darren suffered a stroke, which led to limited finger movements in his right hand. 

Darren's music compositions include eight independent ambient/electronic albums, classical and modern classical pieces, music for video and film, and soundscapes for meditation and installations.  He also releases music under the aliases of Ambient Counsel and Electronic Thought Disorder.  

Other passions include sepia-toned black and white photography, Zen Buddhism, Toltec and Taoist philosophies, transformational counselling and healing, writing and reading. 

For permission to use Darren's music or to commission new work, please use the contact page.