“I’m happiest when I’m making noise.”
I'm an Offie (Off-West End) Award nominated and joint Standing Ovation Award (Outstanding Theatricality) winning composer and sound designer. Working in theatre, film/video, radio, and interactive game content. I've also been part of award-winning teams behind several Off-West End and UK regional productions.
I'm all about telling stories with sound.
I've been obsessed with the way music works in other contexts since I was five. I memorised the soundtrack album from The Wizard of Oz, but not just the songs, the ‘incidental’ music too. I was struck by how the music itself could carry so much weight of the story, it felt hardly incidental.
The older I got the more aware I became of the way music works with the other storytelling elements, deciding to make it the main component of both my Bachelors and Masters degrees. I'm also a professional story consultant, and it’s that world I bring to my theatre / media scoring and sound design practice. The story is everything and the sounds I create need to service the characters, the conflicts and the narrative.
REVIEWS AND PRESS
“Simon Arrowsmith’s score sounds fresh and invigorating, a natural next step beyond Bjork’s Dancer in the Dark.” LIVE THEATRE UK
“Simon Arrowsmith’s filmic sound design adds the final layer; a gossamer cloak of atmosphere that fits the action perfectly.” SPY IN THE STALLS
“Something Something Lazarus is something unusual, something unique, and bodes well for the future of musical theatre in the UK.”
For The Lesson – “An unsettling, disturbing soundscape designed by Simon Arrowsmith.” BRITISH THEATRE ONLINE
“Where Arrowsmith whips in some tutti there result is complex and outstandingly rich harmony work that just adds to the already impressive quality of writing.” GRUMPY GAY CRITIC
“It’s great to see British theatre makers creating new musical theatre that doesn’t follow American trends.” THE PLAY’S THE THING
MY WORK / SERVICES
- Theatre Composition // Composing both live and recorded music for plays and musicals. Recent work includes musical Something, Something Lazarus at The King’s Head, London and Macbeth for The Shakespeare Project, Kent.
- Theatre Sound // Crafting and recording sound effects and soundscapes for plays and musicals. Recent work includes productions at The Hope Theatre, London. The House of Yes and also The Lesson, which won me an Off-West End Award nomination for Sound Design.
- Brands and Events // Creating sound logos, environments and musical identities for brands. Building stings, transitions and supporting music for award ceremonies, corporate events and conferences. Recent clients include Edelman and IATA.
- Interactive Games // Composing and producing music and sound content for games and interactive digital content. Recent projects include the year-long interactive game The Monarch Papers for Ackerly Green Publishing, New York.
- Film and Video // Scoring and producing music for film and broadcast video. Projects have included Darren Doherty’s short film The Shakespeare Project: Macbeth and Grow the People’s online development series.
- Sound Design // Building sound design presets for assorted hardware and software synthesizers and samplers. Creating samples and sound sources for use by other sound designers.
