Al's scores display a sensitive narrative intelligence, and he has a special talent for writing effortlessly simple, haunting melodies.

His qualities as a composer and collaborator have led to the formation of many successful and long term working relationships. A good example is his alliance with acclaimed drama-documentary director Peter Nicholson. His scores for Peter’s films range from the Channel 4 Napoleonic War series A World In Arms, to the BBC’s controversial and politically explosive Last Flight to Kuwait.

Al has a fascination with the sea, and his credits include several oceanic films. This fascination is fed by first hand experiences at sea sailing the 29ft “Snork Maiden” with his wife, filmmaker Jenny Jones. Sea-going television highlights include his magical score for the award winning BBC natural history film Andrea: Queen Of Mantas, the BBC1 series Pacific Abyss and the award-winning David Attenborough production Sharks – The Truth. Jenny’s specialism has been the filming of Great White Sharks and, with Al on board as composer, they have completed four shark documentaries that have been broadcast all over the world. In another sea- influenced project, The Navigator, Al has returned to his first love, the Spanish guitar, with an album exploring the moods and atmospheres he has experienced during voyages under sail.

Other high profile shows on which he has worked include: the BBC's much talked-about adventure series Beyond Boundaries; the Grierson-nominated Day Of The Kamikaze; the notorious and multiple RTS Award-winning Anatomy for Beginners; and the winner of the 2007 Bafta Hugh Weldon Award, Nuremburg - Goerings's Last Stand. His music for the feature film The Fifth Province was described by film critic Nicky Fennell as "..Possibly the best score I have ever heard in an Irish feature film."

Wildlife on One

BBC 1 (United Kingdom)