Biography

ToneF is a producer of alternative retro ambient, electro and EDM music.
At a young age, he would record his Casio keyboard and bounce it between two tape decks (which caused an awful racket!).
Not long after his family bought their first computer in 1998, Tony discovered a program called Rebirth 338 – a virtual recreation of two Roland TB-303 acid bassline synthesizers coupled with Roland 808 and 909 drum machines; a predecessor to Reason Studio’s Reason Music Creation Software.
He couldn’t do much with it at the time, but found that by manipulating the individual patterns from the demo songs, he was able to create new interesting mixes, which he recorded and played for his friends at lunch breaks at school. He taught himself guitar, drums and piano to a basic level, which he used to improve his recordings.
Fast forward a couple of years, when Reason version 1 arrived in 2000, Tony rejoiced when he could afford the software. He began experimenting with its myriad features. Creating drum loops and generally messing around with the synthesizers on offer.
After five years of creating and uploading to myspace (myspace.com/tonef), Tony’s first proper single “Sgt. Wilko” was featured on the cover mounted DVD:002 in Sound On Sound Magazine’s 2005 August issue.
In 2007 he attended the British Academy of New Music in London for a few months, but dropped out because of mental health issues. Initially he had hopes of becoming a drummer, but found that the Piano suited him better.
From then on he began to study music theory and attended an Adult Community Piano Course at Brentwood’s Adult Community College. He found that if he practised enough, he could memorise pieces by Chopin, Debussy and Ravel (his favourite Classical composers!).
With the pressure of a lack income looming, Tony decided to learn Piano technology, in the hope of becoming a Piano Tuner. He was graciously encouraged by Richard Arthur Clarke, a piano tuner and reseller from Roydon, who also gave him his first proper piano to train on. For the next 5 years, Tony dedicated his time to studying Piano practice, repair and tuning, whilst also creating his music.
In 2011, a local refurbished school at Great Stony Park was transformed in to the Zinc Arts Theatre centre. Tony was offered a place here to hone his skills and create music for various productions. Most notably was the inaugural show that showcased talent in the form of a short play, inspired by Margaret Atwood’s poem “The Moment”, where he appeared to play piano on a cardboard boxed piano creating melodies which evoked the different seasons of the year.
In January 2016, Tony released his first commercially available track called “Bigg’s Horizon / Laserlight”, which was described by one kind reviewer that it was mixed well and would lend itself well to a sleek car advertisement. As of 2021, Tony has released 7 commercially available digital albums: 1. Neurotrophica 2. Matriculation 3. Only The Brave 4. Ambient Selection Vol.1 5. Retro Wave City 6. Astral 7. The Journey and EPs Chillout Mix V1 and Echo Collapse, as well as many other singles.
He continues to write music and study the profession to this day, with the aim of creating videos for his music in the future. He can often be found practicing the piano at St. John’s Church in Epping. So if you see him, don’t be afraid to say hi! ❤