Born and raised in Basel, Switzerland, composer/percussionist Stephan Baer began his musical career at the age of eleven playing drums, percussion and electronic keyboards.
He went on to study with such noted European artists as Fritz Hauser and Cosimo Lampis who introduced him to the exotic world of rhythm and taught him to expand his musical horizons, which led him to not only pay attention to local music but also, in the many travels all across Europe and Northern Africa to appreciate different cultures and their music.
Influenced by such artists as Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk, he became fascinated with the concept of synthesizers and modular synthesis which led him to put together a small home studio, making his first compositions, using various percussion instruments combined with modern synth textures.
While still going to school, Baer joined local bands that went on to perform throughout Switzerland, Germany and France.
In 1986 Baer moved to Los Angeles to pursue an education in music and recording. He graduated from UCLA receiving degrees in engineering, recording arts and sciences and film scoring.
1990 saw the birth of "Blue Nile Recording", a commercial facility in Burbank, California.
Working closely with local composers, Blue Nile quickly became a home to various successful TV shows such as the Emmy Award winning Touched by an Angel (CBS), Promised Land (CBS), Arliss (HBO) and Passions (NBC).
A wide range of projects followed including such notable artists as Faithless, Dave Alvin, Steven Seagal, Roc Voisine, Peter Cox, Brenda Russell, Teena Marie, Kenny G., Paul Voudouris, Jeff Berlin and Rose Stone.
"Blue Nile" also became a vehicle for Baer to work on and release his own material, blending electronic soundscapes with acoustic percussion and ethnic vocals.
In early 2002 wanting to dedicate more time to his personal projects, Baer moved to Bangkok, Thailand, realizing his vision of a personal artist studio, where he's keeping busy producing music for computer games, theme park rides and future album releases.
