The most challenging part of the creative process was sifting through the wealth of inspiring material to determine what the main guiding element should be — a specific part of The Outlaw Ocean, an idea for the music, one of the field recordings, the atmosphere or mood. I’ve also never used ambient sounds to make music before. I didn’t really come to a definitive answer and, instead, each piece explored a slightly different approach, enabling me to experiment with a multitude of approaches. In the past, I’ve been inspired by my compositions as they emerged. With this project, I was inspired by the field recordings, Ian’s vivid writing and the songs themselves as they came into fruition. Each element fed into each other. It was very satisfying when everything came together because it was something that felt unique from most other projects I’ve worked on. 

One of the things I did find myself most interested in and drawn to were the human stories I read in the book, such as that of David George Mndolwa and the sea slaves. Although many of these tales are full of sorrow, I wanted to translate a tone of hope while acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. In doing so, I hope that this will bring these issues to a wider audience that can then drive a change, which to me is the main goal of this project and Ian’s reporting.

Christina Higham