What Ian is trying to do with The Outlaw Ocean Music Project is fascinating — using music and song to make the stories told in his book all the more evocative. All journalism is important in holding people accountable, but this — these stories of suffering far away from the attention of the masses — can be life-saving and lead to substantial changes. Indeed, Lang Long’s story in The New York Times became the catalyst for an investigation led by U.S. government officials. 

Taking this reporting beyond the facts to emotion through music and art helps “color in” the stories, giving them more depth and making them resonate even more. With my track, “Lang Long’s Song,” I wanted it to seem as if Lang Long’s was recounting the story himself, touching the listener at an even deeper level. I used the refrain “I never want to see the sea again,” something both genuine and intentionally ironic in a book that makes you constantly confront the sea and a melancholy melody that captures the whole subject of The Outlaw Ocean.

Stephen Hough