Throughout the process of writing and producing the Uncharted EP for The Outlaw Ocean Music Project, I found myself asking: “What separates people who are trapped living on boats and me? How easily could I have been born somewhere else, and had to experience less fortunate circumstances?” Reading Ian’s reporting was a catalyst for these musings, specifically the chapter “Jail Without Bars.” When you shift the perspective of the seas — a world commonly seen as a place of paradise and leisure —into something sinister and threatening, it gives a new meaning to living safely on land. Gaining this insight into what really happens in the ocean was incredibly eye-opening and led me to ponder things that pulled me deeper in the world of The Outlaw Ocean. 

I also looked to visual content as much as I could when composing my tracks — grey clouds over a navy blue ocean, almost pitch black control rooms, illuminated by nothing but red light and the glow of the radar screen and buttons. Bass and electronic music are genres I feel don’t always pay attention to these sorts of environments, usually because they’re too loud and flashy. Finding that balance between power and the unusual ambience of life at sea captured by Ian and ultimately translating it into song was thrilling.

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