Ocean Whispers
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
In the vast, enigmatic embrace of the ocean, there lies a story—whispered, haunting, and infinite. Ocean Whispers is an attempt to capture that poignant yearning we've all felt, standing at the edge of the endless, feeling both insignificant and consumed by boundless desire. Much like the elusive "green light" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," this musical odyssey speaks to the heart's relentless chase for dreams that move—forever distant, forever desired. The tragic beauty of the unattainable.
One afternoon, I was hiking through the Northern Cascades, and the Minecraft piano music echoed persistently in my mind—like an old siren's song.
There was something truly compelling to me in there. When I got home and read about it, I learned that these tunes were birthed from generative music techniques, a legacy pioneered by Brian Eno. The concept of crafting entire musical ecosystems? It utterly captivated my imagination.
So much of Ocean Whispers began with simple generative ideas, which I later composed into structured songs. In fact, I’m making a YouTube video right now outlining how I did it. But it started with the idea of the ocean, something that repeats over and over (it waves and waves) but is different every single time, no two waves are exactly the same, even if they look alike to our eyes.
To help with the structure for the music, I created a short narrative.
His heart had always been restless, yearning for adventures not yet embarked upon. The vast, endless ocean mirrored the infinity of his dreams.
He would stand at the shore's edge, gazing at a mysterious sequence of blinking lights known as the "Ocean Whispers”.
Years rolled by, and he continued his nightly vigils, documenting each blink, every rhythm. His home became a labyrinth of sketches, notes, and ancient maritime books. Many nights he would dream of floating beyond those lights.
One fateful evening, as a particularly intense storm was brewing, he believed he had cracked the code. The wind howled, and waves crashed with fury, drowning out the whispering call of the lights. With a heart full of hope and a mind teeming with anticipation, he ventured toward the sea, leaving behind the comfortable rhythm of the Ocean Whispers.
And he never returned.
But every so often, messages in bottles would wash ashore, containing letters that described wondrous underwater cities, encounters with fantastic sea creatures, and the beauty of sunken treasures. He had become the eternal adventurer, living his dream and sharing his discoveries with the world he left behind.
This story helped create a solid foundation for the visual direction. And after a lot of work, Ocean Whispers was born.
The concept and story also convinced me to finally create and sell some merch, something I’ve been neglecting for awhile.
Ocean Whispers is currently streaming on Bandcamp but can also be pre-saved on your favorite streaming service. There will also be a listening party on Bandcamp next Thursday, 10/26, at 4:30 (PST).
Thank you for reading and listening :)
And only one book this month, but it’s a good one:
The Wisdom of Insecurity — Alan Watts
Out of all the philosophers I’ve discovered since graduating from college, I can think of no one thinker that’s impacted me more than Alan Watts. I’ve spent hours (probably days actually) listening to his lectures via the Waking Up app and YouTube.
I don’t think there’s ever been anyone quite like him.
“If you can’t trust yourself, why then do you trust your mistrust in yourself?”
He distills so many profound ideas in uniquely memorable ways. And out of all the books of his I’ve read, this one is his most existential and prophetic.
My favorite quote from the book, and one that is very relevant to Ocean Whispers:
“If happiness always depends on something expected in the future, we are chasing a will-o’-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until the future, and ourselves, vanish into the abyss of death.”
