Ambient Compositions - J Mabbott

Many years ago I worked on a fishing boat that mostly plyed the waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island.  There was often rough weather with high winds that tossed the boat around.  It was hard work and quite stressful, especially during a storm.  We were regularly as far as 25 miles off the coast, too far to smell the forest, hear the shore birds or the echos of sounds bouncing off the mountains.

But, when we returned to the ports up and down the "Inside Passage" between the mainland and Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii there was an overwhelming sense of calm with fragrant evergreen forests, shore birds and every sound reverberating off the surface of the water and the coastal mountains.  Mist often shrouded the small islands giving it a very mystical look and feel. That’s what this composition is about.

Inside Passage

This composition begins with a repeating figure played on my acoustic upright bass.  There is a synthesized piano loop playing in the distance and a recording of various scratch radio talk shows that I recorded off a cheap transistor radio as I dialled through the broadcast spectrum.  Added to this are various synthesized loops of rain soaked streets, traffic noise and warbling synth pads.  I was trying to give the impression of the sound of downtown Vancouver after a rain, when most people are still asleep and only a few are out and about or still playing music in the early hours.

Downtown Early Morning

The Shape I'm In (YarDog Live)

Regen #1

Regen #2

Smoke drifting across the north shore mountains in Vancouver on a sunny day.

Smoke On The Mountain

Mountain Retreat #1

High by the Waters Edge

High By The Water's Edge

First

Radio

Cricket sounds for meditation

Calming Crickets Sounds

Inside Passage

JMabbott

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