One way to stay inspired as a composer is to write a new piece of music in an unusual place. This could be in a coffee shop, airport or your local park.

It’s very easy to write in the comfort of your home studio but have you ever tried to compose in a public place with nothing more than your laptop and a six-dollar set of headphones?

This is exactly what I did the other day. I went to the marina, where I live, and sat down by the bay surrounded by a few passers-by, a fisherman and a handful of cargo ships.

My process was simple; I didn’t know what I was going to write, but I was just going to let my surroundings set the tone of my future composition.

And then it hit me – I thought of Brian Eno and his “Ambient 1: Music for Airport” album. That album consists of four compositions created by layering tape loops of differing lengths, intended to defuse the tense, anxious atmosphere of an airport terminal.

So, I came up with my own framework of how my composition was going to map out. My new music track was going to be a Drone Ambient track that was going to blend in with the humming noise of the cargo ships and the sounds around me.