Credits
Production: Mixer Jaëxx
Album: Bradenton Ambient
Mastering: Mixer Jaëxx
Copyright: Mixer Jaëxx, U.S. Copyright Office, 2017
Creation
Bayshore Gardens is the first ambient song I created for the album. Bayshore Gardens started out as a test to see if I could create ambient music that was unique but a repeatable process. Creating Bayshore Gardens proved I could create the kind of ambient music I envisioned in my mind.
I set out creating a set of “inspiration rules” for ambient songs I will create. I thought about the times I most often listen to ambient music; at night, many times while driving on desolate roads or eerie city streets. So I decided my music will capture that essence.
The hard part would be finding inspiration and meaning to the songs as other ambient music is pretty devoid of meaning and substance. So I stepped outside where I live at two in the morning to give it some thought. The city of Bradenton was quiet with only the sound of the breeze blowing by. That’s when I decided the final set of inspiration rules; each ambient album would be based on a city that holds special meaning to me and each song would be about the feeling of being in that area late at night. The album will be called “Bradenton Ambient” and the first song called “Bayshore Gardens”.
Bayshore Gardens is the catalyst that set everything in motion. I went outside and recorded the sound of the wind blowing on my iPhone. I used that sound as filler noise. I then recorded the sound of the wind rustling some tree leaves and turned that sound into a rhythmic scratching sound.
To structure the melody of my first ambient song, I thought back to the first song I created; Been So Lonely. Been So Lonely started out, about 13-15 years ago, as a xylophone. So I took the same custom xylophone sampler device from Been So Lonely and installed it into the device rack of Bayshore Gardens.
The rest of the song took form fairly quickly.