Joe Corfield

Worcestershire, England

Old Salt

Hip-hopLo-fi

Behind the Music

The chapter I felt best embodies The Outlaw Ocean was the first chapter, “Storming the Thunder.” This chapter really sets the tone of the book through its coverage of the environmental impact of overfishing and murkiness of maritime law. More than that, it establishes a recurring concept present in the book - revealing the vast corruption and exploitation present on the high seas, how such actions are hurting our oceans, and how little we as readers likely know of it.

I found each moment, chapter, and story in The Outlaw Ocean to be as significant as the last. I felt it was gritty, impactful, and deeply moving, and I want to mirror that with my contribution. When composing my tracks, I aimed for a cinematic and sensory experience that inspires readers to dive deep into the book and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge it offers. Using some of the field recordings, such as rain, thunder, insects, machinery and some of Ian’s own speech over my music, I want to create a soundscape with my work that made a listener feel as if they were experiencing the stories from the book in real time.

Joe Corfield
About Joe Corfield

Joe Corfield is a producer and musician hailing from Birmingham, U.K. Joe began producing music back in 2011 and has been greatly inspired by hip-hop music and culture. He made his name by collaborating with rappers from across the U.K. and by releasing underground beat tapes and instrumental albums, which have now reached millions of listeners across the globe.

Winner of the 2021 Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Innovation in Journalism

The Journalism behind the Music

All music in this project is based on The Outlaw Ocean, a New York Times Best-Selling book by Ian Urbina that chronicles lawlessness at sea around the world. This reporting touches on a diversity of abuses ranging from illegal and overfishing, arms trafficking at sea, human slavery, gun running, intentional dumping, murder of stowaways, thievery of ships and other topics.

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