The image of kelp swaying under the waves was firmly in my mind as I settled on this lovely E minor chord that I'd learned recently.
Chatting with Marco at Naviar Records via email recently about their YouTube channel led me to record a video, although I'm feeling very out of the habit as the takes were rusty and the footage underwhelming.
The title came about via association. First I was thinking how the track was recorded on a guitar using a 'Nashville' tuning. The air pollution in the Riverina has been shocking, so the working title was Ashville.
Then, to tie the song back to the sea, I was thinking of Ashmore Reef. I've never visited that reef, so I don't know if it has much kelp, but it used to be in the news as the site of refugee arrivals before the Australian Government stopped reporting on the subject.
I think the melancholy of the song works as the notion of waves reflects both the sea and the misery of human traffic.