Scott Ezell is a composer, poet and musician, originally from San Diego. He now lives on Taiwan's East Coast of Taiwan, in an isolated farmhouse about 20 kilometers north of Taidong City.

      Next to his house, he has built a recording studio from driftwood, with the help of local sculptors. It was here that he recorded "Ocean Hieroglyphics," a CD recently released by Wind Records.

      "Ocean Hieroglyphics" combines the sounds of the ocean waves with those of the classical guitar, steel-string guitar, harmonica, mbira (African thumb piano), Chinese flute, djembe (African hand drum) and banjo. Ezell plays all of these instruments himself.

      He says: "When I moved to the East Coast, it became a natural thing to try to express the ocean. I feel connected to the ocean and to the coast. It’s also a powerful metaphor for me that this body of water is between America and myself."

      As for the "hieroglyphics" part of the title, Ezell says that hieroglyphics are images that express ideas. "They are language but they are not words. So, I thought of hieroglyphics as something both concrete and abstract."

      Ezell describes his music as "organic folk music." He explains that, "I think of it as music that evolves organically as what it is, rather than me trying to make music in order to satisfy something that is outside of myself. I think of it as trying to listen for music 'seeds' and then give them what they need to grow. "

      "There isn't much music that comes out of Taiwan that moves me," Ezell says. But he does have a special fondness for traditional aboriginal music. "One of the things I love most [about living in Taidong] is that I can come down the mountain, and have the chance to get together with friends and spend time with tribal elders. When they start singing their songs, it is incredibly moving to me."