Insights on Inspiration
A little blog post about songs that inspired the isolation/adventure horror in my Voices from the Cold trilogy.
Art Feeds into Art
Like many creatives, I see the interconnectivity of narrative and story throughout all medias and formats, all genres and structures. In many ways, I feel this is the true glory of film as a medium, bringing together as it does so many different elements and facets of creativity into one cohesive whole. In film, we see on full display the use of light, sound, motion, and makeup all working in conjunction to tell a story, to realize a vision.
Writing, too, strives to realize a whole vision, but the beautiful thing about writing, which separates it from other forms, is the depth and personal connection it allows the consumer and artist to have with one another. When you read a book, you are peering into the mind, body, and soul of that author. You are spending intentional, committed time with them. You are connecting with them on a plane that exists only between the two of you. Everyone, thereafter, who reads the book, or before, for that matter, will foster a different relationship with it, interpret the message uniquely, and experience the text in a wholly subjective way. Another aspect of the reader/writer relationship that I find truly special is the devotion and time committed to sharing art with one another — between each other. A movie is over in 90 minutes, despite the fact that it took 10 years to create. A book lives with you for days, if not weeks, before you reach the conclusion of the narrative.
Songs, I think, live somewhere in between. Like films, they are shorter forms of art, more immersive in their encompassing of various senses, more accessible in their universal appeal, and atmospheric quality, but all art is interconnected, and I know I speak for plenty of other artists when I say that music is a vital part of many people’s creative process.
Like many other authors, I have to drown out the world to a fairly significant degree before I can creatively focus. I can work in a bar or coffee shop, but not without my trusty, noise-cancelling headphones that allow me to distill the general hubbub of everyday humanity into a soothing white noise.
Of course, like interpretations of art, soothing is a highly subjective concept. When writing Crevasse, book one of my Voices from the Cold Trilogy, that soothing sound was traditional Celtic, Germanic, and Nordic folk music sung in the native tongues of its creators. I also love music from the stories that are near to my heart, predominantly, songs from influential films and video games that have profoundly inspired and impacted me throughout my life.
Here is my playlist, in no particular order:
Fever Ray -If I Had a Heart
Faun- Diese kalte Nacht
Eivør- Í Tokuni
Eivør- Brotin
Skald- Herr Mannelig
Skald- Run
Skald- Grótti
Skald- Elverhøy
Clamavi De Profundis- A Song for Durin
Clamavi De Profundis- Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold
Clamavi De Profundis- A Lament for the Rohirrim
Patty Gurdy- Over the Hills and Far Away
Celtic Angels- Edge of Night
Peter Gundry- Følkvangr
Danheim- Ulfhednar
Lindsey Sterling- Skyrim
Hans Zimmer- Specters in the Fog
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- A Song for Jesse
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- A Song for Bob
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- Rather Lovely Thing
Entire Soundtracks from the following Video Games:
Elder Scrolls Morrowind
Elder Scrolls Skyrim
The Witcher Three
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask
Metroid Prime
You can listen to this playlist for yourself AT THIS LINK :).
No Understandable Lyrics (Mostly…)
I find song with lyrics, aside from those I’ve heard a million times, disrupt my ability to get swept away by the flow state that cultivates my best writing. That said, I do love good singing and the utilization of the voice as another instrument in the band, as much as to convey the message of the lyrics, has always been amongst my favorite aspects of a great song. Listening to these songs in another language allows me to indulge my love for singing, the evident passion of the singer, and that contribution to the overall art-form. I also enjoy the structure of a lyrical song without the actual lyrics distracting my highly distractible mind.
Additionally, many folk songs incorporate chanting, non-lyrical vocalization, and human performances like dance to further enrich the listening experience and I love channeling that traditional devotion to art that only folk music can truly evoke. There’s something to that — folk culture, that has managed to echo and emanate throughout the ages, no matter how much time stretches between then and now. It lives in our bones, and when you have a personal or genealogical connection to that culture, I think your soul recognizes it in a special way. We don’t need words to share that connection, we only need the music, and when you imbue you're writing with that inherent connection, it deeply enriches the text — and I hope, makes it more than simply ‘words on the page.’
Cultivating a Vibe and Mental Atmosphere
I love music that immerses me in a story of its own, and a story is so much more than all the narrative elements we often use to label it. A story isn’t just plot, pacing, character — a story is a living, breathing environment into which we invite our readers, listeners, viewers, etc. A great story,like any room, has a smell, a temperature, a density, and a tone depending on who that space is shared with, how that space is designed, what that space is utilized for, and what ground that space is built upon; metaphorically or literally. Just as a good writer cultivates the proper setting, atmosphere, and tone through their prose, I believe all the songs on this playlist do the same through their own artistic medium,m and it always inspires me to do the same.
I want that depth in my stories that these songs create. I want readers to feel fully immersed, like when you go out into the water, far enough from shore that you have to start questioning if you can swim, but on a beautiful enough day that you can’t help but feel the majesty of nature, even as it’s ever-present danger looms just beneath you too. These songs do that, and they put my mind in the right creative space to create the stories I dream about.
Connection
Just as I vie for that deep connection with my readers, I seek that same connection which culminates naturally in me when consuming the art that I love. These songs all had an immediate and dramatic impact and influence on me; they gave me chills and made me want to go out and create something for myself. They inspired me then, and they continue to inspire every time I hear them. Like writing in general, they’ve become a part of my personal culture, my personal and subjective journey through the universe. They vibrate through my bones, call to my past lives, and inspire me to contribute my best art, I’m capable of, to the modern horror genre.
I hope that in my stories, my podcasts, or in my performances you find something to connect with and inspire your own creativity as well.
If you want to get your hands on that sexy new edition of Crevasse, you can do so AT THIS LINK!
As always, thanks for being here, and I’ll see you next time!
-Clay
I find this absolutely fascinating...and can't wait to listen through the playlist. I know a number of narrators who use specific music to get them "in the zone" before going in the recording booth. Perhaps these tracks will inspire me to follow suit!