Music: Brian Eno

During the writing of The Black Sky, I posted about music I was listening to at the time that provided inspiration. I didn't get to all of the music, as my playlist became massive - almost 2,000 songs by the end. However, one I failed to mention that really deserves a post is Brian Eno.

I didn't start listening to Eno with the writing of the book. I actually started months before, as I was searching for morning music while I worked at my regular job. I found music with lyrics early in the morning to be jarring and distracting, and searched out instrumental ambient music to put on while I was groggily sifting through emails in my inbox or working on Excel and Word docs. I had heard about his ambient series, specifically Music for Airports, and decided to put that on one morning. I believe that became my morning routine for several months after. If you checked my Spotify profile and what I was actively listening to, you'd think I was stuck in a loop. In retrospect, that was appropriate.

Once I started on a regular daily writing schedule with The Black Sky, I explored the entire Eno discography, including his collaborations with Cluster, Harold Budd, Moebius and Daniel Lanois. All of the music became essential in the creative process, as I have found that silence is a killer for me when writing. I need some sort of "other" going on in my brain, and Eno's music did and does that. It's subtle and unobtrusive, activating my subconscious in a way I cannot explain. Music for Airports, Neroli, The Drop and other Eno albums work in all situations for my writing purposes, whereas other artists and albums I might use as inspiration for specific scenes (i.e. more uptempo or dramatic music for an action sequence).