Music to Write By: CryoChamber

For those of you who have yet to discover the wonders of ambient music for writing and inspiration, wait no longer! By definition, ambient music is, "a style of instrumental music with electronic textures and no persistent beat, used to create or enhance a mood or atmosphere." Think of ambient music as a kind of soundscape for your writing world, like the musical themes in video game levels. They set a specific tone and since they tend to be long and generally neutral (there aren't many "drops" or severe changes in pace or sound) they can really help to get your mind in the right state for writing.

There are numerous varieties, sounds, and themes within ambient music, from nature and relaxation, to dark and industrial. With my book being a steampunk thriller, I definitely lean more towards the latter, and have been obsessed with finding good dark ambient music with a subtle creepy vibe to write to.

Enter CryoChamber, a dark ambient label with track after track of amazing work all available for a listen on their Bandcamp. The songs they put out are downright beautiful, and have an epic cinematic sound. Not to mention there is enough variety for just about any mood. It's hard to pick a favorite from among them, but luckily most (if not all) of their albums are available for unlimited streaming on Bandcamp.

As CryoChamber is just the label, there are many different artists represented on their Bandcamp. Among my favorites is Halgrath, whose album The Whole Path of War and Acceptance is quite unlike anything I've heard before. While all of the songs therein paint beautiful emotional pictures (the album's focus is upon the artist's inner struggles and transformations), the song The Opposite Mind and Mutuality is among the best of bunch with its tribal-esque percussion and eerie vocals.

So steep yourself a cup of tea and grab your pen, pencil, type-writer, or keyboard. Give a few albums a listen and you won't be disappointed.

Music to Write By: Dirtwire

Music is an absolutely essential element of writing for me. Long drives and a few good albums has inspired the majority of my story ideas, and music is a critical part of the writing process itself. The right ambience and lyrics will send your mind sailing to the far off lands of imagination. It can teach you a character's thoughts and motivations, send your heart racing through your next action sequence, and sting your eyes at every tragedy you pen.

Finding the "right" music can occupy far too much of a writer's time - trust me, I've procrastinated for hours building the perfect playlist to write by, only to get a mere few sentences written by the end of the day. So when I happen upon those certain artists and albums that just scream ambience and inspiration, I absolutely have to share them. Hopefully in so doing I'll save some others the time of clicking through YouTube's recommended music videos deeper and deeper into oblivion until you're listening to some dark grunge ambient electro folk singer from Siberia and you don't even know what you want to write anymore, let alone if the sounds you're listening to are actually music or a cat about to barf a hairball on an electric guitar.

This week, I was lucky enough to happen upon Dirtwire, an electro-acoustic duo whose soundscapes of trippy beats, backwoods guitar plucking, and badass-yet-chill vibe has me obsessed. If you were smoking a wooden pipe on the back-step of your gypsy wagon, you'd listen to this. If you were a rogue on the long dusty road to unknown adventure, this would play for you. If you were an adventurer exploring the stone ruins of an ancient city lost to time - you get the idea.

Comprised of David Satori of Beats Antique and Evan Fraser of Stellamara (both bands also very worthy of giving a listen to), Dirtwire has a distinct sound that is laid-back enough to suit almost any mood, with a hint of steampunk in its exotic electro beats. Not to mention the huge array of instruments Satori and Fraser bring to the table is downright impressive, with everything from the piano to the jimbush, the harmonica to bones (which can actually be real bones depending on how they're made, only adding to the badassery).

Their entire self-titled album is available to listen to FOR FREE on their Bandcamp page. There is also a "name your price" option to buy the album, which is a great option for those of us who wish to support these guys to keep producing but are also a little lacking in the money department ourselves.
Wishing you all love, light, and inspiration <3 Enjoy!

Stargazing

Think of the fact that you are such an infinitesimal being, existing on a speck of dust in the vastness of this universe. All of us here, on this delicate little rock we call Earth, can only know what we do of the universe we live in through lights and rays and glass.

There are innumerable stars. Planets. Solar systems. Galaxies.

RIGHT NOW, on a planet far, far away, something is happening. Whether it is a speck of dust blowing in the wind or an alien species going about its daily life. Stars are imploding. Black holes are warping space and time. It's a bit like that old questions, If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Things are out there happening, without any observance, without any life to see it and name it and chronicle it.

That is so beautiful. Somehow that is so freeing.

And perhaps . . . far far out there, beyond the wall of our universe . . .

Perhaps there is even more.

And somehow we are here, infinitesimal beings, who can ruminate upon the beauty of all that vastness.