Guy T Martland: Music for The Scion

I find it hard to write without music. I need it to transport me to that other place where writing comes naturally. Think of it as jump starting my imagination, the battery of which has become flat due to the excesses of work in a busy hospital. So it goes without question that I listened to many different notes whilst writing 'The Scion'.

It doesn't come as much surprise that many writers have music on in the background during the creative process. SF writer Al Reynolds reportedly played lots of Interpol loudly while writing 'Revelation Space'. And another Al (Robertson) writes beautifully how music was important to him when writing his recently published SF novel 'Crashing Heaven'.

Much of the music which vibrated my tympanic membrane during the 112,000 or so words and various edits of 'The Scion' comprised instrumental pieces - these seemed better suited to the atmosphere I was trying to create (and possibly prevented copyright issues with lyric creep). Some of these artists I like to think of as purveyors of SF music, or at least music which goes some way to explain the unfathomable depths of space and the alien worlds surely out there. Music, in its inexplicable way, explains the unexplained. Tangle your headphone wires around that one.

This was a playlist I made for my friend Dr Rich Grenyer back in 2012 or so as 'accompanying listening' to 'The Scion'. Think of it as the novel's soundtrack if you like. Not all tracks are available, including one I wrote (with a different friend) which may never see the light of day. But you get the gist.

1. Glink - Bola