Blog

Most people who have spent even a small amount of time around me learn very quickly that I adore music. I have my favorite artists for sure: Pink Floyd for a pensive moment, Coldplay during an inspirational workout, Dave Brubeck Quartet for a relaxing evening in, or even the Beach Boys during those gloomy, dark evenings that come every January to the Pacific Northwest. But I also very much enjoy listening to music while writing, and wanted to take a moment to talk about three albums I really enjoyed listening to during the writing and editing of “An Adventure Through the Togetherwood”. Also, I want to talk about the ways, I think, each of these albums reflects the style and vibe of my book.

First up is the album “Late Spring” by Chihei Hatakeyama. An extremely prolific composer of instrumental ambient music, I find Chihei’s style of delicate, atmospheric guitar work to be very soothing. I think he really creates a world that one can get lost in. It is the kind of music that can be put on in pretty much any context: knitting, being stuck in traffic, or even having a conversation with a friend over coffee. I think the word I used earlier, soothing, captures how this album connects to my own writing. When I was working on Togetherwood, I really did long to create something soothing for the reader. Through the characters and the situations, Eleanor’s discovery of the power of friendship, I wanted the reader to experience something that would feel good and comforting, like a big, warm hug. The song “Sound of Air” is a great example of this. Even in the midst of some difficult moments in the book’s plot, I never really wanted the reader to get too far away from this feeling.

The next album I want to mention is one that surprises me. Salamanda is a duo of experimental musicians from South Korea, and I was absolutely delighted to come across Ashbalkum, their most recent effort. How can I even describe what this sounds like? Their blend of vocal snippets, electronic beats, and keyboards, along with so many, many other sounds, all come together to create music that is full of playful energy. It comes across to me as really whimsical, almost like the experience a child would have exploring a jungle. Now that I think about it, I don’t think that’s too far from what I was going for with Togetherwood! The song “Mad Cat Party” really captures the feeling well (both in the music and also the title). Then there’s “Melting Hazard”, which is built around a hypnotic xylophone figure. This music, for me, really soundtracks the discovery, exploration, and wonder that characterize Eleanor’s adventure with Dax and Claire.

Finally, I wanted to mention an album that has a more personal meaning for me. Alex Johnston and I have been good friends for over a decade now, and I have been happy to watch his musical development, experimentation, and maturation over the years. Alex has music that is quite reminiscent of post-britpop alternative (kind of like old Coldplay), some other more electronic pop stuff, and also some long-form ambient music. But the album that comes to mind for me, the one that I put on many times while writing Togetherwood, is called “Chance Thoughts”. An instrumental, ambient album based around the piano, this album has a very powerful sense of intimacy to it. It is very organic. When I put it on, I feel like I am in a room with him as he is playing it. That sense of closeness, of being grounded in a place, is something I wanted to have in my book. I wanted the reader to feel immersed, like they were with Eleanor and her friends, participating in their journey. The sentimental, melodic “A Quiet Place”, or the spacious, sad “Arriving Slowly”, are two tracks that capture the album’s atmosphere well.

These are three albums that I found myself listening to quite a lot while working on Togetherwood. I always find it so captivating to think about the ways in which art can intersect and connect. My hope is that by sharing this music, I can better give readers a sense of what Togetherwood means to me. Moreover, perhaps now you may have some albums, artists, or songs come to mind that mean a lot to you!