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TERRA FIRMA: LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS — WRESTLING WITH MENTORS

MENTOR #1: JORGE LUIS BORGES There is, in one person, a strange sea within. Every time you pick up one of his short stories, or read through one of his poems, you feel like you’re setting forth on an epic journey to mysterious, undiscovered lands. (I’m still freaking out about Hampton Sides’ fabulous The Wide Wide Sea , where Captain Cook is sailing hither and yon, from darn near pole to pole, in this wooden ship—a wooden world, actually—encountering new peoples, sometimes hostile, almost always magical, and moving through these uncharted spaces as if he were mapping the universe!) That one person? Jorge Luis Borges. I have learned more about mystery and magical moments from him than from almost anyone. Here is a poet whose poems can read like a novel, a short-story prose master whose stories can read like poems. Borges enters mental climes that are almost always uncharted. Think of it! His short stories unfold like novels, and he is careful—or perhaps un-careful —to unfold his tales w...
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THE TERRA FIRMA PLAYLIST: 4 (DOWN THAT HAPPY RABBIT HOLE)!

 

From Left: Sync24; Adriatique; Sesen; Astropilot

People always ask "What are you listening to?" or "How or where can you hear new sounds?" It's a daunting question, but here are a few answers — or at least the ones that fueled Terra Firma, an alien horror story fueled by music of all types. It's a 400-page novel, yes, but music of some type was filling my own soundscape the entire time I wrote it.

So we come to EDM, the most wide-ranging of all modern music. You can go to the Spotify, Apple Music, or SoundCloud suggestion lists, but I've got to tell you — I'm out driving through Silver Lake in the City of Angels at 3 am and my phone is on KCRW's Music / KCRW selections. Choose your genre and they will take you on a journey, trust me. It's free (I subscribe, but you don't have to unless you really benefit from the source — it's an extraordinary resource). They will open your ears.

The compilation is often stumbled upon, and it yields much fruit. Greenosophy is the collection that keeps on giving. I discovered Sesen here, as well as Cygna. When Gunz and Lucky march in for their showcase, Sesen is surging on the speakers. Her "Emerge" instantly prepares the girls to conquer.

One thing leads to another, and in a quest for that particular sound I arrived at Sync24's "Inadvertent" from his Comfortable Void album. This opens the final set of the novel — I dare you to find a better opening gambit. It is simply intoxicating.

Astropilot is prolific, and his many CDs and streams are available. In many ways he is the ambient king. Dreamy, searching, always fitting any mode or mood, his music refuses to be imprisoned in strict categories. Lucky is listening to "Languor" from his sublime Solar Walk when she breaks into the alien code. I can think of no better aural aide.

The EDM pool is ocean-wide, but there are ways to get a handle on such riches. I've suggested a few, but let it be known that iTunes (my favorite music store) has all the selections listed above, and YouTube and Spotify (as in the case of Solar Walk) often have them as well.

EDM does many things for the listener, but probably its greatest gift is that it is bendable; it can be stretched, folded, bent, and molded into a soundscape that suits your needs when you need it. And in Terra Firma, music is a core element.

More Terra Firma music: Playlist! Part One | Playlist: Part Two | Soundtrack: Part Three | The Nylons Electrify "Remember" | Playlist: Part 5 | Soundtrack: When You Hear It You'll Know!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so speak your mind. Leave me a comment or feel free to hit me up at: fromandromedaandback@gmail.com. And thank you!

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