I remember the first time I heard Grouper's Heavy Water/I'd rather be sleeping, it felt like Anya had whispered a secret into my ear. I felt her presence long before I saw her in my mind's eye- this girl would flit in and out like a memory, and once I heard the opening bars to the song, the wisp of an idea materialised into the girl she became, the centre of my story. I saw her sitting on the mound blowing butterflies and then I saw Shui join her and watched the birth of an intense friendship that would change so many lives. The lyrics seemed to speak to both my state of mind and hers...
In dreams I'm moving through heavy water The love is enormous its lifting me up I'd rather be sleeping I'd rather fall into tidal waves and go where the deepest currents go
Music takes up a lot of space in my life edging out, perhaps, even reading. When I write, music acts like a mood board, the sort you can find in a fashion designers studio. The period of world creation and writing out the first draft is intensely private and a little isolating. This world is relentless in that it takes as much joy as it gives; it requires constant fuel and music delivers in spades. Everything else, books and television, become a distraction and I have to stay away unless they are completely unrelated, like Modern Family. But music feeds my work and I always began my writing day with this song because it set the stage. The other song that was instrumental in creating a scene was The Rain by Joe Hisaishi, played by Blanc. While this song cannot help but remind you of rain, instead of water I saw red petals falling from the sky. I saw my four darling girls twirling in happiness, having achieved what they set out to do, empowered by an inner strength they had obviously tapped into, and yet darkness lie waiting at the periphery, always waiting for them and it kicks in...to Bloodstream by Rudimental and Ed Sheeran.
I plan to create a better organised chapter wise analysis of the playlist soon but until then here's the whole list. Let me know what you think, which part of the book the songs fit the best.
If you like some of the less known songs on the playlist, like Zoe Keating's Escape Artist, please buy or download.
See below for the full playlist- here is the track list.
https://itunes.apple.com/in/playlist/the-hidden-children-the-lost-grimoire/pl.u-gJmIbaG9lj
If you haven't had a chance to get your hands on the book yet, you can buy a copy here
If you want to chat feel free to comment below or email me at reshma@reshmakrishnan.com