The creation vibration
About making words, music, and magic
Let’s unpack this fun one, shall we?
In Hindu philosophy, the universe was created from the primordial cosmic sound known as Aum (or Om). Often described as the “root” of the universe, it is the first vibration that emerged from formless consciousness, from which all of existence, time, and the material world unfolded. In Christianity, we find written in the book of Genesis, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’: and there was light.” The ancient Hermetic text, the Corpus Hermeticum, famously links the origins of the material world to the articulation of a divine utterance; “The Word was the first archetype of the light.” The Greek philosopher Pythagoras coined the concept of the Musica Universalis (Music of the Spheres), and this was expanded upon by the Neoplatonists who believed the cosmos was an outpouring of divine sound.
When considering the above it’s pretty clear to me that the core of creation was (and continuous to be) sound. I consider music to be a kind of magical conduit. I too use sound as a tool to invoke creativity to make stuff. Concocting poetry or prose or even a simple illustration (I’m a serious doodler) without the presence of sound (whether instrumental, lyrical, nature soundscapes or ambient loops) remains challenging.
Despite high hopes, I wasn’t able to attend the Franschhoek Literary Festival this past weekend. I did, however, try to keep up with the goings on. One of my favourite people interviewed a novelist who writes speculative fiction and whose career I’m closely following for reasons. During Riley Herbert-Henry’s talk to Sven Axelrad, Sven mentioned how music influences his work, a notion I found wholly relatable. Like Sven, I’m also an avid book playlist maker.
In the pursuit of full transparency, I’ll confess that I’m arguably one of the most easily distracted people you’ll ever meet. That’s why when I’m writing fiction in particular, I prefer instrumental music initially. Songs with lyrics come a bit later as the story unfolds and the characters come alive. At this point (of no return, that is), the characters become vocal, often rewriting their own storylines, even having a go at the plot (if I let them). Before you know it, your new imaginary friends are keeping you up at night, outlining their wants and needs. And they’re very particular about choosing songs for the story, as well as their own anthems. So, naturally, my debut speculative novel titled Bloodbird – to launch this October – also has a playlist consisting of songs that the story chose. I had little to do with it, to be honest. The only song that came before the book, was Lana del Rey’s Born to Die, which was the song that triggered this coming-of-rage tale about brokenhearted Naomi Sutton and her Bloodbird.
You can find my current Spotify playlists on my website here. In the meantime, I would like to highlight ten songs to spark your curiosity:
Born to Die by Lana del Rey – the song that birthed a book
Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift – a song that describes how protagonist Naomi sees herself
Every Single Night by Fiona Apple – accurately describes Naomi’s physical affliction
Ava Adore by The Smashing Pumpkins – a song to Ava from nearly every man that meets her
Friday I’m In Love by The Cure – the song that plays when shit hits the car fan
I Will Follow You into the Dark by Deathcab for Cutie – a song from Ava to Naomi
Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult – a song from Jimmy to Ava
Magic by Coldplay – Leo’s song to Naomi
Cruel Crazy Beautiful World by Johnny Clegg – the song Ava chooses as Naomi’s ringtone when she forgets her phone at home
Three Sisters by Beats Antique and Tatyana Kalmykova – The Du Toit Sisters’ song, perhaps even a good pick for a theme song if Bloodbird makes it to film 😉
“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real.” — Tom Petty
Thanks for reading. Bye for now.
E
Resonance…