The Music of Creation

I’ve been working a lot on Nefertiti Overdrive, and I’m almost always listening to music when I do so. I have my “Centurion playlist,” the music to which I listened when I worked on Centurion: Legionaries of Rome. I’ve added one album to that playlist, but it’s still doing its work.

Kind of like setting up a regular schedule to write so that your brain starts to shift into creative at a specific time as butt hits seat and fingers hit keyboard, I think music can also play a part. Or maybe it’s just psychosomatic. I really don’t care. What I care is that when I start listening to the music, my brain shifts into creative mode and I tend to be very productive.
The entire playlist is composed of soundtracks – more specifically, scores. And the majority of those albums are composed by Hans Zimmer, either entirely or with another composer. I think part of what I like about Hans Zimmer – I mean, along with his ability and skill – is his use of non-Western instrumentations and techniques. While I absolutely adore John Barry’s score for the Black Hole, it is very traditional. While there is much traditional in the scores for Black Hawk Down or Gladiator, Hans Zimmer also includes much that is very different, and I think he does so with great skill.

So, in case you are wondering, the Centurion playlist includes:

Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Tears of the Sun by Hans Zimmer

The Black Hole, by John Barry

Troy, by James Horner

Tron: Legacy by Daft Punk

The new addition is another Hans Zimmer soundtrack, Man of Steel.

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