I have been doing this on Twitter and it started with a question I saw.
If your books were turned in to films, what music would you want?
Now... to say I am a big electronica and rave fan is an understatement, but few groups really have the power and presence of Orbital and while I listen to a lot of different music, theirs really lends itself to my works. In fact I listen to the In Sides album as I write. I find it spurs on my creative thought process.
So... without further ado... here is my list.
Proteus:
As an overall theme one track really sticks with Proteus overall. It is Really Slow Motion's Worlds Afar. This is in a way the sister track to Shifting Skys which I felt was best suited to Symbiotica.
That said, each of the four Proteus Sagas also have their own themes too so...
Neo Alphius Saga (Books 1 to 3) - For this, I have Orbital - There will come a time Instrumental
Endless Saga (Book 4 to 6) - For this, I have Orbital - Lost
Natural Selection Saga (Books 7 to 9) For this I have Orbital - Distractions
Okay... now I am teasing you...
The Destiny Saga (Books 10 to 12) - I have Orbital - Pants (Odd name, great track)
From here we move to the Proteus Unbound Series
As the Overall "Unbound" Theme for the whole series I have no choice really.
Two Steps From Hell - All Is Hell that End Well
It is worth noting that Proteus beyond the master theme uses Oribital tracks for each saga, but for Unbound I have slowly moved to Neoclassic Electronica from some of the greats of this field.
The Future Imperfect Saga- Dealing with the Thousand Year War and refugees from that time, particularly Mobeius and the Hellions, I wanted something really dark and foreboding for this saga. Aptly enough Really Slow Motion's The Dark One provides that frightening air of menace.
The Unity Saga - Considering the whole story of Unity as it looks at Koli's lost years in space and the fallout from those lost years. Considering the fact I am introducing the utterly terrifying "Unity" in these books, I wanted a track that had a soft melody mixed with a frightening element. The only one I really fell for with this is Really Slow Motions Th3 Awak3n1ng with its techno military theme
The Legacy Saga - For this one, I move to a collab between two power houses. The Legacy Saga really works with Varien and Two Steps from Hell - Corus Grom (Sneaky bit - There is a really spooky vocal sound in this track that almost makes you wince. For those who are interested, that sound is what I imagine Nemesis to sound like when she tries to speak)
The Hyperion Saga - After much consideration, the track I think fits the best is Really Slow Motion's Bionic Souls. It fits with the whole three books as it tells the story of Hyperion
Symbiotica - For this, I wanted something that told the story of that brave group that left their home behind as it died. I needed something beautiful and evocative while mixing in some scifi elements, telling the story that would lead up to Proteus. To that end, going back to Really Slow Motion with a beautiful and haunting track called Shifting Skies
(Sneaky bit - not only do I do the artwork, but I also like to think what things sound like too. If you listen to shifting skies, there is this pulse like sound throughout the track. If you ever wondered what the sound of a Proteus ship jumping sounds like, this is it. Key to this time index and you will hear it at 1.36 onwards.)
For the Shadow War Saga (part of the Proteus Unbound Series although this falls under Symbiotica), I wanted to change things up a little bit. I picked Instrumental Core's Hybridisation of Humanity. This is one seriously dark and moving track and fits so well with the themes.
Pentalore - Radically changed my mind here. I really wanted something different for this and I came across Instrumental Core. They do Neoclassical Dubstep and it is just stunning. For Pentalore I fell in love with their mood and powerful Dark Angel track. Take a listen.
Dystopian Detective - For this series I break with the norm and I have a different group - LFO and their excellent and spooky "Think a Moment"
Alphius Prime - I originally chose a track by Orbital however another track actually sat right with me, even down to its name. I have changed my mind a few times until I came across a track on the Two Steps From Hell Dragon Album called Emerald Princess. This is a stunning piece of music that really encapsulates the whole Alphius Prime Two Cities Saga. It starts quite ancient, with an almost fantasy score, but it evolves introducing more modern instruments until in the end it effectively becomes almost modern electronica. In a way this evolution fits with the story of Alphius Prime although I really can't say more than that as it would give too much of this epic story away.
Olympus Initiative - Again, its not out yet, but for this I wanted something hard, classy and slapping you round the head - Magnetic Man's Karma Crazy is perfect.
Children of the Empire - Again this is still in the works, but it finally brings the Archal's out of the shadows and they have been haunting my books for a while now. This is a full on three part cross over series featuring Symbiotica, Dystopian Detective, Pentalore, Proteus and the Olympus Initiative as they fight for the very survival of Earth as we know it.
Music wise, I am returning to Intrumental Core with their epic track Angels Amongst Demons, almost as if the track was written for this series - by far one of the most powerful pieces of music I have heard.
This is a very haunting, jarring and somewhat sad track which really fits with the series and when you do finally meet the Archals you will see why the Aemon were so fearful of them.
Aioria - This new series in development is the journey of an Artificial Intelligence as it learn about our world in the backdrop of being hunted just because he exists. I wanted something beautiful and haunting for the theme and Really Slow Motion has their epic track Aeorian.
Finally... not a series, but a character theme tune, in the shape of
Koli, my favourite bonkers little starship. For this, can't help but
have the extremely fun and playful Orbital - Fun with the System
