Andrew
The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the Dark Forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top, they would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.
As a psychology graduate I studied how sound affects human performance.
As a musician I compose instrumental music that stimulates your brain but doesn't mess with your language centers, leaving you free to write creatively without distraction.
As a curator I research how music can improve your life and create flow - I can tell you what music to listen to when studying for a test and why listening to sad music can make you feel better.
As a creator / contributor at musicto I believe that music can make the world better.
What I'm doing nowPlaylists
Music for 18 Musicians – Steve Reich
30 March 2017
I love tracks that open like this – there’s an immediate sense of energy and urgency and yet – it’s not overwhelming or overpowering – it just picks you up and gently carries you along. Perfect opening track for an essay writing playlist.
Sadeness – Enigma
28 March 2017
Anybody who had ears in the early 90’s couldn’t move without hearing this track, it was one of those things that just exploded on the scene and was suddenly everywhere.
Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams
27 March 2017
While blood will always be thicker than water, sometimes it’s only your friends who are able to save you. At times like these – this is the track you should reach for.
L’alternativa – bzur
27 March 2017
Originally placed on the Music to Grieve to playlist I knew it would be perfect for essay writing too. Put it on repeat and it works brilliantly.
Song From A Secret Garden – Secret Garden
24 March 2017
So now I have to go to someone with Latin heritage in Los Angeles to introduce me to Celtic / Scandinavian music – what the hell!?
Ave Maria – J.S. Bach and Charles Gounod
24 March 2017
If there’s one thing I abhor above everything else on the planet – it’s snobs! People who know, or even profess to know more about a subject and who hold it above you like a double edged sword to invalidate how you feel about something. Fuckers!
Lux Aeterna – Clint Mansell
23 March 2017
Another writer from the PLOS article, this time Ed Yong, Science writer at The Atlantic. He only had one recommendation – this track and here’s what he had to say about music to write to:
I Can’t Make You Love Me – Bonnie Raitt
23 March 2017
Provided by the rather talented Jeff Mallow, in his own words:
See You Again – John Adams
22 March 2017
Recommended by Charlotte from Project Light Agency, here’s what she had to say:
Marooned – Pink Floyd
22 March 2017
See that big ass Cathedral in-between the two statues, stuck in the middle of nowhere like a ship on the ocean? I sang there. I was a chorister. It was amazing!
6 AM – Hauschka
21 March 2017
I’m not totally convinced that music can be depressing – if music is making you feel something then that’s the opposite of depression. Having said that – this track makes you feel pretty deeply…
Lyra Angelica – William Alwyn and Rachel Masters
21 March 2017
Recently I’ve been finding great writing inspiration in the British composer William Alwyn’s “Lyra Angelica,” a concerto for harp and string orchestra. It has many moods and tones, and both wrenches and uplifts me, soothes and galvanizes me in ways that I’m grateful for.