Work Music

Most of the music I need to write, code or troubleshoot a technical issue has to be lyric-free. Lyrics get inside and wrap too firmly around neural strands. So I turn to the trance inducing, looped music to mute the neural chatter and funnel the energy through my finger tips. It’s a heightened state at times and others a peaceful fugue state until I solve the thing in front of me. Words, code, RGB levels or misbehaving servers.

My Blurbomat Featured Track™ for today is a triple meta track. The theme should be recognizable for Coldplay fans as the opening theme on Viva La Vida‘s title track, “Life in Technicolor” (Spotify, Rdio, iTunes). The riff was actually written by a co-producer, Jon Hopkins and featured on his album Insides (Spotify, Rdio, iTunes), as the 9:19 epic, “Light Through the Veins” (Spotify, Rdio, iTunes).

Freaky polygon infused video:

I’ve used this track to work many hours. If you want to see Hopkins live, click here for a 51 minute video of a 2010 performance, including some technical glitches. The track I’m talking about is performed at around 7:00. There’s a lot of knob twiddling and button pushing. He opened for Coldplay in Salt Lake City in 2008 or 2009 (brain fog) and accompanying his music were giant projected animations that were synced to the music. Blew my mind. Did not expect that kind of showy set from a DJ opening act. I noticed he wasn’t just spinning vinyl or pushing play on an iPod and pretending to do stuff. He was performing. Looks like he’s using a couple of Kaos pads.

Looking to build a work music playlist, I found an ass kicker remix off an album called Seven Gulps of Air (Spotify, Rdio, iTunes):

Same song on Spotify:

Fairly standard remix fare. Until it cools down around 3:00 and ramps deliciously up until 3:30, transistors straining as the modulation filters open up, raaooooooowwwwwwwing all dirty like. The altered bass line is fantastic. Then at 4:31 brief silence and POW. Slamming. Perfect for getting your brain’s ass in gear.