All Systems Go
by Alex Örtegren
August 2023
by Alex Örtegren
August 2023
The name of this electronic music playlist, All Systems Go, reflects how tracks can have different functions which, particularly in the context of writing, help me get ready for engaging with different parts of the writing process. Below is a selection of such tracks and I hope you will enjoy them.
Phases of my writing process (e.g., searching and compiling information, reading, writing, and revising) are usually accompanied by certain soundscapes, which help me enter specific moods depending on the task at hand. For example, I have no problems reading while on a busy train as long as I have the possibility to shut out the world through music. Often my music of preference is electronic. When working on a text, steady electronic beats – aside from conjuring up memories long past – is to the thought process what morning coffee is to the body. Repetitive patterns of drum machines and synthesizers make me alert. If there are any lyrics, I like these to be repetitive too, otherwise my mind wanders.
At critical stages of writing such as before a deadline, I may even put a certain track on repeat. It becomes the soundtrack of the text: the access point that helps me get back into it. This playlist includes some of these tracks, for example, Emancipator’s Greenland, Moist’s Hearts Burn Slow (Krister Linder Remix), and Vibrasphere’s Later Winter Storms (Tobias Lilja Remix).
Some of the included tracks are more general go-to’s signaling that it is time to focus, such as Mitry’s Island, Aphex Twin’s Xtal, and Tycho’s Awake. Others are more suitable for light tasks, for example, updating documents on the computer after pen-and-paper editing. Examples include Lulu Rouge’s Slow Pigeon, KiloWatts’ Auditorium, Kollektiv Turmstrasse’s Sphäre (Original), and Bonobo’s Change Down.
Mirrored by the potential functions of these tracks, the digital permeates my everyday life and work and thus also processes of learning and writing – from the equipment used to produce and play back these songs to the transfer of bits that allowed for their ubiquitous access accompanying the keystrokes on my laptop – helping me enter specific moods regardless of where and when, creating access points to engage with different parts of the writing process.
Alex Örtegren is an educator and PhD student at Umeå University
Phases of my writing process (e.g., searching and compiling information, reading, writing, and revising) are usually accompanied by certain soundscapes, which help me enter specific moods depending on the task at hand. For example, I have no problems reading while on a busy train as long as I have the possibility to shut out the world through music. Often my music of preference is electronic. When working on a text, steady electronic beats – aside from conjuring up memories long past – is to the thought process what morning coffee is to the body. Repetitive patterns of drum machines and synthesizers make me alert. If there are any lyrics, I like these to be repetitive too, otherwise my mind wanders.
At critical stages of writing such as before a deadline, I may even put a certain track on repeat. It becomes the soundtrack of the text: the access point that helps me get back into it. This playlist includes some of these tracks, for example, Emancipator’s Greenland, Moist’s Hearts Burn Slow (Krister Linder Remix), and Vibrasphere’s Later Winter Storms (Tobias Lilja Remix).
Some of the included tracks are more general go-to’s signaling that it is time to focus, such as Mitry’s Island, Aphex Twin’s Xtal, and Tycho’s Awake. Others are more suitable for light tasks, for example, updating documents on the computer after pen-and-paper editing. Examples include Lulu Rouge’s Slow Pigeon, KiloWatts’ Auditorium, Kollektiv Turmstrasse’s Sphäre (Original), and Bonobo’s Change Down.
Mirrored by the potential functions of these tracks, the digital permeates my everyday life and work and thus also processes of learning and writing – from the equipment used to produce and play back these songs to the transfer of bits that allowed for their ubiquitous access accompanying the keystrokes on my laptop – helping me enter specific moods regardless of where and when, creating access points to engage with different parts of the writing process.
Alex Örtegren is an educator and PhD student at Umeå University
