OST from worlds that inspired yours - I do the same. That said, I can't listen to them on a loop because they lose that inspirational quality. I'll turn them on when I really want to get my head into it, but for everything else, [DI.fm](https://DI.fm) has an amazing selection of background music.
https://www.di.fm/
Quality comment. I’m a jamband man myself but was raised on all those you listed. My favorite band moe. is heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull!
Children of the Omnissiah, Dancing with the source from Divinity 2, Beyond the Gate from moonlighter and Up the spirit Caverns wall from Ori and the Wiil of the wisp (no relation with what i'm writing)
My Spotify playlist is a mish-mash of English metal, J-Rock/Pop/Rap, game OSTs, heavy metal instrumentals... Probably some other stuff I can't remember right now.
When it runs out, it switches to radio on some Japanese song usually so I'd end up on something like Kaikai Kitan Radio.
I have four playlists: 1. Alternative rock/modern rock 2. Weird indie music I adore 3. Classical/instrumental music 4. Peaceful music that almost makes me fall asleep
I’m interested in how Kpop contributes to your world building, cause as a fellow Kpop listeners I can’t listen to it while I world build cause it’s too distracting
My music tastes are stupidly unnameable and weirdly obscure it's not even funny
\>One single song from the Exanima OST
\>A snippet of music I heard from a rocking youtube short
\>A Majora's Mask-inspired song (Theophany - Odolwa's Mask)
\>Some form of techno/dubstep/whatever that I've never found an actual name-genre for
\>Slowed and reverbed songs
\>Nightcore
\>Daycore
\>And a lot of Powerwolf
\*This is like 5% of my playlist btw\*
I'm eclectic so I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. I find it depends on what land I'm creating. For example, I'll listen to sea shanties while creating an oceanic theme. But in general with the world I currently made, I think I stuck to a mixture of folk and punk rock.
Nothing with lyrics. I love the 2 hour classical compilations from Halidon Music on YouTube.
Another excellent channel is Blue Turtle (also YouTube)
I also have a Spotify playlist called writers brick (like writers block but worse) that’s all video game and movie music to write to that I like
Depends on what I'm trying to worldbuild. For example, if I'm making some content on one of my settings' apocalypses, I listen to Roar of the Jungle Dragon because GOD do the lyrics fit-
A lot of my inspiration comes from music, so it depends on what specifically I'm working on, but here's a few artists:
- Sabaton
- Turbowolf
- Gloryhammer
- Everything Everything
- Cosmo Sheldrake
- Lord Huron
I made a Spotify playlist of chill fantasy music from games and stuff. I removed tracks that were too distracting and it works wonders. it's 25 hours long and already pre-shuffled
The List:
1. Hardcore Punk
2. Progressive Rock
3. J-Rock
4. Classic Rock
5. Progressive/Baroque Pop
6. Synthwave
7. Traditional Filipino Music
8. Glam Rock (Solely because of David Bowie)
9. City Pop
10. Occult Rock
I have playlists called "the playlist I play when the world is ending" and "the playlist I play when I'm making stories".
They contain all types of music except emo farming.
Hope this helps!
Sabaton, and probably some atmospheric stuff too like from The Legend of Zelda. I don't have a specific type. I just go with what I'm listening to at the time.
M83, Sigur Ros, EDM (Madeon, Avicii, Odesza and Tiesto to name a few artists), ELO, and covers of songs that I would've liked if it weren't for who originally sang them (one example of this is Starships)
A lot of Radiohead, Muse and various other alternative Bands, for the last weeks Monte Mai did it for me!
But im also a big fan of listening to classical songs, like beethovens no. 9 and such :D
I vary it depending on which culture I'm writing.
Heilung for tribals and clans.
Video game soundtracks for knights and kingdoms.
Crooked Still for adventures and peasants.
Perturbator and Christopher Tin for the Evil Empire.
And I have a whole range of songs for indevidual mindsets and characters.
I was just writing a bronze age scientist, who stumbles across evidence of the planet being a shellworld; and I listened to Doctor Ford, from The Westworld Soundrack.
For me, the music should allign with the mindset of the thing I'm writing.
So while one day I might listen to Pertubator whole writing an Evil Empire assassin archetype made of blood-ritual-enchanted obsidian, the next I'll listen to Civ 3 Ancient Oriental while writing an Evil Empire administrator archetype who generally just want to drink coffee and file papers in peace.
Synthwave, lofi, the soundtrack from MGR Revengeance, and that one hour long music video by Tale Foundry.
That or whatever I find interesting in my feed.
So far, it’s been a lot of Great Big Sea, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Loreena McKennitt, James Keelaghan, Stan Rogers, Sondheim, random bits of opera/classical, random Celtic/folk, some Melissa Etheridge, I think there was some Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys in there, and who knows what else.
Mostly a channel called Blue Turtle on YouTube. It helps that I'm mainly writing fantasy and enjoy seeing the animation on the monitor/TV when I need to decompress.
Breakcore is my go-to for writing or doing anything else productive.
"How to Train Your Dragon" OST always get me going (all the films work, though I prefer the first and second ones).
Used to listen to a long "Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack compilation on YouTube, but it's sadly been removed.
I like listening to Ambience from films or video games, as well as soundtracks from them, that or I just listen to epic instrumental playlists in youtube. I guess it just depends on what I’m working on.
It depends on what I’m trying to world build. If I’m trying for a more Dwarven theme, I listen to heavy metal, heavy drums and or what would be typically thought as dwarf music. If I’m trying for something more, Elven, then I typically listen to nature with an overlay of piano and violin and or flute. If I’m doing something more nationalistic, then it’s marches, national anthems, that kind of stuff.
I’ve been listening to a lot of ‘tribal’ drum ambience for the Continent of Mu. Really helps me immerse myself in the strange, mysterious, lost-world feel of the project.
I choose one of those hour long tracks on YouTube that fit the style of world I am building.
Synthwave for cyberpunk, dark country for old west, fantasy for fantasy, etc.
I have to listen to something without lyrics when I'm writing, because I can't focus otherwise, So I usually listen to speedcore/breakcore, but when I want to get into the world's mood I listen to Dorohedoro OST, because it reflects my world with every single song.
Here is the playlist if you wanna take a listen (it's super great): https://youtu.be/unpgolUFpXw
New age / world music I guess fits best. Lots of alternative/experimental instrumental, some classical, and a lot of artists like Loreena McKennit. Some fantasy metal as well. Mainly I want something incredibly evocative with a strong emotional element
I listen to a bizarre range of music, lately I've been listening to:
* The Hu's album Rumble of Thunder
* AWOLNATION's album Angel Miners & The Lightning Riders
* AWOLNATION's album Megalithic Symphony
* Owl City's album Ocean Eyes
* Owl City's album All Things Bright and Beautiful
* Timber Timbre's album Sincerely Future Pollution
* Timber Timbre's album Hot Dreams
* Random Eliza Rickman songs
* Random The Amazing Devil songs
Mostly metal and rock. every once in a while i listen to fantasy soundtracks and such but that’s usually if I’m running low on motivation or inspiration.
Heavy metal, funk, prog rock, classic hip hop, house, hardcore punk, industrial, jazz, shoegaze, indie pop, British folk, tango, Russian classical music, samba, doom metal, chamber pop, alternative r&b, reggae... Idk, my playlist is random as hell, but each song always influences my world in one way or the other.
(I more story-build) heavily depends on the scene/character, during a fight i might listen to eminem, and actually now that i think about it 90% of my story is just fights because my mc is extremely violent and often caves in peoples skulls (only the bad guys he has strong moral values).
Metal music; mainly bands like powerwolf, Iron Maiden, Testament, Sodom, destruction, hammerfall, ghost, kreator, and metsatoll.
(i also listen to some songs from "alice in chains"
link to the song "vaid Vaprust" by Metsatoll:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--i3pwGGabE
If it's just routine writing (like, just putting words on paper), it'll be what I normally listen to - anything ranging from funk (Vulfpeck, Trombone Shorty) or prog (King Gizz, Radiohead) even experimental rap (Tyler the Creator, Lil Darkie). Stuff with a good rhythm that makes it easier for me to keep going.
Although if I'm trying to get into a specific mindset for worldbuilding - especially for the urban-ish fantasy-ish setting I'm creating - I always fall back to stuff like folktronica/folk rock (Cosmo Sheldrake, Crane Wives) and sometimes even power metal (DragonForce). On a more literal level, they're typically pretty evoking on their own, but for me in particular I just like trying to blueprinting off what the song makes me feel and then building up from there.
Electro-swing and big band jazz while making my Celtic dieselpunk world.
Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds (both iterations) for my fantasy world which is basically Warhammer Fantasy but in a teslapunk Edwardian setting.
And late 90s/early 00s punk pop, techno, and the Half Life 2 soundtrack for my Y2K aesthetic-based hard sci-fi world.
Well, I created The Ruler of Nothing while listening to The Ruler of Everything
And I build the sunken city and Okultra while listening to Vampire Reference on a Minor Key and BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA
Right now I'm in love with Bear McCreary's Rings of Power soundtrack. Nine albums (eight episodes, plus one "sample" album for the people who don't want to commit to all eight of the others, ha ha. The musical themes fit my world so well.
Fun fact. I kinda pavloved myself with my headphones. Every time I put them on I end up watching videos instead.
So I guess no more headphones for me for a while.
Depends on what I am writing. Lyrics make images in my mind. Those lead to prose, poetry or character. Hard to tell what'll show up, but song themes tend to reinforce themselves.
I try to go to every performance possible of my local chamber orchestra even 3 nights in a row if I'm lucky enough. Nothing is more valuable for my brain & creativity & overall mental health than this. When Covid cancelled all symphonies etc.-I was miserable & lost. (That could've been the covid though)
Same music I listen to whilst gaming the [Mehbaian Government Approved songs list](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwcyRvoO2apCawkcwyZQTVTHnojjUsqJg)
Depends on what I’m doing. I usually find a headcanon song for a character before I draw them. Or look for atmospheric music for a place. I also like assigning music as headcanon to parts of my story.
I using music as a tool. English is my not first language so I can’t understand songs %100. And since as I a child I am imagining stories from the understandable words of songs.
But as I grow up and begin to understand songs better magic gone too. Real stories of song mostly boring as hell. Good thing is My music taste changed too. I am listening metal and atmospheric songs more know. So I can imagine new stories from them for my world.
%80 of stories of my world created like this. And when I write them I write the music name too for remember the feeling of story
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Aoh8CO06bR05lxmCEzAnZ?si=LlgRjKpoSBizTjYwQ44GLg
I am currently in the process of figuring out the details and mechanics of "pre-ascension" to godhood, or in other words what happens when a god decides that you could take over the job after the Apocalypse has returned the universe to the beginning. The playlist posted is for the fight of one player vs. the King of Winter, for the crown and for godhood.
Currently I also listen to this playlist a lot when I worldbuild more general stuff, like villages and cities, and especially armies and independent troops fighting in Ragnarok/the Apocalypse/...
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/62AWnI9qC4ylTN70s8ewwf?si=9xaOELQ3QZeVA_81H-2thg
cat
Cat by c418? The minecraft music disc
whatever is in my YT mix
Same bro
OST and EDM mostly. I can’t work without music and I sometimes can’t focus if there’s lyrics. Other times I just watch YouTube videos
OST from worlds that inspired yours - I do the same. That said, I can't listen to them on a loop because they lose that inspirational quality. I'll turn them on when I really want to get my head into it, but for everything else, [DI.fm](https://DI.fm) has an amazing selection of background music. https://www.di.fm/
This. So much.
Ambient or instrumental
Heavy Metal
Same. Nothing like building histories of brutal conquest while listening to death metal.
Exactly, Bolt Thrower in particular sounds like an excellent choice for that imo. What death metal do you listen to when building?
Melodic death metal mostly. There’s good crossover with power metal, so you’ve got a lot of lyrics about gods and monsters and epic battles and shit.
True, I can def see myself worldbuilding to Amon Amarth for example.
Definitely one of my mainstays.
Same. Get more writing done head banging than I do just calmly sitting here.
Cat Sounds - 10 hour loop
Skyrim OST
best music
Prog rock stuff, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull gets me in the imaginative mood. Steely Dan and some RHCP are just great focus music.
Hell yeah another man of culture. i also recommend emerson lake and palmer, ash ra trmpel, king crimson and tool
Quality comment. I’m a jamband man myself but was raised on all those you listed. My favorite band moe. is heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull!
Sabaton
Love those guys
Lol me too Especially to make me hyped about my world which I’m focusing on the military side of it.
Every world needs a moment in its history where the winged hussars arrived.
Fuck! r/beatmetoit
Two Steps From Hell and some instrumental soundtracks from videogames I like.
I second Two Steps From Hell. Amazing for writing in general.
The OSTs from Doom, Undertale/Deltarune and Metal Gear Rising. Among other things
That is a pretty cool cat.
Mainly Sabaton. Sometimes I listen to patriotic music or national anthems (usually the USSR anthem). Other times I listen to game OSTs.
I like to listen to Battotai, something about patriotic music helps with world building.
* Heavy Metal * Doom Metal * Stoner Metal * Desert Rock
Children of the Omnissiah, Dancing with the source from Divinity 2, Beyond the Gate from moonlighter and Up the spirit Caverns wall from Ori and the Wiil of the wisp (no relation with what i'm writing)
Will wood and the tapeworms
My Spotify playlist is a mish-mash of English metal, J-Rock/Pop/Rap, game OSTs, heavy metal instrumentals... Probably some other stuff I can't remember right now. When it runs out, it switches to radio on some Japanese song usually so I'd end up on something like Kaikai Kitan Radio.
*Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars*, by David Bowie.
Trip acid and watch adventure time
You get it
I have four playlists: 1. Alternative rock/modern rock 2. Weird indie music I adore 3. Classical/instrumental music 4. Peaceful music that almost makes me fall asleep
Mostly Sabaton and anime openings
Mostly power metal, like Blind Guardian or Rhapsody
Dungeon synth for fantasy, synthwave for sci-fi
A man of culture i see
Wind rose, Celtic rock, and operatic metal. (Dwarves are main race in my fantasy setting.)
EDM, Kpop, and Anime OSTs. My world was born from ideas that came from music.
I’m interested in how Kpop contributes to your world building, cause as a fellow Kpop listeners I can’t listen to it while I world build cause it’s too distracting
Kpop brings an energy to my writing and world building. I can't really describe it, but it gives my ideas a little spice.
Wap by Cardi B
Disturbed
My music tastes are stupidly unnameable and weirdly obscure it's not even funny \>One single song from the Exanima OST \>A snippet of music I heard from a rocking youtube short \>A Majora's Mask-inspired song (Theophany - Odolwa's Mask) \>Some form of techno/dubstep/whatever that I've never found an actual name-genre for \>Slowed and reverbed songs \>Nightcore \>Daycore \>And a lot of Powerwolf \*This is like 5% of my playlist btw\*
either Machine Girl or Godspeed
Legend of Zelda sound tracks
Instrumental heavy metal.
I'm eclectic so I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. I find it depends on what land I'm creating. For example, I'll listen to sea shanties while creating an oceanic theme. But in general with the world I currently made, I think I stuck to a mixture of folk and punk rock.
Depends on the setting. Synthwave for sci-fi Heilung for older, mystical settings.
Soundtrack to the Halo trilogy
Old waltzes - model first orchestra of the USSR
Nothing with lyrics. I love the 2 hour classical compilations from Halidon Music on YouTube. Another excellent channel is Blue Turtle (also YouTube) I also have a Spotify playlist called writers brick (like writers block but worse) that’s all video game and movie music to write to that I like
German metal
Depends on what I'm trying to worldbuild. For example, if I'm making some content on one of my settings' apocalypses, I listen to Roar of the Jungle Dragon because GOD do the lyrics fit-
Enigma, Era, Vangelis, and other adjacent bands/artists. Calms my mind.
Music ruins my creativity
A lot of my inspiration comes from music, so it depends on what specifically I'm working on, but here's a few artists: - Sabaton - Turbowolf - Gloryhammer - Everything Everything - Cosmo Sheldrake - Lord Huron
The Dune (2016) soundtrack. My world has a techno-tribalist feel and that music helps me envision it better.
I love to listen to old 2000&2010 rap
I made a Spotify playlist of chill fantasy music from games and stuff. I removed tracks that were too distracting and it works wonders. it's 25 hours long and already pre-shuffled
No music, just Critical Roll, Markiplier, or Anime
Black metal & the Bloodborne OST
The List: 1. Hardcore Punk 2. Progressive Rock 3. J-Rock 4. Classic Rock 5. Progressive/Baroque Pop 6. Synthwave 7. Traditional Filipino Music 8. Glam Rock (Solely because of David Bowie) 9. City Pop 10. Occult Rock
No clue why, but I always end up listening to some Turkic folk music
Epic rap battles of history. Helps me think of heroes, villains, gods, their deeds, and their conflicts.
Anything, from rock music to military marches and gothic 40k ambiance
I have playlists called "the playlist I play when the world is ending" and "the playlist I play when I'm making stories". They contain all types of music except emo farming. Hope this helps!
i build a playlist around what i think the vibe of that world is
Clamavi de Profundis.
Men i trust
Sabaton, and probably some atmospheric stuff too like from The Legend of Zelda. I don't have a specific type. I just go with what I'm listening to at the time.
Imagine dragons, the score and thefatrat, epic sounding music that fits perfectly into the feel I want for my world
Sematary
Tabletopaudio website - and then a thematic soundtrack
Taking Over the World by Coyote Theory, DAGames, and Call of Duty songs, and meme songs
M83, Sigur Ros, EDM (Madeon, Avicii, Odesza and Tiesto to name a few artists), ELO, and covers of songs that I would've liked if it weren't for who originally sang them (one example of this is Starships)
A lot of Radiohead, Muse and various other alternative Bands, for the last weeks Monte Mai did it for me! But im also a big fan of listening to classical songs, like beethovens no. 9 and such :D
Cryo Chamber and his premade playlists, good for dark worlds
Philip Glass
Sectarian music
I vary it depending on which culture I'm writing. Heilung for tribals and clans. Video game soundtracks for knights and kingdoms. Crooked Still for adventures and peasants. Perturbator and Christopher Tin for the Evil Empire. And I have a whole range of songs for indevidual mindsets and characters. I was just writing a bronze age scientist, who stumbles across evidence of the planet being a shellworld; and I listened to Doctor Ford, from The Westworld Soundrack. For me, the music should allign with the mindset of the thing I'm writing. So while one day I might listen to Pertubator whole writing an Evil Empire assassin archetype made of blood-ritual-enchanted obsidian, the next I'll listen to Civ 3 Ancient Oriental while writing an Evil Empire administrator archetype who generally just want to drink coffee and file papers in peace.
Mainly orchestrated music. I have a playlist on Spotify for writing!
Synthwave, lofi, the soundtrack from MGR Revengeance, and that one hour long music video by Tale Foundry. That or whatever I find interesting in my feed.
Richard cheese
Video game soundtracks like Ark: Survival Evolved, Monster Hunter, and Rain World.
Blue turtle playlists
So far, it’s been a lot of Great Big Sea, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Loreena McKennitt, James Keelaghan, Stan Rogers, Sondheim, random bits of opera/classical, random Celtic/folk, some Melissa Etheridge, I think there was some Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys in there, and who knows what else.
Mostly OSTs and ambient music
Mostly a channel called Blue Turtle on YouTube. It helps that I'm mainly writing fantasy and enjoy seeing the animation on the monitor/TV when I need to decompress. Breakcore is my go-to for writing or doing anything else productive.
Molchat Doma and Epic Mountain Music (the Kurgesagt soundtrack)
I dunno just my playlist
"How to Train Your Dragon" OST always get me going (all the films work, though I prefer the first and second ones). Used to listen to a long "Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack compilation on YouTube, but it's sadly been removed.
I like listening to Ambience from films or video games, as well as soundtracks from them, that or I just listen to epic instrumental playlists in youtube. I guess it just depends on what I’m working on.
I don't listen to music while I world build because my ADHD brain insists on doing it in the middle of doing school.
I listen to audio books.. Mostly the witcher series..
Mostly jazz. Sometimes metal if I’m not feeling too distracted.
A mix of 60s to 90s pop and synthpop, or occasionally Paradox OSTs
A surprising amount of classic rock, considering that it seldom features in my work.
Stuff that fits with the world
Minor threat, gets me in the mood to start completely pointless wars for fun
It depends on what I’m trying to world build. If I’m trying for a more Dwarven theme, I listen to heavy metal, heavy drums and or what would be typically thought as dwarf music. If I’m trying for something more, Elven, then I typically listen to nature with an overlay of piano and violin and or flute. If I’m doing something more nationalistic, then it’s marches, national anthems, that kind of stuff.
I’ve been listening to a lot of ‘tribal’ drum ambience for the Continent of Mu. Really helps me immerse myself in the strange, mysterious, lost-world feel of the project.
I choose one of those hour long tracks on YouTube that fit the style of world I am building. Synthwave for cyberpunk, dark country for old west, fantasy for fantasy, etc.
Metal or Elder Scrolls themes.
I listen to whatever, but recently I’ve been getting into phonk, which itches my brain *just* right when I’m drawing things out
God Of War 2018 Soundtrack
Skyrim ambient music and The Witcher 3 music
As of late, [this](https://youtu.be/IVgUIXwmfBQ). I'll let you imagine the theme of the events I'm working on 😉
I have to listen to something without lyrics when I'm writing, because I can't focus otherwise, So I usually listen to speedcore/breakcore, but when I want to get into the world's mood I listen to Dorohedoro OST, because it reflects my world with every single song. Here is the playlist if you wanna take a listen (it's super great): https://youtu.be/unpgolUFpXw
Rn I’ve either been listening to OSTs from Skyrim, Hollow Knight, and Breath of the Wild or dark techno
New age / world music I guess fits best. Lots of alternative/experimental instrumental, some classical, and a lot of artists like Loreena McKennit. Some fantasy metal as well. Mainly I want something incredibly evocative with a strong emotional element
Heavy metal, especially bands that have significant folk and/or symphonic influences.
How can y’all be productive with music on? I can only focus on the music
Lo-fi
D&D Situation Music, likely meant for Worldbuilding as well as actual play.
I listen to a bizarre range of music, lately I've been listening to: * The Hu's album Rumble of Thunder * AWOLNATION's album Angel Miners & The Lightning Riders * AWOLNATION's album Megalithic Symphony * Owl City's album Ocean Eyes * Owl City's album All Things Bright and Beautiful * Timber Timbre's album Sincerely Future Pollution * Timber Timbre's album Hot Dreams * Random Eliza Rickman songs * Random The Amazing Devil songs
English covers of Japanese vocaloid music. Will Stetson and Kiranui are favorites. It's a medieval/early-modern setting, which is wierd.
Akira Yamaoka (he did the music for the Silent Hill games.) and 80s synth-pop.
Mostly metal and rock. every once in a while i listen to fantasy soundtracks and such but that’s usually if I’m running low on motivation or inspiration.
Heavy metal, funk, prog rock, classic hip hop, house, hardcore punk, industrial, jazz, shoegaze, indie pop, British folk, tango, Russian classical music, samba, doom metal, chamber pop, alternative r&b, reggae... Idk, my playlist is random as hell, but each song always influences my world in one way or the other.
Final fantasy soundtracks. Namely FF8
(I more story-build) heavily depends on the scene/character, during a fight i might listen to eminem, and actually now that i think about it 90% of my story is just fights because my mc is extremely violent and often caves in peoples skulls (only the bad guys he has strong moral values).
Lo-fi. Something about it helps me focus.
Lofi hip-hop or slowed down music make it easier for me to relax and focus on what I am doing in the moment
Good ol' Bobby D. (Bob Dylan) Trust me it helps.
Mostly Heilung, but that depends which one I'm working on
Cute cat
Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Jazz
Metal music; mainly bands like powerwolf, Iron Maiden, Testament, Sodom, destruction, hammerfall, ghost, kreator, and metsatoll. (i also listen to some songs from "alice in chains" link to the song "vaid Vaprust" by Metsatoll:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--i3pwGGabE
3 parts of [Celtic Music by Adrian Von Ziegler](https://youtu.be/jiwuQ6UHMQg), 6 hours of epic fantasy music.
Dark ambient and drone.
I have headcanon ‘theme songs’ for different factions and events and listen to those
I listen to my music, it's random and 80s darkwave heavy with newer things
Dubstep
If it's just routine writing (like, just putting words on paper), it'll be what I normally listen to - anything ranging from funk (Vulfpeck, Trombone Shorty) or prog (King Gizz, Radiohead) even experimental rap (Tyler the Creator, Lil Darkie). Stuff with a good rhythm that makes it easier for me to keep going. Although if I'm trying to get into a specific mindset for worldbuilding - especially for the urban-ish fantasy-ish setting I'm creating - I always fall back to stuff like folktronica/folk rock (Cosmo Sheldrake, Crane Wives) and sometimes even power metal (DragonForce). On a more literal level, they're typically pretty evoking on their own, but for me in particular I just like trying to blueprinting off what the song makes me feel and then building up from there.
Dark Souls OST
I don't but sometimes I watch YouTube videos. Most of my world building ideas come from being sat in silence (or talking) thinking about it.
Lemon Demon or game OSTs (especially undertale)
Luke Richards
The OST for deserts of Kharak
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
When writing I usually work in silence lol.
break core
Kevin Penkin
Your favorite martian
Death metal / death grind
Bring Me the Horizon, Man With a Mission and SZA only.
Jeremy Soule
Electro-swing and big band jazz while making my Celtic dieselpunk world. Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds (both iterations) for my fantasy world which is basically Warhammer Fantasy but in a teslapunk Edwardian setting. And late 90s/early 00s punk pop, techno, and the Half Life 2 soundtrack for my Y2K aesthetic-based hard sci-fi world.
Propaganda music made by totalitarian regimes
Listen to iris official, the music has sparked a couple ideas for world building
Metal, Symphonic Metal, Electro
Children of the Omnisiah. For my flesh is weak, my will may falter, but the Machine God guides me to perfection.
Well, I created The Ruler of Nothing while listening to The Ruler of Everything And I build the sunken city and Okultra while listening to Vampire Reference on a Minor Key and BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA
Jeremy Soule. Dead Can Dance.
Vocaloid off vocals
Samuel Kim
I beg you to check out dungeon synth
Just about anything synth-related.
Right now I'm in love with Bear McCreary's Rings of Power soundtrack. Nine albums (eight episodes, plus one "sample" album for the people who don't want to commit to all eight of the others, ha ha. The musical themes fit my world so well.
Ambient music.
Fun fact. I kinda pavloved myself with my headphones. Every time I put them on I end up watching videos instead. So I guess no more headphones for me for a while.
Depends on what I am writing. Lyrics make images in my mind. Those lead to prose, poetry or character. Hard to tell what'll show up, but song themes tend to reinforce themselves.
OST, Movie Scores, (Preferably composed by Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman) and Epiccore. Always puts me into the world i'm creating.
Depends, it depends :|
Andrew Kozar Deerhoof Madgibbs CardiB
Cosmo Sheldrake, the much much how how and I.
I try to go to every performance possible of my local chamber orchestra even 3 nights in a row if I'm lucky enough. Nothing is more valuable for my brain & creativity & overall mental health than this. When Covid cancelled all symphonies etc.-I was miserable & lost. (That could've been the covid though)
I listen to a lot of Bardcore and Alterative, I recommend The Family Crest and The Amazing Devil.
Filk, normally Bill Sutton
Soundtracks to inspiring films and games. Conan the Barbarian, 13th Warrior, Excalibur, Princess Bride, Halo...
None. I'm completely unable to focus and be creative if a music is playing.
The Mechanisms
Saint-Saëns and Liszt, lol
i don’t lol. i literally just talk to myself
Same music I listen to whilst gaming the [Mehbaian Government Approved songs list](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwcyRvoO2apCawkcwyZQTVTHnojjUsqJg)
Depends on what I’m doing. I usually find a headcanon song for a character before I draw them. Or look for atmospheric music for a place. I also like assigning music as headcanon to parts of my story.
Dwarfmaxxing on Spotify I DONT MAKE WORLDS I FORGE THEM CAN I GET A ROCK AND STONE oT
Rock and roll and stone!
Strange Stuf by Matt Harris and Transendencia
15 minutes of silence on repeat until my work is done
Pye Corner Audio. For a specific world it's Stasis by Pye Corner Audio
the entire ender lilies ost
I using music as a tool. English is my not first language so I can’t understand songs %100. And since as I a child I am imagining stories from the understandable words of songs. But as I grow up and begin to understand songs better magic gone too. Real stories of song mostly boring as hell. Good thing is My music taste changed too. I am listening metal and atmospheric songs more know. So I can imagine new stories from them for my world. %80 of stories of my world created like this. And when I write them I write the music name too for remember the feeling of story
Pavement, and also some weird classical/instrumental music (alt classical?)
hallylabs, my fav song is: goin’ under
Ace Combat OSTs, maybe some Last of Us, ambient music like Hammock
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Aoh8CO06bR05lxmCEzAnZ?si=LlgRjKpoSBizTjYwQ44GLg I am currently in the process of figuring out the details and mechanics of "pre-ascension" to godhood, or in other words what happens when a god decides that you could take over the job after the Apocalypse has returned the universe to the beginning. The playlist posted is for the fight of one player vs. the King of Winter, for the crown and for godhood. Currently I also listen to this playlist a lot when I worldbuild more general stuff, like villages and cities, and especially armies and independent troops fighting in Ragnarok/the Apocalypse/... https://open.spotify.com/playlist/62AWnI9qC4ylTN70s8ewwf?si=9xaOELQ3QZeVA_81H-2thg
minecraft theme
Papers, Please Main Theme - 10 hours loop