I don’t think artists admit to their inspirations often enough. Over time, there have been many songs that have defined eras of my life; songs with massive impact. I’d like to share some of those.

Deadmau5

I’ve always loved deadmau5’ work. He has a way of creating progressions that send waves of nostalgia.

I had just graduated college and was packing up my room when I first heard “The Veldt.” I feel like the melody perfectly captured the mood at the time. I intentionally packed up my computer and speakers last so I could have this track on repeat. It later became the soundtrack to my summer family roadtrip of 2012. The way the chords move hit that perfect spot of hopefulness with a tinge of melancholy.

I can’t mention deadmau5 without “Strobe.” I heard this one in college and was blown away by the slow-burn intro. This one is a nighttime song for me, perfect for drives through winding roads. It’s still in my regular rotation.

Madeon

I’ve been listening to Madeon from his very early days (“Shuriken”). I knew he was going somewhere when I heard “The Island” remix for Pendulum. In 2015, he released his first album, “Adventure.” It was the soundtrack for my 2015 summer; so many bike-rides, walks, and adventures.

I can’t overstate the importance of “Technicolor.” When this song came out, I had been out of music production for a little while. I still dabbled, but I didn’t have the “fire” in me. I had started a new job and so my focus on music had shifted. That was until I heard “Technicolor.” I still remember, it came out at in August of 2013, the end of summer. That October, still energized by it, I set out to push one of my tracks to the extreme. I would come home from work, produce. Wake up, produce. I still look back on “Technicolor” as the spark for relaunching my drive to create music.

“Innocence” stood out to me from Madeon’s other work. It was slower, atmospheric, and moody in all the right ways. It’s the perfect evening song for me; that opening with the echoing vocal chops can still send chills down my spine.

I can’t not bring up “Shelter.” I was having a particularly rough summer in 2016. This song came along and instantly lifted my mood. I’m pretty sure I listened to it on repeat for my entire commute to and from work that week.

Lycoriscoris

I found Lycoriscoris recently through the Anjunadeep mixes and I’m so thankful I did. This style was a bit of a shift from my usual, but I find myself diving into deeper works these days. The progression, ambience, and mood that Lycoriscoris is able to achieve blows me away. He’s also such a unique sound that I feel like I can recognize his work instantly; no small feat. I’ll be following this guy closely from now on.

I love “Far” because it tells a story without need for percussive elements.

This song is just absolutely fantastic. Smooth percussion, driving arpeggio, and striking chords.

“Noa” grew on me the more I listened to it. At first, the strange intro with the squeaky percussion threw me off, but the more I listened, the more I enjoyed the gradual transition into piano elements; especially when the chord progression finally hits at 1:40. This was a sleeper hit for me, and one I stand behind now.

Tycho

I can’t remember how I stumbled on Tycho. I think I was reading a blog about Porter Robinson and there was mention of him. From there, I found his track “Awake.” For awhile, “Awake” was the only song from Tycho I had in rotation, but gradually I began listening to more of his work and it grew on me. I think early on, I wasn’t quite ready for the more experimental sounds that Tycho was going for, but I learned to love it. Since then, I’ve incorporated basically all of his work into my playlists. Truly astounding work.

As I mentioned, “Awake” was the first track of Tycho’s that I dove into. I think it’s because it’s the most accessible; closer to the style of electronic music I was used to but different enough to be interesting. It’s such an atmospheric piece. I can’t count how many times I’d go on evening drives with this as my soundtrack. It seems to perfectly capture the feeling of summer evenings as the days start to get shorter (at least that’s my imagination).

Kenji Yamamoto

If you’ve read through this post in order, this is quite a pivot. Kenji Yamamoto (along with other composers) was responsible for the Metroid Prime soundtrack (my favorite game of all time). His compositions for Metroid perfectly captured the mood of the game. I can’t imagine the game without his work, I think it’s part of that game’s soul.

If you’ve played Metroid Prime, I’m sure you saw this coming. “Phendrana Drifts” is such a fantastic tune. It’s so good, in fact, that I still remember the first time I heard it as I emerged from Magmoor caverns into the peaceful Phendrana landscape. To this day, when it’s snowing, I’ll throw this track on to just bask in the chilly atmosphere.

Similar to “Phendrana Drifts”, “Talon Overworld” is my rainy day mood. I still remember returning to Talon Overworld and the theme had changed. The song seems to perfectly capture a wild, lush environment, just begging you to explore it. It’s a perfect song.

Others

I think I’ve covered a good portion of my favorites, so at this point I’ll just start throwing out tracks that I feel like I have to mention.

One of the top comments on the video says “Trash80 is basically the soundtrack to what goes on in my brain.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. So many hours of Minecraft were played to this song…

I think I get chills every time I listen to this song.

Wrap

Well, that’s a wrap for now. I’ll probably keep this post updated as I remember more tracks that have influenced or inspired me. Thanks for stopping by.