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January 15, 2020
Rye Curtis's Playlist for His Debut Novel "Kingdomtide"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.
Rye Curtis's novel Kingdomtide is a surprising, powerful, and above all, entertaining, debut.
Booklist wrote of the book:
"Gloriously unexpected...A deep and surprising debut...Cloris' survival narration is exciting, with devastating vistas and a mysterious savior in the form of a possible fugitive, but her musings on her past life and life in general are some of the book's very best moments"
In his own words, here is Rye Curtis's Book Notes music playlist for his debut novel Kingdomtide:
Here is some of the music that I listened to while working on Kingdomtide. These are songs that may not be directly related to the thematic material in the novel, but songs that will for me always recall the time I spent working on it, and may have somehow found their way into the subconscious of the book. I wrote most of Kingdomtide during a particularly bleak and confusing time in my life, so much of the music here has some personal and dismal heft behind it, even the upbeat songs. But I always like how even a joyful tune can sound melancholic and menacing given the chance.
1. Leo Svirsky - “Strange Lands and People” from River Without Banks
I was fortunate enough that Leo Svirsky sent me some early mixes of his record River Without Banks a while back when I was working on the last pieces and editing for Kingdomtide. I listened to this album on repeat. It’s great. There is a lot in tone about this music that makes sense to me next to the novel. Often there are two very similar yet slightly different piano parts playing into and away from each other, stereo panned left and right. Makes me think of the two primary narratives in the book.
2. Enya - “Dan y Dwr” from The Celts
For a long while now I’ve been hooked on most everything Enya has done (particularly on the earlier albums, although Dark Sky Island from 2015 is a damn good album). There is something spooky and heavyweight to me about the high-wire sweetness in it. It can deliver me to such a particular mood. I listened to a great deal of Enya while writing Kingdomtide.
3. Jessy Lanza - “Keep Moving” from Pull My Hair Back
I listened to Jessy Lanza’s music a lot when I was low and putting together some of the more upsetting themes in Kingdomtide. It’s a great brain-sweeper when taking breaks from the work and going for power walks. Jessy is also a great friend of mine and my roommate, so I’m grateful that her music is prevalent in my daily life and is always getting me to move and shake about when I’ve ended up becoming too sedentary.
4. Cyndi Lauper - “Time After Time” from She’s So Unusual
This song makes an appearance in the novel’s narrative. I probably shouldn’t say anymore than that.
5. Eola - “Market” from Deos Gracias
All of Eola’s records are plenty great and it’s difficult to choose which song means the most in this instance being that I listened to all of them regularly back when writing this book. But “Market” makes me think specifically of a time I got locked out of my apartment in the snow and came up with a couple integral ideas for my story. The music is also reminiscent of old plainchants or even High Renaissance choral music, which I frequently listen to while working on something.
6. Josquin des Prez - “Missa Pange lingua: 1. Kyrie”
This is a good piece of some of the old choral music I like to listen to when I’m thinking over something tricky. This piece reminds me of the later portions of Kingdomtide. I imagine mountain tops now when I hear this song. For whatever reason I think it has something of the landscape about it.
7. Glen Campbell - “Galveston” from Galveston
I wrote a sizable chunk of Kingdomtide out on my family’s cattle ranch in Texas, and this album has been out there on a scratched up disk since I was a kid. I love this album (and others of Glen Campbell) but particularly this title song. Also the song has something to say about death as separation from a companion: “Galveston, I am so afraid of dying, before I dry the tears she’s crying…”
8. Jordan Romero - “Debbie Jinny Johnnie” from LAMB
This album just came out in 2019, but I’m lucky to have had early demos of the songs for a good long while because Jordan Romero is a great friend and gave them to me. All of his music means a great deal to me, but this little song especially reminds me of the Ranger Debra Lewis character in Kingdomtide. Partly because someone named Debbie is mentioned in the song, but also because there is something frantically inebriated about it.
9. Bobby Brown - “The Boy a Sailor” from Prayers Of A One Man Band
This is not the Bobby Brown who was in New Edition. This is someone else, a beach bum who put out some self-released records in the seventies and early eighties. Much of this album largely seems to be about searching for some crazy thing Bobby wants to find. This song is a good song of searching and anticipation, and I listened to it often the week I gave out a draft of Kingdomtide to have some friends read it.
10. Container - “Remover” from LP
Container is great to see perform, but sometimes I would put this on when I would do some late night editing.
11. Delegation - “Oh Honey”
This song has been a great help editing too.
11. Corona - “Rhythm of the Night” from Corona
This whole album is worth listening to, but of course this song is the star. I listen to this often and it has some kind of influence over me I’m sure. And it’s one of those upbeat songs that can show some odd gloom in it when played in the right place.
Rye Curtis and Kingdomtide links:
Booklist review
Guardian review
Kirkus review
Publishers Weekly review
also at Largehearted Boy:
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