Imagine a movie without a soundtrack.

I find the capacity that background sound/noise contains to elevate my focus to be tremendous and fascinating.  Whether the focus is applied to execution of work, exploration of topics, creative developments, et cetera.  One of my favorite tracks to have on in the background is Nicolas Jaar’s set from the boiler room.  It is powerfully unique mix of sounds that challenges conventional music.  Click ‘play’ below to hear it yourself.

This is my go-to on days when I need to be productive — emphasis on need.  Something about hearing this triggers me to shift into a mindset where my workflow is seamless.  With this said, there are many other sounds that I utilize for specific circumstances: relaxation, creative thought, reading, sleeping, the list goes on…

Samples of what I like:

It is interesting to talk about this activity-based music as a genre, or even an alternative to genre.  My personal taste has me listening to an extensive range of music.  I listen to music in three kinds of playbuck: playlists/radio, continuous album playback or search-and-destroy singular tracks via youtube.  When I am listening to music it is through my headphones.  They are Grado SR-60’s.  As seen below:

As Winston Churchill has said, We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.  I think this view of surrounding can and should applied to any and all periphery, not just building, but all of it: friends, music, lovers, movies, jobs, et cetera.  The start of the quote is equally potent to the end — we do have control over what controls us.  This is seen in the origins of meaning for the word environment:

Environment // environ – ment

environ – from Old French environer “to surround, enclose, encircle,”

ment – originally from French and representing Latin -mentum, the result or product of the action.

 

That is all for now.