Music, much like stories, has always been woven into the fabric of my experiences. Though not for a living, I can sing. I sang in the high school choir. I sang in the church choir, back when it was still one of my hangout places. These days, I try to sing in my poetry and prose.
Anyway, music is my mind’s sanctuary. After a writing session, I put something on and let it do what words, for a moment, cannot — dissolve the residue of the work. There are songs that just keep me going, entertain or make me think. Sometimes a song gets stuck on a loop in my head, and I let it. There’s usually a reason.
In no particular order, here are the top three songs that have been on continuous replay lately:
Mostly, I write in complete silence. But every so often, in the middle of a scene, a song would surface unbidden — rising out of some interior place I hadn’t been consciously tending. That’s when I understood that music wasn’t separate from the writing. It was doing something underneath it.
With DISV, certain songs became almost cinematic for me. I could see the characters move to them, or go still. I could feel how a particular chord change would catch a character off guard, the same way a revelation might. Music didn’t just accompany a moment but unlocked it in my mind as I wrote.
So I built a playlist.
Now, as I ease into summer, I’m slowly working through character and song pairings for specific chapters. I’m letting the music annotate the story in a different register. I’ll be sharing these via the newsletter, where I write earnestly and honestly about both the work and the life around it. In the meantime, check out the playlist — take a listen and take a guess!
In my newsletter, I’ve also written about why I’m not having a formal book launch. Let’s just say my word for 2026, flexible, has been earning its keep in ways I didn’t entirely expect. So I’m having a quiet celebration, and perhaps this feels right too for a book that began in silence.
So, here’s to music, solitude and a little summer wildness. 🙂
Happy Midsummer, in advance, if you celebrate it!
Your Spotify playlist as the interweaving of music in your process of writing and then the consequent development of a character ‘playlist’ to accompany certain characters is exciting to explore for me. Thank you for this. I immediately added it to my own Spotify playlists. Not only does it reveal yourself and your characters, but it introduces me to some music that is new to me. I’m looking forward to listening to these gems over the summer. Here’s to your ‘quiet celebration’.
Thanks to you too, Laura; not only for loving music but for making it. <3 And you're right about revealing myself and characters... I'd love to hear if you found any new South African favourites. :-) Enjoy!
I will definitely let you know about new SA discoveries when I get a chance to hunker down and listen!
I love this Khaya. Writing and music have their own individual muses. I’ll definitely take a soulful listen to your playlist. I’m excited for your quiet celebration—you deserve it.
Thanks Michelle! I know you understand the importance of quiet celebration to honour the work. And I’m having fun with putting together character/song pairings…😊