Over the months that I write a book, I listen to a ton of music across genres. In retrospect, I realize many of these songs influence the way I write certain parts of the book. So much, in fact, that I sometimes play the exact same songs while revising those chapters. After a while, I start to associate certain characters, ideas, feelings or scenes with these songs. You may visit previous playlists at Endnotes from Oon.

This is my playlist for writing (and now, reading) Warrior of the Wind. I try my utmost best to avoid spoilers, but they may be inevitable to a small degree, as I often provide context for one thing or the other. If you’re risk-averse and would prefer to wait until you’ve read these books before you eyeball any of these, that’s great. But if you’re the brave sort, read on.

The not-so-original soundtrack to Warrior of the Wind

This 30-song-strong list (see full list below) is the result of my two-year-long writing process for Warrior of the Wind. Perhaps they could help enrich your reading experience too! But before the full list, here are my top 5:

• Sixteen Tons – Jerry Reed: If, like me, you’re familiar with Apple TV’s The Morning Show (which I started watching while writing this novel), you may recognize this song from S02, E08. In this Jerry Reed iteration (the original song was by Merle Travis in 1946), an upbeat coal miner sings: “You load 16 tons, what do you get? / Another day older and deeper in debt / I owe my soul to the company store,” which pretty much captures the state Lilong & co find themselves in at the start of the novel, indebted to their rescuers. It truly embodies the idea that even liberation efforts are not free from the long arm of the capitalist. So, clearly, this became my “capitalism is evil” track.

• Uptown Funk – Vitamin String Quartet: Couldn’t name a better “heist” track. The staccatto violins move at just the right pace, and it all feels very espionage-y in a James-Bond-y way. VSQ (of Bridgerton fame) really know how to make their strings do the work.

• Brisa – IZA: This is my “quest/journey” track. Iza sings in Portuguese: “Eu tô na brisa / E nada me abala” which translates to “I'm in the breeze / Nothing shakes me” which captures, for me, the feeling of a traveler meeting a world bigger than they are, just like our fugitives moving through the Savanna Belt do. This is a departure from the string ensemble quest music prevalent in dominant culture, and I like the idea of enjoying the journey despite the dangers that loom.

• Water – Naïka: The third quarter of this tracklist is occupied by water-themed songs, mirroring the tail end of the novel, which [no spoiler] spends time in water-adjacent spaces. Of these songs, I most like Naïka’s because it’s a praise song of sorts, carrying the energetic spirit of those who most closely associate themselves with (and therefore appreciate) the energy of water. This is my “water” track.

• Egedege – Larry Gaaga, Theresa Onuorah, Flavour, Phyno, Pete Edochie: This, I imagine to be my “end credits” track. If you’ve ever seen any Nigerian/Nollywood film, you’ll know why—this song just makes sense. It’s really a celebration of Igbo language and culture, via the praise of the ijele dance (the crooner, Theresa Onuorah, opens the chorus with: Ijele eruwegonu muna onye ga agba egwu eh? = It’s almost time for the ijele dance; who will I dance with?). But of course, the song is more than that: the mix of oldie and new afrobeat rhythms, Flavour’s cheeky pronouncements (ị na-eme guy, achọrọ m ịma? = You’re playing hard to get; does it look like I care?), Phyno’s rap bars (Kasala pass m aka, just malu na alert ama ada = If the problem passes & I don’t solve it, just know that you won’t get a credit alert), and Pete Edochie’s aphorisms (Mma onye nwee ka oji ana aka = What you have is what you flaunt).

You can add the full playlist to your library on Spotify, which I used while writing this book. However, I really dislike Spotify’s ethical choices these days, and will be moving away from them soon after this post. So you may use this free tool to export this playlist to your preferred music platform, as I soon will.

Enjoy listening!