The Music Behind LiveWall

Coding requires intense, focused work, and in my daily life — juggling kids, a day job, quality time chatting with wifey, enduring Norwegian snowstorms, and enjoying those long, light summer nights — it's NOT always easy to get into the zone and create something great from scratch. Even if AI can help a bit, you still have to do the work.

For me, the best technique by far is to put on my headphones, block out the world (even though I know my dear ones sometimes go crazy about that — sorry, I DO love you!), and boom, something magical happens.

I tune into my coding mode — some people call it flow state. For me, it can last for hours, and trust me, you don't want to be the one interrupting me then! ;-)

Sometimes I use the pomodoro technique or other deep work routines, working in dedicated, uninterrupted blocks of time that help me maintain sustained focus. I've also learned to stay hydrated and move around every now and then, which really boosts my game. A light run in the neighborhood, and a nice cup of coffee as a reward afterwards. But all in all, it's intense, dedicated work that demands hyper-focus — and MUSIC is KING!

As you might already know, my wife Aja is a musician, and let me tell you, musicians are pretty particular about what they listen to. I've learned so much about music from her, especially from the ancient and classical traditions — such a well of beautiful music to draw from… You can hear her violin leading the last song in the playlist (and album), so had to include that one too… :-)

I've created a playlist featuring some of the music that means a lot to me — the kind I hear over and over again when I code. It spans centuries, and I love being in the flow of it all.

Sometimes I'm in a Pink Floyd mood, and other times I'm in "The Lark Descending" mode. The Bob Dylan song "Make You Feel My Love," as performed by Adele, holds a special place for both Aja and me — it carried us through a rough patch in our lives. It always brings tears to my eyes, and probably always will.

The Monteverdi album "Daylight. Stories of Songs, Dances, and Loves" plays every Sunday morning, and there's one passage where I swear, I hear the words "crystal meth" in the lyrics (of course, that's totally not true, but the Latin medieval text sounds exactly like that! We can't stop laughing — it's like an episode of South Park or something. Hilarious. I love that album.

My retired news photographer father always played jazz at home on weekends, so listening to jazz really makes me feel at home.

I believe that creating amazing software is a kind of art — and the continuous coding process required to do so is my craft. It's both creative and disciplined, following strict rules and techniques to achieve the desired results. Music helps me tap into that space, and I hope you too find inspiration in the playlist I've curated from albums I love.

In another blog post, I'll share my passion for painting — I dabble in both watercolor and oil — a pursuit that takes me to a very different place and helps me disconnect from everything else. Too little time for that now, but once we have albums in place in LiveWall I will reward myself with some time with a canvas.

Enjoy listening and keep creating,
and for the photo enthustiasts our there: keep chasing the light,
Chris