Carnage Visors – This early Cure soundscape was composed to accompany an abstract film that the band played on some of their first tours. The name ‘carnage visors’ is said to be a dark inversion of the idea of rose-tinted spectacles. A nice retro slice of hauntingly easy-listen electronica.

John Carpenter – Film soundtracks are a great writing background. I often think back to a film I’ve enjoyed, then look up the soundtrack online. One I come back to again and again is Escape from New York. I like this version, which just plays the main theme over and over with slight variations. Carpenter has released other albums too, like the synthwave soundscapes of Lost Themes.

Derek Bailey – Plink, Plonk and Scratch is the apt subtitle of Trevor Barre’s witty history of the London Free Music movement. One of the best-known figures was Derek Bailey. This is guitar music, Jim, but not as we know it. As Wikipedia puts it: ‘Bailey’s distinctive style can be challenging. Its most noticeable feature is its extreme discontinuity, often from note to note.’ Strangely addictive.

Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports – Obviously this whole article could just really be about Brian Eno. His experimental ‘non-musical’ albums offer a lifetime’s writing background. I often listen to this, one of the first-ever self-styled ambient albums. It’s made up of four compositions created by layering tape loops of differing lengths. It was meant to be played on a loop as a sound installation — in airports. Ambient music, said Eno, is meant to be ‘as ignorable as it is interesting’. It should ‘induce calm and a space to think’.

Gurdjieff – De Hauptmann piano music – Part Svengali, part charlatan, GI Gurdjieff (pictured) has always fascinated me. After years of reading I still don’t have much of a clue about his philosophy. But central to it was music, which he gave a special spiritual significance. His piano music — composed with long-time disciple and pianist Thomas de Hartmann — was designed to accompany ancient temple dances. The dances combine movement and breathing in such a way as to raise people out of habitual patterns of thinking and awaken to themselves. This particular soundtrack is my secret writing weapon. I have listened to it exclusively for months on end, and written three full-length manuscripts to it. There is a Keith Jarrett version called Sacred Hymns, if you can access it. On Youtube you can even find some original recordings. You briefly hear the man himself and the applause of his entourage.

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