The Art of a Travel Playlist
Two things trigger a new playlist in my library — long-drawn music lulls and travels I’m about to set out on. The first one is, for all practical purposes, mechanical — I carve out a few hours one day to consume as much new music as I can get my hands on. Playlists are created and a feeling of misplaced accomplishment is felt. The second one however, is far more nuanced. When I make lists for travel preparation, as one does, making sure I’m equipped with a painstakingly considered playlist takes precedence.
Regardless of how long I’m about to spend in a car or a train or a plane, I need songs that encompass my mood in that moment. I need songs to get me through my travel anxiety, songs for when the plane inevitably rattles during take-off, songs to drown out wailing babies and pleading parents, songs to wistfully stare out of the window to, songs for when I catch a glimpse of the destination during descent. To take a momentary break from the romance of a playlist, let’s talk brass tacks — the logistics of it all. What goes into a seamless playlist experience? A fully charged external battery pack, up-to-date subscriptions to your choice of music app, a deep dive into your existing library as well as an investigation of what’s new, a pair of your preferred music listening apparatus and a back-up pair for good measure. Let’s classify this as top tips from someone who has learned from unfortunate mistakes.
I have shallow roots, but certain things will take me right back to a particular time or place in my life. That’s what playlists are to me — part souvenir, part diary and part travel-sick therapy sessions. Fun fact — my most used app is one that recognises a song from a few guitar licks, a couple of beats or even a simple hum. Along the way, I try to collect as many of them as I can. These are songs that, regardless of where I am, will thrust me right back to the time I treated myself to a night at a library-themed boutique hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, when the backpacker life was wearing me thin; the abrupt, somewhat unwelcome change in weather as I drove on the undulating roads of New Zealand; the 2-hour tear-filled bus ride to the airport after I’d spent the summer in Milan falling in love in more ways than one. All I have to do is push “play”.
