When Solstice is performing at Luma’s in Soul’s Spiral, did you ever wonder what it sounded like? If you answered yes, then you’ve come to the right blog post! Today we’re discussing some of the musical traditions of Siraden and what inspired them.  

In Soul’s Spiral, it’s stated that Solstice’s troupe plays mainly Siradian music. Siradian music tends to be more “folks-y” and is comprised of jigs, reels, ballads, drinking songs, sea shanties, and other similar forms. Common instruments include fiddles, guitars, flutes, and drums. However, Siraden is not one homogenous culture and the various people of Siraden have their own unique musical traditions. For example, Backarzian music sounds more like traditional Irish music, but Azelan music sounds more like classical acoustic guitar music from Spain and Greece. Thus, while overall Siradian music could best be described as “European folk music,” what any given Siradian song sounds like differs greatly based on where it originated.   

The music of Arvelak tends to be more uniform across its people. Although there may be some slight differences between songs composed in the Night City compared to the Water City, the differences are not as distinct in those between the island-countries of Siraden. Arvelakan music takes the form of ballads, marches, dirges, and similar somber music. As Avad mentions in Soul’s Spiral, Arvelakan music makes heavy use of bagpipes; however, Arvelakan music often also employs drums, flutes, and the occasional fiddle. The music of Arvelak was inspired by traditional Scottish music that Morgan and I listened to growing up.  

In fact, most of the music featured in The Great Legend Chronicles is inspired by music that Morgan and I listened to growing up. Our mother is a big fan of new age and world music, so we grew up getting to hear a variety of musical traditions. Being exposed to so many different styles of music as children proved to be helpful when we were trying to determine the “sound” of Siraden’s various people because it gave us many different ideas to work with.  

While neither I nor Morgan has any musical talent, music is something we both greatly enjoy and love. As authors we put a lot of thought into how we incorporate it into our stories. Hopefully you have found the songs and music in our stories as meaningful as we have.  

— Duncan