Urban Exploration: Not necessarily how to....Music.

 I had been thinking about this when a discussion online with another Urbex aficionado prompted me to post this topic. Music has played a part in the Urban Exploration hobby for me ever since my start in the hobby all those years ago (26 or so!). One could call all it mood music, or a soundtrack. What I listen to before an explore and especially after, when I am processing the photos can direct the mood of the photos. Certain buildings have a certain presence that i try to capture in the image. Foreboding, loneliness, defiance, whatever. There is a sound that matches what I am trying to capture. I first used this technique when I was painting. I let the music move me in one direction or another. 

Abandoned churches lean towards Sons Of Perdition or Those Poor Bastards. A factory might make me listen to old industrial or EBM bands like Nitzer Ebb or Nine Inch Nails. A summertime explore on a sunny, hot and hazy afternoon screams R.E.M. or Uncle Tupelo to me. I let the site and the weather dictate what I listen to.

When safe back at home. I let the music help me recapture the mood to facilitate processing and get the right feel in color and texture.

I never, ever listen to music when on a site however. You will often hear someone else before you see them. Hearing is essential to keep from being caught in a bad situation.

Here is a list of some of the music I listen to:

Skinny Puppy
Dead Can Dance
Joy Division
Those Poor Bastards
Hank Williams III
Sons Of Perdition
Uncle Tupelo
R.E.M. (especially older stuff)
Bauhaus
Peter Murphy
Ministry
Nitzer Ebb
Nine Inch Nails (older stuff)