JB’s NOTE: I recently had the pleasure of discovering The Flower and the Serpent by Madeleine D’Este, a remarkable and adult-friendly YA tale straddling the line between horror and supernatural mystery set in 1992 Tasmania. Knowing my fascination with how music and narrative intertwine, Madeleine was gracious enough to sit down and assemble a soundtrack for the story.

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Picture yourself in 1992, in Hobart, Tasmania.

These were the days of no internet, when Tasmania was an isolated island at the bottom of the world and new music came from the radio or television – Triple J and Rage or magazines like the NME.

This is the setting of my latest novel, The Flower and The Serpent, a supernatural mystery set during a high school production of Macbeth.

To help you immerse yourself into the world of The Flower and The Serpent, I’ve curated an official author soundtrack. It contains a selection of songs my characters would have liked around the early 90s and a few atmospheric pieces which inspired me during the writing process.

Don’t Go Now – Ratcat

A poppy breezy Australian early 90s classic, Ratcat was a permanent fixture on the stereo at teenage parties in the early 90s.

 

Tomorrow Wendy – Andy Prieboy

A dark depressing song for the teenage bedroom angst.

 

Connected – Stereo MCs

At a time when electronic music left the clubs and re-entered the mainstream.

 

Hieronymus – The Clouds

Another indie music Australian classic with a little more of an intellectual edge.

 

Leave Them All Behind – Ride

An epic shoegaze classic.

 

Higher Than The Sun – Primal Scream

Perfect for skating through the empty suburban streets at night with a joint in hand.

A Forest – The Cure

The classic Cure track which conjures up dark forests and spooky things within them.

 

Wardenclyffe – S U R V I V E

Readers have likened The Flower and The Serpent to Stranger Things, which is interesting because I didn’t make it past episode 1 of the TV show. Perhaps the similarity is due to the music. While writing the book, I avidly listened to S U R V I V E and two of the members of the band are responsible for the Stranger Things soundtrack.

 

Titel 2 – Bohren & Der Club of Gore

1992 was also the era of Twin Peaks and Bohren & Der Club of Gore continued the ‘doom jazz’ spirit of Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks soundtrack with their own languid dread-laden jazz.

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The Flower and The Serpent – Modern day Shakespeare meets supernatural mystery with this nail-biting young adult horror.

Who am I?

Madeleine D’Este is a writer, reviewer and podcaster from Melbourne, Australia. A lover of folklore, black coffee and dark synths, find out more at www.madeleinedeste.com or connect with her on Twitter at @madeleine_deste.