The Bridge
A DJ Set About Grief, Memory, and Return.
The Bridge is a narrative DJ set that goes beyond what plain language can capture—an audio companion to my essay, At the Edge of Her and Me.
I chose these tracks for their visceral pull. Each one holds memory, grief, intimacy, and the ritual of returning to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge—a place that tests the will to live. The sweet void. The women who stood with me. The ones who disappeared. The one who stayed.
Below is the tracklist with insights, each piece aligned with the emotional current of my essay and the novel it inspired, The Desert Road of Night.
Tracklist & Insights
1. Linah Rocio & The Lighthearted – Love Letter
A single breath, soft yet fateful—like someone who knows you too well. The ritual begins here.
2. Just Friends – Avalanche
Momentum and surrender. A body freefalling before the mind decides. Velocity over fear.
3. Nicolas Jaar – Why Didn’t You Save Me
A lingering ache. Jaar taps into the raw sting of loss when someone slips away.
4. Linah Rocio & The Lighthearted – Black Sea
A darker echo of the first track. The undertow of love that never settled. It feels like a memory on the edge of fading.
5. Lisa Gerrard – Mirror Medusa
Gerrard channels mythic weight. You stare into the unknown and find transformation, not an ending.
6. Lisa Gerrard – Devotion
Not romance—something deeper. The cost of standing by someone long after others vanish.
7. Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper – True Stories
No climax, just stillness. It conjures standing on the bridge at 3 a.m., wind in your face, a pocketful of thoughts.
8. Sven Weisemann – Falling Leaves
The slow drift of grief. Minimal, meditative. A quiet path linking years nobody asked about.
9. Finland & Aaskoven – La Babianello
Air, echo, percussion. Perfect for the in-between: the drive to Taos, a motel room, two people who won’t say what they really mean.
10. The Cinematic Orchestra feat. Tawiah – Wait For Now / Leave the World
A muted sense of closure. The feeling of finding yourself again while still unsure you can make it.
11. Ólafur Arnalds – So Close
An ending that doesn’t quite end. Intimacy always just out of reach. A faint glow you chase when saying “Don’t give up.”
For visuals and moments that shape my storytelling, follow me on Instagram: @viktor.e.mares.
Explore deeper themes in my novel, The Desert Road of Night, which features a chapter called The Bridge, based on At the Edge of Her and Me—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most major retailers.