This is the weirdest karaoke

 

Disquiet Junto 0655 Soothing Sounds II

The Disquiet Junto project this week asks for music for babies.

I'd begun thinking through different ideas and then spoke with my oldest son, who's home from uni for the holidays.

As I explained the Junto project I remembered my attempts to soothe him as an infant.

First-time fathers learn a number of lessons, from how hospitals view them as a liability to feeling inadequate when a baby wants to be fed.

I can't remember how I arrived at this technique but it sometimes worked.

I would hold my baby close and sing while turning on the spot.

The key lesson I would impart to first-time fathers is the importance of skin-to-skin contact at every opportunity.

With my first child I was too worried to hold him, but subsequent kids got stuck to my chest at the first opportunity and it seemed as though they knew who I was much earlier.

It's not easy being a father and working through the changing dynamic from being a couple to becoming a family.

The best thing is to be ready to provide comfort, ensure your partner has a glass of water during breastfeeding and let go of expectations.

That last point is one that becomes obvious as soon as you enter the hospital and the birth plan is forgotten as the staff do what they think needs to be done to cure the pregnancy.

As you become accustomed to being the least important person in the room, you begin a journey that's different for everyone but entirely your own opportunity to revisit your own upbringing with a new perspective.

It's no wonder that many relationships don't survive this shift, so be ready to play a new role and marvel at the little joys as they arrive.

The smell of the newborn; the moment you feel they see you; that first smile; and then the months of teething,

And shit -- so much shit. 

Literal, metaphorical and it's a fertiliser that makes life grow.

Moog Labyrinth

That price took the wind out of my GAS 

Everyone tried hard

 

Disquiet Junto 0653 Break a Rule

The Disquiet Junto project this week asks participants "Stop doing something you always do."

As a longtime contributor to the Junto, I have shared so much of my life in various recordings.

If you were to go through previous projects you'd find everything from making my favourite dish (kimchi) through to having a bath and also making love.

There really isn't much that I haven't already tried and shared with the Disquiet community!

I arrived at the idea of not contributing to the Junto this week, however it seemed as though that would go without notice if I didn't record something for the prompt.

So I've arrived at the idea of sharing an update on a recent activity that's taken me in a different direction and have decided that I won't publish it on the forum where contributors are encouraged to share.

Stop and listen

naviarhaiku547 – night deepening…

The haiku shared by Naviar Records this week prompted me to try and remember warm nights, as it's been cold here.

As for the video, it's another that I downloaded from Archive.org for a different project and was available on my desktop.

The music piece

Disquiet Junto 0652 By the Tale

The Disquiet Junto project this week is to "Set a favorite story to music."

My partner suggested that I should use my Totem Story, which I wrote last year and like a lot but it got a mixed reaction from the judges of a competition.

(They thought it was inappropriate for me to write from a First Nations' perspective, which I can understand is not my experience to represent even if it is historical fiction.)

Anyway, recently I've been playing with the M-Tron Pro VST and used it for all the instrumentation except the drums.

I was aiming for a sense of uncertainty, as well as incorporating a human voice and obviously the organ is there for the religious moments.

The video came from Archive.org and was something I had on hand that seemed to suit the music, although it has nothing to do with the story.

I dare say

 

naviarhaiku546 – The figure of a man

The haiku shared by Naviar Records reminded me of this video I downloaded from Archive recently, while I was looking for sirens to use in a Junto project.

It features a man addressing a different sort of storm and offered a good challenge to remix the material into a song.