Life: Unlocked
Substack Sound Circle
Movement #1 of the 👂🎙️Substack Sound Circle CONSORT: TRANSITIONS
0:00
Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:01:26
-1:01:26

Movement #1 of the 👂🎙️Substack Sound Circle CONSORT: TRANSITIONS

Come and listen to the first "movement" (curated compilation) of the Substack Sound Circle Consort: you're all included this time

Welcome to the Substack Sound Circle, where everyone is welcome and audio is the medium of creative choice. I’m Laura, and I’m here to guide you and encourage you through this new bi-monthly audio adventure. If this post is too long to read in your email, come over to the Substack site or read in the app.

Welcome to the Substack Sound Circle Concert Hall. Or perhaps it’s an intimate gig venue in the back of a pub, or a beautiful amphitheatre in Italy, or a sticky-floored mosh pit: whatever feels like you is the right place for you to be listening.

For this first SSC I’ve created a consort of voices, bringing together all the different audio entries in a curated podcast as an opening celebration.

I’ve downloaded all the audio, edited it alongside some soothing Bach (royalty-free performance from musopen.org: always support musicians and don’t use their work without permission), and I think collectively we’ve created something innovative and wildly exciting.

You’ll hear an opening introduction from me, and then a micro-introduction to each audio entry.

Here is the transcript.


Our first prompt was: TRANSITIONS

We are all in a state of transition at the moment: the seasons are turning, the days are lengthening, my own family are experiencing some serious shifts.

I always think of this poem “The Journey” by Mary Oliver when I think about transitions: here is an excerpt:

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do...

Here are some questions you might wish to consider:

  1. What did speaking out loud reveal to myself about how I create?

  2. How does it feel to hear myself in this way?

  3. Is there something I really need to hear that I’ve been drowning out?

  4. Whose voice would I like to talk to (any potential for collaborations?)


The next Substack Sound Circle prompt will be revealed on Wednesday 13th March. Please do share this new community and new approach on Substack by commenting, restacking and (hopefully) contributing your own audio next time.

If you’d like to explore my writing about running your brilliant business, being a multi-passionate, motherhood, music and creativity here are some you might enjoy (the writing is always honest, and often varied!)

Ok, if you haven’t already, now’s the time to listen to The Substack Sound Circle Podcast, Episode 1 (at the top of the post).

If you love the podcast and want to read the accompanying individual posts, the full links to each one are below. With huge thanks to all my contributors,

Laura x

Too Much by Nicola Washington
Transitions
When I feel uncomfortable about doing something new I find it useful to reflect on whether I feel vulnerable because it’s unfamiliar or because I’ve crossed a - perhaps unacknowledged - boundary. I’m confident this time it’s the former, so I've resisted the urge to delete this and script myself more tightly…
Listen now

Good and Beautiful Things
A Chance to Bloom
Note: This audio clip and the following short post are a response to Laura Oldfield’s audio challenge. I suggest reading my intro below first and then listening to the audio…
Listen now

quietly courageous
on using my voice, literally
Today’s audio is part of Laura Oldfield’s Substack Sound Circle where we celebrate the medium of audio alongside our writing. The prompt this week is “transitions” and I talk about how they can be fast! Or so slow that we might not even notice them happening…
Listen now

Parents Who Think
no heroine shizzle
Last weekend, in a fit of god-knows-why because my week was crammed, I said yes to a (5 minute max) audio challenge put out by Laura Oldfield for her Substack Sound Circle. She’s a ballsy talent who is setting bi-weekly themes and whoever says “hell yeah…
Listen now

Creatively Conscious
Transitions...
An honest voice note in response to Laura Oldfield invitation. The transcript is here…
Listen now

Girl With Antlers
One More Minute
I’ve never liked sudden movements. My mother can attest to this. When I was a child, she learned to precursor any change in my environment with a warning. We’re going to go to the store this afternoon. We’ll be stopping bath time in 10 minutes. To let me adjust to the…
Listen now

Bloom by Design
Reflecting on the Mid-life Transition of Motherhood (recorded by Darcey Rojas) - a Substack Sound Circle Audio Challenge #1.
This audio post is in response to a prompt from Laura Oldfield and her Substack Circle Audio Challenge #1: Transitions. For more details, go here. This is my first time experimenting with an audio post! It feels like I’ve just started an unofficial podcast! You should have the option to click on a button to read the transcript of this recording if you prefer (but I’ll…
Listen now

Amy Gabrielle: Grief, Growth & Lingerie
Transitions
This probably won’t make it into the Laura Oldfield ‘s Sound Circle, especially since I just saw she’s under the weather, but it I wanted to do it anyway. If I’m scared to try something, it usually means I will benefit from doing it. In my audio I talk about the transitions in my life since my husband was diagnosed with stage IV cancer in 2018 and died in 2021…
Listen now

Expat Momma
Transitioning to being a first-time mom
TW: Loss and infertility After suffering years of infertility, one begins to accept their fate that children may not be in the cards. Years of doctors visits, reproductive assistance, and tests came to the conclusion that “we dont know whats wrong, sorry”. I have not had a problem getting pregnant in the past, it was always STAYING pregnant that was the…
Listen now

What Now? with Lindsay Johnstone
Transitions...
Juuuuust a few seconds shy of Laura Oldfield ‘s request for five whole, unedited, unscripted minutes in response to this month’s prompt: transitions. I’ve written about transitions big and small this week. Staring out over the Firth of Clyde, the deepest inland stretch of water around the British Isles, I’ve been minded of other trips across that stretch, so thought I…
Listen now

Notes from a Kindred Spirit
My Body Was Foreign to Me
Notes from a Kindred Spirit is a bi-weekly newsletter about embracing curiosity, exploring hobbies, living with chronic illness, and finding contentment in the everyday…
Listen now

and (both of whose brilliant audio I couldn’t include in the podcast, as it’s a voiceover as opposed to an audio post - I’m so sorry Tommy and Angie - next time!)

The Creatives' Table with Tommy Ludgate
Sound Circle #1 // Transitions
🎧 Press play to hear my audio contribution on the theme of Transitions…
Read more
Journaling For Self-Care
Transitions
I'm drawn to challenges that spur growth, especially in areas where my inner critic tends to hold the reins. Currently, I'm participating in an audio challenge that's all about spontaneity and creativity. We're given a single phrase to ignite our thoughts and then we just let it flow. Today's prompt is "Transitions…
Read more

Discussion about this podcast

Life: Unlocked
Substack Sound Circle
curated audio podcasts, with individual prompts from our Substack community. Hosted by Laura Oldfield of Life: Unlocked.
Listen on
Substack App
RSS Feed
Appears in episode
Laura Oldfield
Amy Gabrielle
Cassandra Bumpus
Claire Venus (she/her) ✨
Dan Stone
Danusia Malina-Derben
Darcey Rojas
Kerani Arpaia
Sarah Lynas