Vocal Stimming ( or, uh vocal stim ) refers to self-stimulatory behaviors involving thuh mouth, lips, or vocal chords, often used by neurodivergent individuals (autism/ADHD) to regulate emotions, manage sensory input, or self-soothe.
Examples include humming, whistling, high-pitched shrieking, repeating words/phrases (echolalia), or clicking, often to manage stress or express excitement [ source ].
Looping + Diverging have always been thuh bridges between my mind + composition in all its forms:
Music [ see: live looping + sampling ]
Writing [ see: sound-based poetry + writing off thuh subject ]
Performance [ see: Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture ]
As I strive to complete uh full-length musical album that utilizes this bridge / this entry-point, I will document more intimate discoveries + stims here.
May this blog survive thee internet to come + serve as uh landing place for other neurodivergent composers,
particularly Black, femme, neurodivergent composers realizing their own perfection // wholeness.
May this be uh worthy offering.
// Asé //
My life is misaligned.
It’s tense
in my body
in my relationships.
I’m uh human bein’ surrenderin’ to thuh natural order uh things—
Shiftin’ / maturin’ / is thuh natural order uh things.
In August, I went viral.
In August, I was plucked from everything I knew in / all directions / all at once—
I was plucked
from settling / shrinking / apologizing / surviving in every way + in every relationship I had.
At least I *knew.
My current reality feels more like uh purgatory than where I’m // who I’m supposed to be.
I’m settling, still / shrinking / apologizing / surviving—just more publicly than before.
*I forgot my knowing. I wasn’t prepared for thuh sheer onslaught uh voices who “knew better.”
Sum time has passed. Lord knows I know better.
My life is still too small.
I’m in pain /
I’m in pain /
I’m in pain about it
in bondage to “whut works.”
Thuh very thought of an algorithm / uh fucking algorithm / with no blood, bone or soul determinin’ thuh course uh thuh rest uh my life
is absurd.
I’m uh human bein’ / surrenderin’ to thuh natural order uh things.
I reject bondage in all its forms.
I am, quite simply, in pursuit uh thuh life I deserve / uh true love / uh freedom.
I am meant for so much more
than “whut works.”
thee alguhRHYTHM ain’t uh fair (or predictable) master.
[ You have been warned. ]
I have tried to explain this feeling / this pain over an’ over again.
I am no longer explaining it.
I am blessed // I am in pain
and /
and /
and /
and /
always and /
I’ve been met with sympathy and / have settled for that, historically.
I’m rarely met with empathy—
understanding even more so.
It’s lovely when it comes.
However brief.
However fleeting.
My love, finally, is rooted—
sharp now
recognize
recognize whut I deserve
‘an it’s more than this
more than this
more than this
stan’ in it
tol’ you, I’m rooted and /
and /
and /
And /
And /
And / is how love feels
in my body.
Love / is all [ this ] has ever been about.
Push
push
push push
push
push push
push
I’m pushin’ thru duh dirt
thuh concrete?
thuh dirt
thuh dirt
thuh concrete.
This pain / I’m sure / is worth it.
[ Alt: rebirf ]
— REE —