Two days ago we talked about "Theta", a record composed and sung by Beatriz Montiel, dedicated entirely to motherhood, the world of babies and concerns, doubts and problems that may arise with the step to be a mother, when not everything is pink or floats in clouds of cotton.
We liked the project so much that we thought it would be nice to talk to her so she could tell us a little about how the idea of recording an album came up in which all the songs talked about the issues that may worry mothers, even before they fathered the baby, and among other things he told us that the songs have served to channel hard moments of his motherhood.
You made the record, right?
Yes it is. All the songs on the album are of their own composition, both the lyrics and the music. The arrangements and pianos are the work of Manu Ortega; The guitars, recording and mixing are the responsibility of Daniel Sáiz in Estudio Sacramento and the bass is played by my father, Javier Montiel. Three piece of musicians without whom "Theta" would not exist.
What led you to start writing? Because you already sang and composed, I imagine. What makes you start talking about motherhood?
I have always had my acoustic guitar at home with which I composed small songs, but I have had long seasons when the guitar has come to dust in a corner of the room. When the idea of having a child settled in my mind to stay and live there, suddenly melodies appeared almost daily, lyrics that were born better in the form of a song ... it seemed that sometimes I expressed myself better with music than with spoken language and many Sometimes, the songs served as a filter to channel hard moments of my motherhood, it has been healing.
Healer? In what sense?
It has been so natural to compose "Theta" that sometimes I think it was a vital necessity.
When I speak that the songs were sometimes healing, I want to say that they helped me to accept or fit moments of my motherhood that I didn't expect or when I didn't think about. I informed myself a lot during pregnancy but some things (all practically) until you do not live them in the first person do not really know how you are going to face them. For example, I wanted to breastfeed my baby on demand and from the first spontaneous grip I had to suffer the effects of a subclinical mastitis that lasted almost five months. Five months with excruciating pain, throwing away pain in bed, delaying the shots ... I even felt some rejection towards my girl, because bringing her closer to my body was synonymous with suffering. I decided not to substitute any intake for formula milk and treat myself with probiotics. The song "Love of milk" was healing to compose because really my desire to breastfeed never disappeared and our deep love was forged during breastfeeding. There is a moment that says "you caress my side ..." I will never forget how my daughter caressed me while I was breastfeeding, she seemed to say "thank you, mom. You are doing great". If I don't get my tribe close, if I don't go to breastfeeding support groups and counselors, surely our breastfeeding would have been a failure. My partner (just as a newbie as I) did not know how to help me in this regard and it was other mothers who took me out of the well.
The record is chronological, right? Each song responds to a lived moment, to an important moment of your motherhood ... yes?
That's right, as my transformation as a mother progressed, new themes were emerging from within me to compose and that has been respected on the record as well. The first song (One day I thought of you) responds to the first moment in which I thought about my daughter consciously and song by song, a process of motherhood is envisioned where a pregnancy occurs (Her name is Zoe); an imminent birth (Blessingway); a baby who grimaces while sleeping and his mother wonders what will he dream of? (What will my baby dream of?); a baby who discovers the world for the first time (Aina); difficult beginnings of breastfeeding where a bond for life is strengthened (Love of milk); night fears (don't be afraid); the loneliness of a mother looking for her maternal tribe (Who is there?) and finally how to alleviate the effects of separation anxiety if we see ourselves, like me, in the case of necessarily separating ourselves from our babies (Farewell Song).
The music for you is ...
A form of deep communication with the other and with the same. A channel to express something differently ... For me, I tell you, it has been so natural to compose "Theta", that sometimes I think it was a vital necessity, something for which my body had prepared, as it did for be a mother. Maybe the music is also hormonal, hehehe.
Do you sing your songs to Zoe? What do you think of your mother having this artistic side?
I want my songs to accompany other moms with a loud hug.
He loves it! I've always sung, hummed here and there, in the shower ... Pregnant sang a lot to my daughter and then too. Now we put the disk in the car on the way to the nursery school and she chooses the songs she wants to hear and we sing them together. I also surprise her sometimes playing with something in the living room and humming some song of "Theta". I love listening to them with their sweet little voice. She also "sings to mom."
What do you try to convey with your music? Do you think other mothers identify with the message?
I only count my maternity experience through songs. Songs that accompanied my path towards the transformation of woman to woman-mother. And I wish that as they accompanied me, now accompany other moms with a sound hug, feel that another mother sings to them and do not create themselves. I try to transmit TRIBU.
