Mark Dastmalchi-Round

Mark Dastmalchi-Round

I’m a DevOps architect, musician, animal lover and all-round geek. If it’s got shiny lights on it, makes loud noises or purrs/wags its tail when you stroke it, I’m all for it. When I’m not writing code or fiddling with computers for a living, I produce my own music and provide the low-end rumble for my band in West Sussex.

A Splinter In Your Mind

Updated:

a_splinter_in_your_mind Earlier this year, I finally discovered as an adult that I am “on the spectrum” with what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome. The diagnosis helped make sense of a lot things and has given me a greater insight into my “way of being in the world”. Whilst there are times I struggle with things that neuro-typical people usually find easy, or I find some situations draining, the condition has also brought me many positives which often get overlooked when talking about Autism Spectrum Disorders.

True, it’s made life difficult or painful at times. But now I’ve learned more about it and have had help along the way, I’ve realised that many of my abilities and passions that I write about on this site also stem from the “unusual” way my mind works. Having fun with music is one of those gifts and it’s also how I can best express myself. I started putting this latest track together as I was processing everything and blew off some steam along the way - It was a great experience and I feel like I ended this project on a very positive note.

I guess this is also me going public and being open about having an ASD. There’s still a fair amount of stigma associated with these conditions, but frankly much of our favourite art, the modern world and the Internet as we know it probably wouldn’t exist without all the neuro-diverse folks who made much of it! We’re just wired a little differently - but wouldn’t life be boring if we were all the same? So here’s to all the Aspies of the world!

The track is available to stream on YouTube, and all the usual stores.

Apple Music Soundcloud Spotify

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