This is a playlist for the Sound Bath Sessions project.

Sound Bath Sessions is a subscription-only project that offers live recordings of exclusive sound baths from sound therapists and healers in Asia. http://www.sbsessions.com

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Sound Bath Sessions

This is the monthly bonus track for the Sound Bath Sessions collection Featuring Paul Yip.

Sound Bath Sessions is a subscription-only project that offers live recordings of exclusive sound baths from sound therapists and healers in Asia.

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Sound Bath Sessions- March Bonus Track - Paul Yip

Sound Bath 014 featuring Queena and Yumi at Queena’s studio in Sheung Wan now available to listen on all major podcasting platforms. Search for Sound Bath Sessions on your favorite podcast app. See sbsessions.com for details.

Queena and Yumi played together for their sessions. This is perhaps the most musical and expressive recording I have recorded so far and is representative of the kind of recordings I have been fortunate to record these past few months. It is the one that had the most effect on me. Every time I listen to this, I am just overwhelmed. It is just beautiful.

They begin playing the bowls and titanium gong. Starting at the pace of life, it is full of energy and music. Heavy hits on the bowls shake the senses as mixed musical sequences create a pleasant environment. She shares the sonic space with Yumi as she awakens the gong- swelling, swallowing everything. As she retreats, the bowls slowly come up for air with their song. The bowls begin to become less varied as Queena strikes only a few bowls at a time, sometimes striking a single bowl until its constant ring fills your ears. The striking stops. Descent is imminent.

A rain box is flipped as it creates a constant shower. The next scene begins. Everything slows way down. The last rhythm is played as Yumi signals a transition with a single hit of her large symphonic gong.

What happens next is a dance. The synergy between them is amazing. You are enraptured with their song as it embraces you and takes you lower and lower until the veil is removed and you realize where you are. Love and loss. Light and dark. Everything and nothing. It is balance. It is powerful. It is deep. The pressure crushes you as you take shallow breaths. You find them again as they pull you to the surface. They conclude playing with the rain box. As the last few stones trickle down, they end with their final note as you break the surface and take a breath.

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Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-014-queena-yumi

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Sound Bath 014- Queena Yumi

This was the second recording I did of Helen @mettawellness at her studio in Wanchai.

When selecting sessions to release for Sound Bath Sessions, I always want to offer unique sound baths to challenge listeners with new styles and experiences. I had never experienced a solo shamanic drum session before this and was excited to hear and feel what it would be like. Queena and Yumi's session (SBS 013) was the first time I had experienced a shamanic drum and its effect on me with the gong was intoxicating.

This is as minimal as it gets. Stripped down to a single sound, but with infinite possibilities in rhythm. Helen told me that there are certain rhythms for different conscious states and that when she plays during a session, it also affects her conscious state. I assume that this is because the drum is stationary so she does not need to open her eyes to see where to strike next, allowing her to focus and participate with the listeners through her own performance. I can see why this can be a desirable, powerful shared experience for everyone involved.

She begins with a slow, steady tempo to bring you in. As the tempos speed up, different rhythms cleanse you as they entwine you in their pace, as steady as a heartbeat. Helen's play with loudness and softness adds a deeper, physical dimension to the session. The soft, slow strikes allow the sounds of the city beyond to creep in as you are gently lowered to the reality where you started, the louder strikes pull you back into an entranced state and demand your attention as it leads you in a spiritual dance- spinning, whirling, exhausting you until. 

Silence.

		As if the world stopped to listen.

				Welcome. 
		
				You are here. 

The drum commands your breathing, its tempo your breaths, its volume the depth of each. The drum's spell holds you just under the surface but you don't want to leave. The drum slows, softly into the quiet abyss. 

Helen slowly plays some singing bowls to slowly bring you back to the surface and concludes with the chimes.

Every time I listen to this, it always affects me in this way. How a single instrument can command so much of me is beyond my knowledge. Purity of tone, purity of experience.

I hope you enjoy this one.

Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-015-helen-kwok

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Sound Bath 015- Helen Kwok

Grace. South Bay Beach HK, 4am. Playing a lyre made by Andreas Lehman by the ocean.

"You know if you want to do this right, we need to record in the early morning.", I said.
"Like how early?", she asked with a teary-eyed emoji.

I woke up at 3am after a sleepless night, anxious with anticipation. I met Grace and we drove to South Bay Beach. There was more sound than light there. Tiny ocean waves lapping on the shore. We set up near the waterline and she began tuning her lyre.

"Give me 10 minutes, I need to connect with my instrument.", Grace said.
"Ok. I will start recording. Start whenever you want.", I said not wanting to distract her from her meditation.

She walks to the water's edge with chimes and stands still, listening. She comes back and begins, playing with the ocean.

She eventually stops and sits there, reconnecting to the moment. A distant fishing boat starts up and slowly drifts into silence. A ship's horn softly bleats. "Should I stop?", I say to myself, biting my lip. "No, let's just see what happens."

She picks up the chimes and walks along the beach this time, coloring with sound. She returns and plays again. Insects and birds begin stirring. Daylight breaks and I notice the tide came in. Did you hear it? You can, you know.

She looks at me and I stop.

I drive her home as the sun peeks over mountain tops. The city begins its daily rituals, unknowing to what had just happened.

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Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-016-grace-chen

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Sound Bath 016- Grace Chen

This was the second recording of Manuela (ig:@yoga_heartin) at her studio in Lai Chi Kok. 

Manuela laid her bowls in a large triangle formation on the floor and said that for her individual sessions, her client would lie in the middle of the shape while she performed her sound bath. I thought it would be interesting to hear a sound bath from the client's perspective and placed my stereo microphone on the floor where the head would be. The result is a very immersive, intimate sound bath with a great sense of space and distance. Her movement between both sides of the body adds a dynamic, 3-dimensional feel to the performance.

Manuela also contributes her time at her local community center where she performs sound baths to the elderly community to help them with their anxiety and pain.

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Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-022-manuela

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Sound Bath 022- Manuela

Sound Bath 023- Arianne Olegario. 

During the course of recording for the Sound Bath Sessions project, I wanted to see how sound baths were like in other countries around Asia. I scheduled a trip to the Philippines for a few days to see family and record a few sound baths. I was able to get in contact with three practitioners in or near Manila: Rosan Cruz, LJ Navera, and Arianne Olegario.

Arianne began her journey of self-healing around 10 years ago when the life she had planned out for herself couldn’t happen. She has learned Reiki, Innerdance, and more recently sound baths for her own self-healing and the healing of others. Arianne works as a consultant for USAID specializing in gender equality for development projects in southeast Asia.

Arianne plays metal singing bowls for these sessions and all tracks were recorded at Yoga Shala in Quezon City. In the beginning of the track, you can hear her say in the beginning of the track, "creation and communication". This is the intention that the practitioner puts on the sound bath.

Her session starts by sounding individual bowls several times before moving onto the next. Sometimes each strike can have a different energy; tapping the bowl harder or softer can release hidden overtones in a bowl. She slowly begins to incorporate more different combinations of bowls with dynamic tempos that change the depth of your experience. The busy street below can be heard creating a great sense of place.

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Dissonance

This is a 5 minute preview of Yumi's full sound bath. To listen to it in full please visit our Bandcamp page: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-024-yumi

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Yumi gives regular gong baths around Hong Kong. Her humorous and welcoming character complements the emotional sound baths that she performs. Yumi has practiced Reiki for many years and spends her time between Hong Kong and Japan with her family.

This was recorded at Ore Art in Sheung Wan. It was the first solo gong bath I had recorded and it blew me away. I had no idea a single gong could have so much power. Her symphonic gong is very musical with each hit creating a new layer of sound upon the last resulting in an overwhelming wave of sound that fills your mind. I felt new ideas and inspirations emerge perhaps because deep down that was what I was seeking. I would anticipate our future recordings as a time of creation and release.

In the middle of the recording, I had heard a unique sound inbetween the layers. She revealed that she sang into the gong with her voice. It was amazing how it became one with the sounds of gong softening it, making it more human.

✨Listen to more here

Sound Bath 024- Yumi

Recorded on January 18, 2023 at Ikigai Causeway Bay. This was the third recording of Candace and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Karina Curlewis would be joining the session. Karina is a yoga instructor at Ikigai Central, and I met her during Candance's second recording. She expressed her interest in using her voice during a sound bath.

Candace had large bowls that had an amazing low, warm grounding resonance. All the bowls used paired really well with Karinas amazing voice.

Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-001-candace-cheung-feat-karina-curlewis

Sound Bath 001- Candace Cheung & Karina Curlewis

I love Ravina's playing because it has this amazing presence and power yet can be gentle and mesmerizing.

Ravina has amazing large resonant bowls some over 20kg especially matched to her from her teacher in India. Because of her set up, she had to walk back and forth in the beginning to play the gong and the large bowl which adds this movement and dynamism to the piece.

Microphones cannot capture the full power of the gong as can be heard here but they did their best.

Hope you enjoy it.

Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-003-ravina-daswani

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Sound Bath 003- Ravina Daswani

Edmund plays metal bowls with a calming theme.

Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-002-edmund-chan

Sound Bath 002- Edmund Chan

This was the second recording of Candace that we did for SBS. Everytime we record i hear a progression. I don't know if it is her bowl selection or her confidence but the result envelops you like a warm hug more and more. The tinkling of a rain stick at the end to brings you back.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-005-candace-cheung

Sound Bath 005- Candace Cheung

I recorded Elka's tracks at her studio in Tsuen Wan. Elka, a student of Paul Yip, has a very delicate and precise style much like Paul. Her movements are very deliberate with a steady tempo. Watching her perform, her calculation can be seen in her focus and aim. Her thicker, heavier bowls have a great weight and presence, complementing the fragile structure of her notes.

This recording session was particularly difficult because there was some industrial noise outside her window. Some parts needed to be edited out but what's left is a beautiful, 'complete' piece that includes the distant city, the local sounds of her neighborhood outside her window, and her.

Enjoy with good headphones.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-006-elka-ho

Sound Bath 006- Elka Ho

Paul is an amazing performer. His sound baths are quite technical, and one can only imagine the amount of experience that goes beyond every sound. When listening to his work, he lets you roam your imagination. Open your eyes and he is sound embodied. Every breath and movement intentional and perfectly placed. I am honored to have recorded such an amazing artist. Enjoy.

Listen to full track here: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-004-paul-yip

Sound Bath 004- Paul Yip

This was my first recording with Edmund. This relaxing session style incorporated drones as well as hits on the metal bowls creating interesting contrasts and dissonance.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-007-edmund-chan

Sound Bath 007- Edmund Chan

This recording is a special one for me. It is a track is a track of 'firsts'. This was the first recording I did of Ravina. This was one of the first sound baths she did in her new space. And this was the first recording that I did specifically for Sound Bath Sessions before I even knew what this project was.

Recorded in December 2022, the paint had just dried in her new space and not all of her instruments were there. I remember editing this recording afterward and no matter how many times I listened to it, I got so lost in my thoughts that I forgot what I was doing. And so, the seed was planted that was to grow into this amazing project.

Ravina played metal bowls with the gong, gradually going from one to the other skillfully integrating the two instruments. Her bowls were bought from India and the resonance is amazingly long lasting each with their own character. Each hit from other bowls shaped the sound in such unique ways. Again her powerful improvised percussive style cuts through your thoughts and demands your attention. It was my first time for me to record a gong bath and I was surprised at how much power it had. From then on, I asked gong practitioners to do a sound test so as to limit the amount of power they use during the recording.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-008-ravina-daswani

Sound Bath 008- Ravina Daswani

This was the first track I recorded of Candace for Sound Bath Sessions right after the New Year holiday. Crystal bowls still mesmerize me no matter how many times I hear it. Her selection is ever changing with each new shipment that comes in so really no two sessions are alike. She does have her favorite bowls to use but there is a special flair that she selects to make it more special. As she pursues more certifications for sound therapy, her technique has become more precise, confident and her sessions encourage a deeper connection. Not to be missed.

Because it was still school holidays, I invited my daughter to tag along and experience her first sound bath. She said it sounded relaxing but didn't anticipate how uncomfortable a single yoga mat was after 30 minutes. Next time she will layer up. I have since played this to her for her own relaxation and she frequently dozes off to it for an afternoon nap or at bedtime.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-009-candace-cheung

Sound Bath 009- Candace Cheung

This is the first track I recorded of Paul. In this session, he played his metal bowls. Every time I listen to this recording it brings me very deep. Slow and steady, his entire body moves to strike the bowl, moving his hand to mimic his breathing.

As he breaths in, his hand moves toward his body. As he breaths out, his hand moves away from his body, not hitting the bowl until he commits to striking it. Watching his performance is meditative in itself.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-012-paul-yip

Sound Bath 012- Paul Yip

This is the last track I recorded of Edmond. The three tracks I record from each practitioner allows them to explore their expression over time and results in a great document of their progress.

This track I felt Edmund getting used to the process and opening up with different styles and instruments. He begins with a crystal pyramid chime and seamlessly begins with the bowls. He incorporates more swiping with hitting and the bowl placement was more intentional for the stereo recording. It is a great and soothing session.

Soon after the recording, he contacted me and said he was working on a singing bowl duet with a friend where the bowls are dispersed around the room. It's great to see how this has inspired his creativity for his expression. I can't wait to record it.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-011-edmund-chan

Sound Bath 011- Edmund Chan

Another beautiful, minimal track from Elka. There is beauty in everything. Initially dismissed as having a distracting background, after many listens I eventually found that the background sounds are the essence of the recordings of Sound Bath Sessions. They reflect the different places and sounds that Hong Kong has. Welcoming these sounds within recordings has made me more open minded about the project and about the sounds around me as I build my vocabulary of Hong Kong sounds.

Having the city background contrast with the pure tones of the bowls emphasizes them and symbolizes the challenge, but also the hope, that we can cut through the chaos that surrounds us with focus and little effort. I encourage new practitioners to think not only of the immediate sound of their bowls but of the sound beyond them, of the entire experience, and what that could represent as a whole.

Recorded at Elka's private studio that is in a space above her apartment in a small residential area in Yuen Long, the city is kept at a constant distance which is different than the direct sounds in the city center. Birds, everyday sounds of people washing, playing, riding a bike, and talking waft in through a cracked window. It is a wonderful, intimate portrait of Elka and the sounds that surround her in her life.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-010-elka-ho

Sound Bath 010- Elka Ho

This is the last track I recorded of Ravina. Every time I met her I always heard some faint music. I always thought it was coming from a different room. One day it was a bit louder and I asked about it. "It's a mantra chant from my teacher", she said. She keeps it on even at home to just fill the air and space with good wishes. For this one, I wanted the mantra a little more noticeable and just left it playing during the sound bath. It is a bit challenging at first when you listen as it contains a constant beat that keeps stealing your attention. But as you have experienced in your own sound baths, life is happening all around us- be it cars, or birds, we have to find a way to focus and integrate with the present.

I have found- even when listening outside- the key is not to separate, it is to combine. Hear everything at once. When I first realized this almost 20 years ago (2004), it changed the way I hear. It changed how I experienced the world.

We filter, or separate, sounds when we are conscious and that is what makes us so tired. Keep an open mind, focus between the two sounds, and welcome what is given.

This skill will make the future Sound Bath Sessions recordings more enjoyable. Once mastered, you may never hear the same way again.

Listen to full track: https://soundbathsessions.bandcamp.com/track/sound-bath-013-ravina-daswani

Sound Bath 013- Ravina Daswani

Bivouac Recording is a sound label based in Hong Kong.
Bivouac Recording是一个录音品牌且提供录音服务的公司，致力于推进独立现场录音项目。

For a richer experience of the field recordings and audio please read the descriptions for each track. 

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