Giorgio has an amazing antique collection that encompasses many different styles of bowls, each with their own characteristic. Some had several amazing sounds both dissonant and harmonious all within one bowl. When purchasing new bowls, he prefers the adventure and serendipity of exploring and finding single bowls with character rather than purchasing complete sets. This creates his eclectic signature sound. Giorgio has a deep knowledge of music throughout his life and is the only practitioner I have recorded so far with formal music training. He enjoys wandering around the unstructured improvisations that sound baths allow always listening and experimenting for new sonic discoveries. This was the first recording I made of Giorgio at his Apartment in Central with his collection of unique bowls. The beauty of this recording is that you can listen to the recording to admire his personal collection of sounds or for meditation purposes. When you listen try to hear the subtle nuances of all the bowls he plays. Some characteristics come out depending on how hard the bowl is struck. Others come out when sounded with other bowls. All in all, it is a very relaxing track.

In Tai Wai to record the second session of Kaman. This time we recorded in a piano room in her residential complex. After we started in what we thought was going to be a quiet location, a group of children invaded the playground area which happened to be in the same space! We carried on with the rest of the session with Kaman adding a few minutes at the end to compensate for any future edits. Upon playback I discovered there were only a few spots where the kids were too loud. There were other spots that the kids could be heard but I think I will keep it. It gives a sense of place. Kaman used her crystal bowls with the monochord this time. In the quiet room, I could finally hear the monochord’s sound, which at times sounded almost human-like. I could have sworn I heard it sing or speak. I think the pairing of the bowls and monochord was perfect and is one of my favorite sessions I have recorded.

Rosan Cruz is based in Manila and was one of the practitioners that I was able to record earlier this year on my visit to the Philippines. Her sessions were recorded in her apartment in Green Hills where she holds sessions. She usually plays planetary gongs which as I learned are gongs tuned to a specific frequency and have a more controlled sound. Symphonic gongs are more musical and random in nature yielding other-worldly, ethereal sounds. Planetary gongs also have spiritual meanings that sound healers use to create gong combinations according to clients needs. In performance, I feel planetary gongs lend a narrower, stable sonic spectrum within a wide and powerful image. For this session, Rosan used a single Pluto gong for this recording. Pluto is used to eliminate toxicity, clear emotional trauma and aid in major life transitions such as life and death. This recording is so moving and heavy. Prepare to be crushed.

Yumi introduced me to Queena whose studio is in the same building as Ore Art. They wanted to improvise a sound bath together. Improvising with other people is always a challenge but the rewards can be great. Trust is a big part of a successful performance and their performances were pretty amazing. Queena played a single medium size gong while Yumi played her large symphonic gong. Their improvisations yielded emotional and moving recordings and are some of my favorite. Even though they seldom play together, their connection and dialogue borders on instinct. For this recording, Queena and Yumi sat on opposite ends of the room with their backs to each other. I thought it would be interesting to have a separate rhythm and sound immersing the listener. The placement of the gongs resulted in an interesting dramatic imbalance.

Michelle Chow has been a sound bath practitioner for a few years and has recently been learning and using tuning forks in her therapy sessions. Michelle Chow has been a sound bath practitioner for a few years and has recently been learning and using tuning forks in her therapy sessions. In this recording, Michelle plays tuning forks. Recording tuning forks requires the practitioner to sit very close to the microphone resulting in a very intimate recording with no indication of place. Your hearing becomes very acute noticing very minute sounds. You can hear the distant streetscape, her adjacent tenants moving outside the room, and a tiny water feature trickling in her office. Her choice of tuning forks and the way she moves back and forth sometimes swirling, sometimes steady, rocks you back and forth lulling you to sleep.

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

Manuela worked as a social worker for 10 years helping mentally handicapped children and adults before beginning her sound bath and yoga practice. Besides managing her studio, she gives sound baths and yoga sessions every month to senior citizens as several community centers in town to help them dela with stress, insomnia, and physical problems. This track was also recorded with the microphone placed on the floor. This time Manuela, arranged the bowls in a circle around the microphone in a different arrangement. Very immersive track.

Helen Kwok has been practicing sound healing for about 7 years and opened her own space in Wan Chai 2 years ago. Helen's style is very, v.e.r.y. slow letting each bowl ring almost endlessly as I was taken in their custody to the depths of myself. To have such great restraint demonstrates a deep understanding and mastery of her craft and instruments. Her interests have recently been distilled even further by studying the shamanic drum, perhaps the most primitive healing tool, having only a single tone but using infinite rhythm patterns to trigger different conscious states. She feels the drum is more powerful than the bowls and regularly incorporates it in her sound baths. In this track, Helen plays the metal bowls. Like her shamanic drumming, the cadence is slow and steady, striking the bowl on each breath and letting the bowl fully ring out before striking again. The bowls have an amazing sustain lasting at least 30 seconds with a gentle tap. Recorded several stories above the street, the busy sounds of Hong Kong can be heard in the background. Looking for a super slow and relaxing track, this is for you.

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 at Yoga Shala, Manila.

Candace sometimes organizes a collaboration between interesting people she meets. This collaboration is with Hafsa a spiritual alternative healer, and Karina a yoga instructor at Ikigai. Hafsa worked as a professional singer in the past and she improvises some lyrics and drum chanting over Candace’s crystal bowl drones. Karina also plays the bowls lending another layer to the performance.