Sound Bath Sessions 053: Calvin Chan

I recorded Calvin at Room Ganesha in Mongkok. He combines the sounds of several instruments in his sound baths using metal singing bowls, tongue drums, and hand pans. Not formally trained in sound healing or music, Calvin’s approach is more about freely exploring sound for relaxation, meditation, and performance. He experiments with interesting combinations of instruments and sounds. The busy street below can be heard in the space.

Calvin begins playing the tongue drum in a wonderful abstract fashion. I have mainly heard the drum played in a melodic, musical fashion so this improvised passage is quite dramatic and refreshing. It felt like he played the tongue drum like the metal bowls so that when he made the transition it was quite seamless. He also played with the depth of the stereo field by walking around the room with the bowl or by holding the bowl close to the microphone much like Michelle Chow did using tuning forks.