Sound Bath Sessions 135: Mae Kwan

Mae Kwan, founder of Mase and Mase Lifestyle, suggested recording outdoors at the Botanic Gardens. Despite the encroaching midday heat, I was excited to record outdoors.

The park was doing some landscaping that morning and the buzzing sound of chainsaws and string trimmers filled the air. We tried to set up as far away from them as possible, at one of the historical buildings on site that is now a botanical art museum. The sound of cutting machines and chainsaws combined with eerie atmospheric sounds usually describe a suspenseful movie, but in this case, they provided a great contrast that gave the recording movement, creating interest. Rather than try to conceal it, I felt her play softer at times as if to let the sounds come through. We stopped the recording when the grass cutter was almost upon us, though in hindsight I think I should have let it pass to make it part of the recording.