Sound Bath Sessions 308: Vivienne Cheah

Viv and I set up under the cover of darkness and silence. As we were about to record, the first mosque could be heard in the distance, slowly waking up the insects around us. To provide some light to the area, she set up a string of lights and an LED spotlight behind her. Her husband was busy lighting ripped pieces of paper egg cartons on fire and placing them around us to ward away the mosquitoes. The swirling smoke created shadow shapes in the beams of light.

This, with the taps of raindrops on the leaves above us, created a hazy, mystical dreamscape atmosphere- a perfect setting for a dawn sound bath.

In the first session, Viv started with the smaller, quieter instruments before moving on to the shamanic drum, letting the moment be the main focus. This passive approach let the city, culture, and nature of KL be a part of the session giving a wonderful sense of identity and calm.