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
