Martina Lee
After many months of scheduling and rescheduling, I finally was able to record Martina @martina.kaliom at her apartment this past Chung Yeung festival holiday. She was first introduced to sound baths during a full moon meditation she attended 10 years ago and had an immediate connection with it. Sound plays an important role in her meditation sessions and she incorporates many different instruments she has collected over the years including a crystal digeridoo. She also has learned to use her voice in unique ways using chanting and overtone singing with sessions.
Martina's style is quite unique. She has this way of striking the bowl as she begins swiping in one motion, not two, creating this percussive feel as she changes bowls. As she begins swiping, she starts fast then slows down when a tone is achieved.
We recorded two tracks that day. The first one was with a few bowls and was quite motivating. The combination of higher pitched bowls and her accented playing style made the piece feel very active and bright. Her improvisation with ringing tempo during sustained tones was interesting as it moved from one ear to another.
The second track was simply beautiful and the 'pièce de résistance' of our session. It is one of the best improvisations I have recorded for this project. For this, Martina played the first set of bowls that she purchased 10 years ago which were lower and more grounding in tone. During the session, it was apparent that she intimately knew the sound of these bowls and the power they had. As soon as she began with her shaker I felt this was going to be something very different. Long sustained tones. Pure, steady resonances. The rumble of distant truck drive-bys lending more bass. She sang the most wonderful melody then transposing into overtone singing. It was such a treat to document this and is truly an example of just how beautiful these sessions can be both for the meditator and spectator.
Sound Baths out soon.