This is me, Alicia Ma Ri Atu Ma; the face behind Hush Hour. The second part of my name was given to me by Huna Flash ( AKA Mauta Taki), a Maori elder, in an initiation ceremony in 2022, and I am a fully certified and insured therapeutic sound practitioner.

Though 2023 is the 10th year since I began my exploration of therapeutic sound and its transformative potential, I’ve been a practising musician for over 30 years: a percussionist with a special interest in the music and culture of West Africa. The "Way of the Gong" may have taken me on a journey for over a decade, but the path to mastery never ends, and I continue to look for new ways to explore the art of sound.

I like to refer to myself as an ‘acoustic alchemist’, because I go after that which is hidden deep within a gong. The rich sensuality; the seductive quality of subtle harmonics blooming unexpectedly out of the metal, like sculpting with sound. A gong is not to be tamed by a human hand, but liberated; so that the full, shape-shifting, magnificent tonality of its expression is revealed, and its power channelled into every cell of your being.

The work I do now is a natural evolution for me; coming full circle from the moment I first discovered I had healing hands, aged about 19. Now, the same hands create a sanctuary of sound to soothe mind, body and spirit.