Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon break with our Afternoon Tea curators. Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have five minutes more (or ten), we have one more hit.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Cédric Dind-Lavoie.
Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Cédric Dind-Lavoie returns with “Chrysalide,” a textural, comforting, and quietly melancholic instrumental piece that moves between shelter and transformation. Rooted in folktronica and electroacoustic exploration, the track unfolds like a memory.
Intimate, enveloping, and gently evolving, it’s taken from Cédric’s upcoming album, Collages (2019–2022), a new series of studio explorations and reinterpretations of music originally created for contemporary dance and documentary film, set for release on April 17th.
“Chrysalide” took shape naturally around a two-part guitar motif. That repeating pattern inspired an arrangement steeped in childhood nostalgia, evoking the warmth and safety of a familiar refuge. From there, the composition expanded outward, layering subtle textures while maintaining a restrained emotional core.
Stream + share “Chrysalide” now:
The title “Chrysalide” reflects both protection and change. Suggesting the soothing nature of a cocoon while alluding to metamorphosis, the name mirrors the passage from childhood to adulthood, a space where vulnerability and growth coexist.
What distinguishes the track is its meticulous textural exploration. Modified guitar, harmonium, bass synth, autoharp, and carefully manipulated samples (many created from cardboard boxes) form an unexpected yet cohesive palette. The result is a surprising blend of organic and experimental elements, shaped into a soundscape that feels tactile and immersive.
For Cédric, production choices are always guided by intimacy. Even as the instrumentation shifts from project to project, his approach remains consistent: recording sounds closely and interpreting them with restraint and gentleness. The goal is not grandeur, but proximity; an enveloping sonic environment that invites listeners inward.
With “Chrysalide,” Cédric offers a piece grounded not in spectacle, but in subtlety, capturing the fragile space between memory and transformation.
– one piece of music: Skúli Sverisson Sería (from the album Sería)
One more Lump of sugar:
– one visual: Pas de deux, Norman Mclaren
– one type of tea: Bai mu dan White tea
This is kind of a random pick of two pieces that really stuck with me when I first came across them. The common thread I see is that they both start from something very human and tangible (ballet in Pas de deux, and acoustic instruments in Sería), and then build into something more complex and textured, supported by a certain technological framework.
Tea + Me 