“For around three months at university, I couldn’t fall asleep until 6am … due to anxiety. I was trapped, looping self-critical thoughts in my head. I started to learn about natural therapy, which includes music therapy. It – and breathing exercises – helped lessen my insomnia.”

The 29-year-old is undertaking a one-year diploma in sound healing from the Sound Healing Academy to further her skills. In January, she set up a private practice, Atlantis Sound Healing, in Hong Kong and she holds talks in schools and social centres.

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The human body and psyche are like musical instruments that need to be tuned after prolonged use, Chan says.

“Sound healing works by using vibrating tools, like crystal or copper singing bowls or tuning forks, to create healing frequencies that resonate with and positively affect the frequencies of individuals,” she says, adding different instruments can generate different frequencies to best address a person’s needs.

A person can also use their own voice as a healing vibration-generating tool.

“For example, when people feel tense and find it hard to breathe, they can try to sing the vowel ‘a’ for long stretches. They will feel vibrations in the chest and a sense of relief afterwards.”

“That’s when I wanted to pursue songwriting. It’s more about making meaningful music that can have an impact on people than making pop music.”

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Her debut album Adultlescence, in which she wrote or co-wrote all 10 songs, was released in 2016. She wrote debut song October Snow in 2015 when she was studying performance and songwriting at the London Centre of Contemporary Music in the UK.

“I was very lost then as my parents, especially my dad, objected to me pursuing such a career. The song reflects my state of loss.”

Her father only relented in 2015 when the movie A Journey through Time with Anthony used a song she composed after she recommended her works to industry veterans.

“Since birth, my parents had nurtured and supported my musical pursuits. So I was quite shocked when they disapproved,” she says. “My dad told me I am not good enough to pursue such a career. He said it from the perspective of an agent or music producer … because he was afraid that I could not take the stress in the industry.”

In response, Chan pushed herself to complete university in three years instead of four to be able to go to the UK for a year of further music studies. Former pop singer Gigi Leung Wing-kei helped her persuade her dad to allow this.

“I made a pledge to my parents then that I would give up this career if I couldn’t attain any results in a year.”

While Chan says she has since won her parents’ support through sheer willpower and persistence, it’s very stressful to work under the shadow of her illustrious father.

“Many people expect me to be naturally exceptional,” she says. “I have to do much better than ‘exceptional’ to get others’ recognition. I have to set my standard higher. But I never compare myself to my dad, as the entertainment industry in his time was different than [in] mine.”

“I also do Chinese martial arts – wing chun. My mind is in absolute quietude when I practise my moves.”