Basil Phoenix, Amanda Cygnaeus
At a 2018 SOCAN Kenekt Song Camp, held on Pender Island, in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Sept. 18-24, we were pleased and proud to once again support our members’ business in music, and to foster and encourage them in the art of creating the music itself. The song camp allowed us the opportunity to leverage our influence, reach, and connections to help our talented members benefit from an expanded opportunity to collaborate.
Run by SOCAN’s Melissa Cameron-Passley and Racquel Villagante, the song camp was a unique, productive initiative. It gathered together 11 songwriters and five producers in the bucolic atmosphere of the Whale Pod Chalet and Buddha Cottage, just off the BC coastline.
Each morning, the participants received their briefing and group assignments, then spent the day and evening in those small groups of three or four, collaborating to create new songs. Each night, the entire population of the camp gathered in the studio to listen to the playback of the songs created that day. In one week of writing, the participants created 24 new songs, which broadly ranged across a variety of styles, tempos, and topics.
Prado, Kayo
The participants were hugely inspired by the camp. “The process really fine-tunes your skills, and is the best possible way to work with so many creators in a short amount of time. I’m leaving this camp a better writer, and with some amazing memories and friendships,” said Matthew V. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about my experience since the camp ended, and I’ve been feeling so overwhelmingly inspired and thankful! It truly was an unforgettable experience, and it’s so wonderful that SOCAN does such special things like this,” said Loony. “How quickly strangers can become family… Each day of writing was filled with such great moments and memories that’ll live forever in the songs we created… I can’t thank SOCAN enough for this life-changing experience,” said Kayo
“Song camps are such a great way of adding value to our members’ creative efforts, in a nurturing, inspiring environment,” said SOCAN’s Melissa Cameron-Passley. “There’s no doubt that some of the working relationships established in this camp will continue on, and that some of the songs created here will reach a wide audience – as several from previous SOCAN song camps already have.”
The group has already been planning a reunion at the SOCAN L.A. House, and their excitement in showing these songs to their publishers, management, and labels, as well as their desire to get these songs pitched and placed, was evident even a week after the camp.
The participating SOCAN members (except where noted) were:
Songwriters
Amanda Cygnaeus (STIM, Sweden)
Basil Phoenix
Kayleigh O’Connor
Kayo
Liza
Loony
Luca Fogale
Mathew V
Michael Bernard Fitzgerald
Prado
Sammy Plotkin (BMI, U.S.)
Producers
Felix Leone
Goldchain
Txpski
Jay Century
Robyn Dell’Unto