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Songwriters Retreat to 14th-Century Castle to Stoke Creative Fires with Help from PreSonus

ASCAP invited 18 top songwriters and producers to write the hits of tomorrow at its fourth annual songwriters retreat in France.

Held September 17-25 at the 14th-century Château Marouatte in the Dordogne region of France, the retreat was designed to produce hits and get cuts in a variety of genres. Each session placed a producer, a topliner and a recording artist together to write and record in a different room of the castle. By the end of the retreat, nearly all the participants had worked together. They left France with hard drives full of professional-grade demos, ready to pitch to artists and record labels.

Château Marouatte is owned by famed music industry executive Miles Copeland, founder of IRS Records. Copeland once brought music legends like Jeff Beck, Jon Bon Jovi, Belinda Carlisle and Desmond Child to high-level songwriting summits at the Château. In 2011, ASCAP convinced Copeland to revive the tradition, and has brought a new group of songwriters and producers to France every year since.

The 2014 participants hailed from around the world and across the genre spectrum. They were: Anjulie, Martin Brammer, Ashley Campbell, Mike Daly, Chris DeStefano, John Fortis, Elyar Fox, Dia Frampton, JT Harding, Brett James, Giovanni James, Brian Kennedy, Emmy Palmer, Autumn Rowe, Amir “Azeem” Salem, Sharon Vaughn, Peter Wade and Oren Yoel.

PreSonus provided the following for the event:

Recordings from the event can be heard on SoundCloud by clicking here.

2013 ASCAP Songwriting Retreat

PreSonus was proud to be a part of the 2013 ASCAP Songwriters Retreat, held September 25th to October 4th at the 14th-century Château Marouatte in the Dordogne region of France—an inspiring place for the lyrically inclined.

And that’s the point. ASCAP has designed this retreat to bring out the best in talented writers. This year’s 30+ participants were divided into different groups, every day, to write and record, keeping collaborative spirits fresh and healthy. At the end of the session, attendees return home with renewed artistic vigor, their hearts and hard drives full of song.

In fact, a dozen of the songs written at the camp this year are already on hold for major label artists, including The Temper Trap, Kelly Clarkson, Melanie Fiona, Nylo, Jessie Malakouti, and Jon Bellion.

PreSonus was happy to provide a metric heap of equipment to foster the creative process, including:

Photos from the event follow, as well as a kind thank-you video from the songwriters themselves. You’re welcome, folks, and we hope you wrote enough hits to fill a 14th-century dining hall. Read more about it here.