This workshop explores the deep connection between natural, innate talents and live performance, encouraging artists to create original works that are rooted in their own cultures and personal stories, rather than imitating others or overly relying on technology. The focus is on true creativity which can be more authentic and also more ecological when it is inspired by human experience rather than machine-driven production.

The goal is to help artists rediscover their confidence and express their most genuine selves. By highlighting various forms of trance, elevation, and musical spontaneity, the workshop seeks to bring the music industry back to a time before vinyl, when improvisation was the essence of artistic labour.

A special section is dedicated to the history of Arabic music, focusing on its transition from a tradition of live improvisation to one dominated by recorded, commercially driven productions. Here we will trace how Odeon’s recordings of icons like Oum Kalthoum and other great artists marked a shift from boundless, audience-driven performances to the studio’s more rigid, hit-driven approach. Improvisation, once a core skill of these performers, gradually faded as technology and pre-recorded music took over.

This workshop aims to encourage artists to tap into their own unique gifts and talents, using technology to enhance their originality rather than allowing machines to dictate their creative process. Requirements

This workshop requires a basic knowledge of music and interest in music creation. Please bring your own laptop, and your own microphone (preferably Shure 58) or a ditto loop with an XLR jack cable.