13th-20th October 2024
Connect with music producers from all over the world in a beautiful mountain setting in the Pirin National Park in Bulgaria.
The Concept
Pirin Beats is a co-creative retreat for music producers.
It's a chance for you to make meaningful creative connections with likeminded people, work on new material, and get inspired by the beautiful scenery and nature of the Pirin National Park in Bulgaria.
Join us for a week of music production, collaboration, connection, skillsharing, workshops, activities, fun, and relaxation.
The Details
Make connections. Share knowledge. Work on new ideas.
Pirin Beats is a co-creative, community-focused retreat: it's the contributions of each member that make every Pirin Beats retreat unique. Each of the 8-10 attendees has the opportunity to share their top production tips and techniques, and to learn from their colleagues.
In our dedicated space, we'll host daily feedback sessions so you can get feedback on your tracks, and give feedback to others.
We'll create opportunities for collaboration. We'll help and support each other to finish some new music, and cap it all off with a party at the end.
Sunday - Arrival and welcome meal
Monday & Tuesday - Work on personal projects
Wednesday - Free day for activities (e.g. Hiking, rafting, quadbiking etc.)
Thursday & Friday - Collaboration days
Friday night - Party and performance (for anybody who wants to DJ)
Saturday - Farewell BBQ & departure
The Destination
Find inspiration, relaxation, and connection in the Pirin Mountains.
Pirin Beats takes place in Bansko, a small town which sits at the foot of the Pirin mountains - a UNESCO world heritage site on account of its outstanding natural importance. The Pirin mountain range covers more than 2,500 square km and it’s home to over 200 distinct species, over 100 glacial lakes, and Bulgaria’s oldest tree.
Bansko itself is just 2 hours’ drive from Sofia, and is home to around 15,000 people, with room for many thousands more tourists in the ski season. Furthermore, Bansko is a very popular destination for remote workers and therefore has a sizeable international community.
For this reason, Bansko is well-equipped with very affordable high-speed internet, co-working spaces, apartments, hotels, bars and restaurants, making it the perfect place to host a retreat like this one!
We’re partnering with the awesome Altspace Coworking to provide a dedicated collaborative space for the Pirin Beats retreat.
The Cost
Pirin Beats is free.
The organisers will make no money from this retreat. All we ask is that you bring your open minds, good vibes, and awesome music. Oh, and your laptop and a pair of headphones.
This said, you'll still have to pay for:
Accommodation: Around €200 for the week, but often cheaper
Co-working space: ~60€
Flights: Variable
Airport transfer: Around €50-70pp if you share
Wednesday activities: Variable, but unlikely to be more than €50
Food: €30 a day will have you eating like royalty
Drinks: Variable ;-)
So, contact us here and we’ll send you more information. Spaces are limited, and it's first-come, first-served.
To confirm your place, just send a screenshot of your flight or accommodation confirmation email to rich [at] pirinbeats [dot] site.
Reserve your place now!
Sign up here and we’ll be in touch with more information. Your place will be confirmed once you send a screenshot of your flight/accommodation confirmation to rich [at] pirinbeats [dot] site.
Thank-you to our partners!
Whilst the beauty of the Pirin Beats experience comes from the incredible people who attend each event, we couldn’t create these events without support from these wonderful organisations:
Altspace Coworking
A huge thanks to Becky & Mark at Altspace for giving a home to Pirin Beats!
SATURATE! Records
Massive thank-yous to the SATURATE! team, and Tom in particular, for helping to refine the Pirin Beats concept
TBC
We’re working away behind the scenes on getting some exciting partnerships for Pirin Beats. Watch this space!
FAQ
Do I need to make a particular genre?
No! We love MUSIC. There are NO genre restrictions. In fact, in my personal opinion, the weirder the better.
Do I need to be an expert producer?
No! But you should be at the stage where you've finished a few songs. You don't need to have released them, but you'll get much more from the experience if you can finish music.
Do I need to use Ableton/FL Studio/Reaper/Bitwig/whatever DAW?
No! Any DAW is fine. As long as you're comfortable using it. Even if you're collaborating with someone using a different DAW, you can still share stems and samples.
What does a typical day look like?
We haven't finalised the schedule yet, but a typical day might look like:
10:00 - 12:30 - Production session
12:30 - 13:30 - Lunch
13:30 - 14:00 - Masterclass
14:00 - 17:00 - Production session
17:00 - 18:00 - Feedback session
18:00 - 20:00 - Dinner & downtime
20:00 - Late - Evening music session - DJing, collabs, jam sessions, etc.
How many people will attend?
We’re aiming for between 8 and 10 people to keep the group a manageable size, but also so it can it large enough for plenty of opportunities to connect and collaborate.
What equipment should I bring?
Bring everything that you need to produce: Laptop, headphones (closed back preferably), audio interface, midi controllers etc. We'll provide the speakers for the feedback session, and the decks (Traktor Kontrol S4) and the speakers for the party at the end.
Is this for instrumentalists? Can I bring my acoustic guitar?
Not really. This retreat is for music producers. If your instrument is a core part of your production process, then I'm sure we can find a way to accommodate you. But we also need to remember that playing acoustic instruments is going to disturb everybody else who is working on headphones.
I don't really want to give a talk or workshop, do I have to?
No! But we'd really like it if you did. The power of Pirin Beats comes from the community. It's a safe space to share your music and skills. So it's probably the best place for you to get out of your comfort zone and show us your best secret technique.
What language is spoken?
As an international community meetup, the expectation is that you have a reasonable level of English. All the workshops should be delivered in English.
Is it really free?!
Yes! For now, Pirin Beats is free to attend. As detailed above, there are still accommodation and other costs that you have to bear, but there is currently no organisers' fee. We will be asking you to talk about your experience on-camera and provide testimonials.
Where can I find accommodation?
Bansko has a huge selection of apartments and hotels. Most are listed on Airbnb or Booking.com, and you should be able to find a good deal on either of these websites. Bansko is a small town and is very walkable, however we recommend booking something in the geographical centre of the town so you’re as close as possible to the action. If you have any questions at all about accommodation, please get in touch here, and we’ll get back to you soon.
When can I book my flights?
Sign up for the event with your email address and we’ll send you a confirmation email soon. When you get this confirmation email Remember, spaces are limited, so the earlier you email, the better.
How do I get to Bansko?
Sofia is the closest airport and receives direct flights from most European countries. From Sofia, you can book a direct transfer with Traventuria for around €70, or book a public bus (€10) and catch the metro from the airport to the bus station (€1).
Is Bulgaria safe?
Yes, Bulgaria is generally a very safe country, and especially so in Bansko, a small mountain town. This said, as with any location, it pays to be careful, and so we don’t recommend leaving your laptop on a coffeeshop table for the afternoon.
Why Bulgaria?
It's a beautiful country with inspiring scenery. Bansko - where we'll be staying - has a huge community of international remote workers, so the infrastructure there is really good. Bulgaria is also very affordable, so it opens up Pirin Beats to people who would not be able to afford a week in a more expensive country.
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