UNLOCK YOUR CREATIVE FLOW

Join renowned Australian producers Smilk (Nathaniel Hansen) and Fred Freeman (Lubdub, DMTB) for an immersive 6‑day music production retreat at Arcoora, where deep creativity meets grounded, healthy living.

Step away from the distractions of daily life and dive into the full creative process - from songwriting and synthesis to mixing, mastering, and building a producer’s mindset. Each day combines hands-on music workshops with mindful morning practices including yoga, meditation, and breathwork, designed to help you enter flow state and bring your musical ideas to life.

Whether you’re a bedroom producer or an emerging performer, this retreat will give you the skills, tools, and inspiration to elevate your music - while living in harmony with the lush natural surroundings of Arcoora.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • Daily Morning Practice: Meditation, yoga, and breathwork to ground your energy and unlock creative focus

  • Immersive Music Workshops: Learn production, sound design, and music theory with expert guidance

  • Supervised Lab Time: Creative sessions with facilitator support working on your own track

  • Community & Connection: Share meals, jam sessions, and the creative journey with like-minded producers

  • Nature & Regeneration: Explore Arcoora’s pristine environment and let the land inspire your art

  • After Party: At the end of the week, we’ll open the doors to the wider community for a ticketed event!

PROGRAM

Across 6 days, you’ll move through the entire production process, with expert guidance every step of the way:

  1. Song Planning & Inspiration
    Choose your key, BPM, and genre; discover artist influences; plan the track you’ll produce during the retreat.

  2. Synthesis 101
    Understand oscillators, waveforms, filters, envelopes, and layering to craft your own sounds.

  3. Music Theory for Producers
    Write melodies and chords, explore major/minor and exotic scales, and learn creative key changes.

  4. Flow State & Creative Process
    Learn to access flow, trust the muse, and develop resilience in your artistic journey.

  5. Rhythm & Groove
    Master timing, velocity, and polyrhythms to create irresistible beats.

  6. Field Recording & Sound Design
    Capture real-world sounds, edit and process them, and turn them into unique samples.

  7. Bass Design & Processing
    Learn FM basses, wobbles, distortion chains, and deep low‑end techniques.

  8. Song Arrangement
    Structure your track for the dance floor - understand 4/4 phrasing and DJ‑friendly arrangements.

  9. Mixing & Mastering Fundamentals
    Balance your elements, make your sounds proud, and create punchy, professional mixes.

  10. The Producer’s Path
    Releasing your music, building sets, applying for festivals, and growing as a performing artist.

DAILY RHYTHM

  • 🌄 Morning Grounding: Meditation, breathwork, and simple embodiment practices

  • 🍳 Breakfast

  • 🎛️ Morning Session: Production lessons (topics include: sound design, arrangement, live sets, mixing, etc.)

  • 🎚️ Lab Time: Focused creation with peer and mentor support

  • 🥗 Lunch

  • 🎶 Afternoon Session: More advanced techniques or project-based coaching

  • 🌳 Nature Connection: Optional walks, swims, or sensory-based solo time

  • 🍽️ Dinner

  • 🔊 Evening Lab: Late-night creative session, feedback circles, and impromptu jams

YOUR FACILITATORS

Nathaniel Hansen (Smilk)
A master of lush, melodic bass music with a global following, Smilk blends psychedelic textures with deep emotional landscapes. With years of production under his belt and a flair for teaching complex techniques in intuitive ways, he’ll guide you toward finding your unique sonic voice.
→ Smilk on SoundCloud


Fred Freeman (Lubdub, DMTB)
One half of the dynamic bass duo Lubdub and a co-creator in DMTB, Fred brings deep rhythm, musicality, and real-world stage experience to the retreat space. He’s passionate about helping producers find flow and fluency in their creative process.
→ Lubdub on SoundCloud
→ DMTB on SoundCloud

 

Meals

Enjoy three nourishing meals each day, served in our communal dining hall, where we love to share stories and laughter over the dishes prepared by the talented kitchen crew. Ingredients are sourced as locally and organically as possible. We cater deliciously to vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements outside of these.

 
 

Accommodation and Pricing

The base cost for the two-night retreat is $395 per person and the four-night retreat is $785 per person. To keep this offering as affordable as possible, this price includes access to our campgrounds for you to set up your own tent. 

We also have modestly priced accommodation offerings for you to choose from when you book.

All sleeping arrangements encapsulate the rich heritage of the former Tibetan Buddhist who lived on this land, as they themselves constructed the buildings. True to Buddhist design; the dwellings are simple, yet comfortable and clean, while also being surrounded by nature.

 
 

Suggested Packing List

For your own comfort, we recommend packing the following:

  • Water bottle

  • Notebook or journal for workshops and reflections

  • A good reading book for down time

  • Warm clothing for the evenings (weather forecast for Collins Creek here)

  • Torch / phone torch

  • Rain jacket / umbrella

  • Hiking/closed shoes for bush walks

  • Active wear for yoga and bush walks

  • Small backpack/daybag

  • Yoga mat (We have extra to lend if you’re traveling light)

  • Swim wear

  • Personal supplements & medications

  • Toiletries (eco-friendly products only)

  • Sunscreen, a hat and insect repellent

  • Any recreational items that you’d like to bring along (musical instruments, arts and crafts, slack line, fire poi, indoor/outdoor games)

Getting here

Arcoora is a 2hr drive from Gold Coast and a 3hr drive from Brisbane. All routes offer gorgeous scenery to take in and the perfect opportunity to reflect on your intention for your time with us. Culture, community, connection - what do these things mean to you? We recommend pairing the journey with Tracking Connections, a podcast sharing stories of working intentionally with deep nature connection in ways that transform lives, families, projects, and communities.

 

More about Arcoora

Arcoora is an off-grid, not-for-profit land project focused on ecological and cultural regeneration. Over the years, programmes have revolved around topics such as permaculture, yoga, meditation, dance, art, men's and women's work, deep ecology, nature connection, primitive survival skills and rites of passage.

The invitation for you to join this Reconnection Retreat comes from our small community of volunteers living on the mountain, with whom your experience will be shared. This fantastic and dedicated core team of 8 welcomes you. Each member brings their own personal passions to Arcoora; but what unites us is our shared commitment and enthusiasm for community, nature, earth-arts, and making a positive impact through social change.

 

Contact us

For any questions or further information, please contact us here.