REPRESENT’s Songwriting Camp at Kaiā Goa Served as A Creative Haven for Artists

Earlier this month, talent management agency REPRESENT organized a songwriting camp for its artists at the relaxed and scenic Kaiā Goa overlooking the majestic Ashvem Beach in the idyllic state between September 11th to the 14th.

We found ourselves on the same flight from Mumbai to Goa with some of the artists heading to the camp and after a two-hour delay at the airport, we were finally on our way. After being greeted with top-notch hospitality from the Kaiā Goa staff, we settled into our respective and very lush rooms before heading back out to get a sense of what was to come.

Due to the artists arriving late because of the delayed flights, day one began at dinner time with some of the artists having not met before getting to know each other. Present around the dinner table were the likes of singers and producers such as Lisa Mishra, Kamakshi Khanna, Saahel, The Rish, Jai Dhir, Akanksha Bhandari, Riz Shain, Kimeraa and Somanshu Agarwal. To break the ice, Mishra proceeded to ask everyone what they were currently listening to while Saahel and Dhir sang stuff they were working on to each other. Even though some of the artists were tired from the long day of traveling, they set up mini studios at the Kaiā Villa and divided themselves into groups and stayed up late to begin work on new music.

(From left) Lisa Mishra, Somanshu Agarwal and The Rish.
Photo: Courtesy of REPRESENT

The next morning, we went in to hear what was cooking at the camp. In one room you had Khanna, Bhandari, Saahel and Rutvik Talashilkar stirring up a pop-soul track. There was plenty of vocalizing going on as Khanna was coming up with vocal parts on the fly. Over in room two, Mishra, The Rish and Agarwal were putting in parts on a fresh track, one that Mishra said had a “rich sound.” The trio were bonding well with each other as they were working on something that was in the sonic space they thrive in. They would also celebrate like a team scoring a goal whenever a good part came together.

Room three saw Dhir, Riz, Kimeraa and Kanishk Seth join forces. The quartet were creating a quirky juxtaposition of sounds that melded meditative music with drum and bass. The outcome of which instantly clicked and made for quite the earworm. The artists spent a lot of time moving sections around and seeing what works best while they also discussed what digital audio workstations (DAWs) they like best. Although the artists began working in certain groups, each of them would jump into other sessions to ideate and bring in a fresh pair of ears. For example, Saahel came into room three to add mouth percussion parts to the meditative D&B track.

(From left) Kimeraa, Saahel and Yashraj.
Photo: Courtesy of REPRESENT

After a quick lunch break where we got to feast on the tasty Kaiā Goa menu, the artists went back for more sessions in the evening. The evening also saw artists such as Yashraj, OAFF and Kayan – who just returned from her gig in Seoul – join the party. We caught a bit of Bhandari and Yashraj lay-down vocals on a slick production from Riz. As the day came to a close, we noticed that there were inputs galore from each artist across the sessions with every one of them taking in suggestions without a fuss, which made for a wholly collaborative experience.

We began day three by sitting in on a session that OAFF and Kayan were working on. The pair were refining a track they kickstarted the previous night. Both artists were pushing each other lyrically and also joking about some of the lyrics they were coming up with. While the song started off smoothly, they did hit a bit of a brick wall when it came around to the second verse. However, after a bit of probing, they were eventually able to come through with something they liked. The song included an early 2000s house music dance-pop vibe which suited Kayan’s silky vocals to the tee.

While a lot of the groundwork went into day one and day two of the camp, by this time the artists were a bit more relaxed and took in time to soak in some Goa vibes. REPRESENT and Kaiā Goa also organised a sundowner with cocktails for the artists to unwind which also saw Kimeraa and Kayan take turns in spinning tunes over at the DJ deck.

On the fourth and final day of the camp, one could tell that by this point some of the artists were tired from long late-night sessions and constantly having to be plugged in to create something. With about 23 songs coming out of the 18 sessions over the course of the camp, we caught up with the artists to find out what their experience was like attending something like this.

Bhandari says, “It was a very new experience because I’ve never worked like this before. I write my own music, but sitting with such amazing producers, singers, composers and writers, it’s been a great learning experience for me. I’m super inspired to write more music and collaborate with different musicians.” She adds, “And this camp, I think it’s a great opportunity for all of us to get together and be friends also and know each other so that we can work together in the future. It’s been exciting.”

Room three at Kaiā Villa.
Photo: Courtesy of REPRESENT

Khanna spoke about how normally when it comes to songwriting, she isolates herself and does things on her own. However, she says, “This camp was exactly what I needed to understand that working with other people just changes your approach so much. It just makes your song so much bigger. I’m really excited to explore this new chapter of my writing process, which is working with producers who have a very large understanding of what you want your sound to be.”

On his part, Riz talked about being entertained by the wealth of talent on show at the camp. Kayan says, “I think collaborations that are probably going to be super surprising to people have happened here and that is really wonderful. It’s been super exciting to work with so many different artists and the fact that we’re all put in a place and we get to just make music together without any stress, without any worries is awesome.”

The artists unwind at Ashvem Beach near Kaiā Goa.
Photo: Courtesy of REPRESENT

The youngest member at the camp, Saahel, says, “This has been an experience of getting to learn and get to know what my sound is and what I want to make. So I’ve really come to a realization that this is my thing.” Rutvik adds, “Just being here seemed extremely special only because there are so many different people with so many different energies, tastes, experiences and adventures. I’m trying to bring in my sort of energy to this and collaborate with people around me so that it becomes a euphoric situation.”

For OAFF, he comes from a similar space as Khanna wherein he’s usually working alone or in a very small team. He says, “It’s nice to work with new people. I learned a lot of things. First of all, when in every room, there’s somebody else creating something, you just walk in and you get inspired. I see this as a big win for all the artists here.”

Overall, it was a common understanding that each artist who attended the camp definitely walked away inspired, liberated and wanting to create much more. A super initiative by REPRESENT and Kaiā Goa in putting something like this together, hopefully, there will be more such songwriting camps in the future to help artists not only get together and make music but also form communities to help the music scene grow further in India.