Retreat Landing Page

For years I've dreamt of bringing a group of committed musicians to a beautiful, remote location, where we can work together on everyone's music in a world-class studio.

It's been an inspiration of mine to combine the magic that happens when you gather in person with the power of mentorship; where in-depth knowledge and studio experience can be exchanged first-hand.

Well...I'm pleased to announce that this vision has now become a reality!

At the end of 2022, my partner, Mandy, and I bought an acreage nestled in the breathtaking woods of Vancouver Island on the Westcoast of Canada. Part of the allure of the property was its multiple dwellings with an enchanting cottage and a series of suites which can accommodate up to 7 artists in residence.

What's more, it had an ideal space to build a large custom studio - perfect for music production, mixing, and mastering. Storm Acoustics has spent the last 6 months building this ultimate dream studio, and it's nearly complete. See below for photos and a more details on the studio and property.

This September 17th-23rd we're hosting our first audio production retreat, where 7 of you will have the opportunity to join me for a week-long intensive. We'll level-up your music, focusing on everything from production to mixing and mastering.

It's a totally immersive environment where you sit in the room, soaking up the experience as your music is transformed before your eyes. There's a magic that happens when you see the effect of professional secrets and hacks being applied inside your own project.

Over 7 days we'll be spending dedicated sessions on each participant's song, evaluating your mixes and doing whatever it takes to give them that professional shine. Having a full week gives ample time for the depth and focus that your music deserves to sound its best.

We'll all be in the studio together. Observing the metamorphosis of other participant's songs, as well as your own, is invaluable. All attendees will be able to watch and learn as a group. Because accommodation is on-site and all your meals are catered, the outside world will melt away and you can fully engage in the experience.

It's not just about studio time either! The secluded and peaceful location offers plenty of space to relax and escape the fast-paced hustle of everyday life. Each morning and evening there will be optional group activities. We'll be supporting you in building a solid morning routine to start your day right, with practices like meditation, yoga, sauna and cold plunging (all optional). The evenings will include chill social activities like forest and beach walks, stand up paddle boarding, and a celebratory final night with seasonal craft cocktails.

Networking and relationship-building are part of what makes an event like this so special and memorable. There will be lots of time for casual chit-chat, shop-talk, and banter over good meals and locally-roasted espresso. This will be a one-of-a-kind event that will offer you an unprecedented opportunity to expand your musical abilities. Apply now and join us.

We'll be working in the brand new Warp Academy Studio Alpha; a state-of-the-art custom control room. This room was built with an "acoustics first", no compromises design philosophy. The primary aim of the room is to hear your music with incredible accuracy; in a way that you've never experienced music before.

The frequency response, imaging, and tight decay times allow you to experience every minute detail. Mixing in a room like this helps you make forward progress with your song rapidly because you can hear with complete precision. In most typical home / DIY studios you end up wasting time second-guessing your decisions because you can't properly hear the difference that your changes are making.

Mixing in a room of this calibre is noticeably easier because it's obvious what needs to be done and you develop confidence in your decisions. If the kick needs to come up by 1 dB, you'll hear it. If your mastering limiter is just starting to distort, you'll catch it. If the piano is masking some of the words in your lead vocal, it'll be apparent. You make the change and you keep moving. By working in this room you can trust that your mix and master will translate extremely well to other systems.

You'll hear every frequency from 26 Hz to 20,000 Hz with fidelity, due to the full-range, 3-way Neumann KH420 main monitors, which are meticulously flush-mounted into a hard front wall. The stereo imaging is breathtaking. Instrument separation is superb. The low frequency response is completely balanced, detailed, and smooth. Best-in-class midrange drivers bring clarity and dynamics to vocals that give you goosebumps.

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to work on your music in a truly world-class studio.

We have a combination of private rooms and shared suites on the acreage in Birdsong Cottage and The Wolf Suite.

Birdsong Cottage is a cozy Westcoast getaway nestled amongst the trees in a secluded area of the property. This freshly renovated forest paradise is the perfect spot to stay while you're on retreat. You have everything you need and nothing you don't.

The Wolf Suite is a modern open-floorplan unit, connected to our main home and adjacent to the studio. Close to all the action!

Accommodation is included in your retreat, but if you'd like to check out photos and amenities you can see our Air BnB listings here. Birdsong Cottage The Wolf Suite

7 days in a world-class studio with Vespers
A dedicated half-day session focusing exclusively on your music
Cutting-edge training in production, sound design, mixing & mastering
Mix feedback + personalized suggestions & next-steps for accelerated progress
Group sessions, watching as we work on other participant's music
Accommodation on-site (shared & private rooms)
3 gourmet catered meals a day prepared by a Registered Holistic Nutritionist
Organic coffee & tea bar
Activities like yoga, standup paddle boarding, sauna, cold plunge, local hikes & beach time (optional)
Ample social & networking time
Celebratory final night with seasonal craft cocktails
Pick up and drop off from either of our 2 local airports (YBL or YQQ) - no rental car needed

Airfare and other travel is to be arranged by each participant.

Vespers is a sought-after producer, engineer, influencer, coach, and keynote speaker. Having worked with many of the industry’s heavyweights, Vespers is a highly-regarded thought-leader and creative innovator.

A first-mover on Youtube, Vespers built a thriving channel with 12M+ video views, 110,000 subscribers, and nearly 415 campaigns. He’s collaborated with an ever-expanding list of international audio brands including Logitech, Ableton, Universal Audio, Apogee, Dynaudio Pro, iZotope, FabFilter, Audeze, Sonible, Sonarworks and many more.

Building on his success on Youtube, Vespers has become an authority on audio production. He’s been a keynote speaker at events like the Virtual Electronic Music Summit and AEMCon, as well as stand-out music festivals such as Shambhala and Basscoast.

His teaching experience includes working with Langara College Electronic Music Production Program, SAE Institute Vancouver, Nimbus School of Recording, Mac Pro Video, Full Sail University, and Ableton itself for their official Learn Live video series.

In 2013 Vespers co-founded Warp Academy, where he’s assembled a team of top-tier instructors, sound designers, and audio experts. Warp Academy has been recognized as an official Ableton Certified Training Center and has worked with over 50,000 students, empowering them to create exceptional music and live their passion.

“Drew’s work transformed my music from sounding flat and sparse to full, clear and breathing. He made the track come alive!

I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Drew. He is patient as well as clear and articulate, and his devotion to learning and his 20 years of study in the field of production and mix engineering have definitely paid off.

Drew is also very good at honouring the sound that YOU are trying to achieve, as opposed to applying his sound to your music. I will happily continue to learn from Drew because he has a tremendous amount of knowledge to impart."

- LadyK | Music Producer | Coaching Client

“Facing the next step in my career, I searched for someone who's familiar with the electronic music business. If you’re an indie or alternative rock artist, the number of coaches for that topic is virtually unlimited, but when it comes to electronic music, there are few to none. Vespers fills this void.

We worked on a strategy on how to approach labels and crafted a fully branded artist package. Vespers is never short of creative ideas on how to stand out from the crowd. He offers tons of inspiration for thinking outside the box and more importantly got me into the right mindset to face the next big challenge. He was very supportive and forthcoming. Vespers is your go-to coach.”

- Jasper Luetkens | Music Producer | Coaching Client

This event is right for you if you're creating full songs but need help in pushing them across the finish line. We'll be focusing on audio engineering, including mixing and mastering, but also delving into sound design and song writing if that's needed to get your song up to a release-ready level. You don't have to be an advanced producer. That said, you should have a foundation in music production to get the most out of the event, as we'll be talking about audio engineering techniques that benefit from an understanding of the basics.

MUSIC PRODUCTION RETREAT.

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