Label Hosts Electric Soul Songwriting Camp at New York City Studios

Return Records and New York City Studios hosted the inaugural Electric Soul Songwriting Camp on Sunday and Monday, August 3-4th in Midtown Manhattan. The camp brought together 20+ recording artists, singers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and aspiring industry executives from 5+ countries together for a 2-day camp focused on the fundamentals of songwriting and production, collaboration within the music industry, and coordination towards a final product.

The camp was split into three sessions focused first on sharing different ideas and concepts based on a common prompt and then finding harmony across the various ideas to work towards one common, unfinished demo. The second day of the camp then focused on recording individual reference tracks for the demo while select participants completed soundcheck for the finale of the camp, which was a performance at the legendary Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side.

The camp also featured a talk from former Sony Music Head of A&R Drew Thurlow, who spoke about the importance of building a brand and fan following, how to get exposure of a major label to sign your artist profile, and the role that AI will play in the future of music production and discovery.

Jonathan Sherman, Founder and CEO of Return Records, said the following about the camp:

“At a time of immense change and uncertainty in the music industry with the rise of AI and the decline of major financial incentives from major streaming platforms, we’re so proud to create a camp that gives indie artists and songwriters a platform to share their voice, collaborate with like-minded creatives, and chart the future of music for emerging performers.”

The participants of the camp include Kiaura Rose, Just Call Me Snow, Emi Larraud, Anthony Garcia, Griffin Harrington, Greg Banks, Monty Denton, Dominque Luis, Tommy McIntrye, Mara Keen, Jackson Casstevens, Montana Lawrence, Dan Freeman, Cas Weibren, and Bella Williams. Footage was captured by Camila Sorrentino, Cass Maya,  Kira Sward, Jonas Borra, Abbi Jackson, and Toyyon Brown.

Special thanks to our sponsors Return Records, New York City Studios, The Orchard, Sony Music Entertainment, Vibrato, JCMS, Saint James Iced Tea, and Make Music New York.

Stay up to date with the latest information on future shows, releases, and camps by visiting our website at www.returnrecords.com and following us on Instagram at @returnrecordsnyc.

Press Contact: Jonathan Sherman, Chief Executive Officer, jsherman@returnrecords.com, (301) 335-2794