LA GUARIMBA MUSIC CAMP

La Guarimba Music Camp is a three-week residency for emerging musicians and composers in Amantea, Calabria, Italy’s wildest region.

For the fourth edition, we’re looking for 5 musicians who want to find their voice again, break through a creative block, or simply look for new inspiration. You’ll have a studio, a tutor, four fellow travellers from other countries and a whole town listening to you at the final concert.

We don’t ask you to arrive with a finished project. We ask you to arrive ready to explore.

WHEN

The 4th edition will take place in Amantea (CS) from 5 to 22 September 2027. Applications are open until 30 May 2027.

“Any imposter syndrome or self-consciousness we might have felt about sharing our work with the rest of the community was truly obliterated by the sense of appreciation and support that was expressed.”

Patrick McGlynn (Dr. Mindflip), Ireland, Music Camp 2026

HOW IT WORKS

Musicians arrive a few days before the film residency participants. It’s precious time to settle in, get to know each other as a group, and find a rhythm in the studio and at home before the town fills up with filmmakers.

Week one: inspiration

• Naked Session, the meeting: everyone shares who they are, what they bring and what they want to achieve. Do you want to write a new song or finish one you’ve already started? Do you want to collaborate with someone? Can your project be performed live?
• Jam session among participants, to break the ice by playing together.
• Masterclasses on recording and on mixing and mastering with our tutor, followed by a collective listening session of everyone’s musical references.
• Collective improvisation exercises, to step outside your usual compositional habits.
• Meeting with traditional Calabrian musicians, their instruments and their songs.

Week two: opening up

• Kino Guarimba arrives: welcome dinner, speed dating, a guided tour of Amantea, project pitches and an open jam session with the filmmakers at Il Terrenito.
• Naked Session, the progress: in the studio, musicians and tutors listen together to the work in progress.
• Workshop on experimental digital audio processing.

Week three: production and concert

• Production and rehearsals, with musicians getting priority on studio bookings.
• Group review of the projects.
• Final concert for the people of Amantea.
• Naked Session, the conclusions: delivery of the tracks and presentation to all participants.

COLLABORATING WITH KINO

The Music Camp runs at the same time as Kino Guarimba, our film residency that brings together around 50 filmmakers from all over the world. You’ll share meals, events, jams and plenty of conversations with them.

You are not required to compose music or sound for any film. Your own projects come first. But if you meet a director you click with, you’re free to collaborate, on terms you agree together. It happens a lot: so far, participants’ music has ended up in 23 films.

THE STUDIO

Our recording studio is inside La Piccola Biblioteca di Amantea, at Via Mazzini 26, a short walk from the musicians’ apartment. You book it yourself, in two- or three-hour blocks, in the morning or afternoon, with a system that prevents overbooking. In the final week, musicians get priority over the film residency.

You can plug in your own laptop and work with your usual setup. Our sound engineer supports you through recording, mixing and mastering, and we have hard drives available for anyone who needs them.

In the studio you’ll find: cajón, keyboard, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass, Venezuelan cuatro, Bolivian charango, dulcimer, rainstick and loop machine.

The Amantea Sound Library. You’ll have access to an archive of recordings and sounds from the town and the coast, created by participants of past editions and left for those who come next. Every edition adds to it.

THE TUTORS

The Music Camp was born from the meeting between Fran Rousset and Giulio Vita, who have led it since the first edition. Fran accompanies each musician in the studio; Giulio looks after the group’s artistic journey and its connections with the community.

Fran Rousset

Lead tutor, sound engineer

Francisco Rousset is a multi-instrumentalist and electroacoustic composer. His work explores the multi-dimensionality of musical and sound objects: the re-semantizing of messages through the disintegration inherent to memory and different contexts. He focuses on the line between the memorable and the ephemeral, interested in how sound persists and dissolves in our perception.

Rousset works between Buenos Aires and Italy, through installations, composition and sound design. He collaborates with visual artists and filmmakers on projects where sound articulates a full experience. Combining synthesis, sampling and aggressive processing of acoustic systems, his practice leads to a listening experience that prefers asking questions to giving answers.

At the Music Camp he leads the recording, mixing and mastering masterclasses, guides the Naked Sessions and supports each musician in the studio, from setting up their own gear to the sound of the final concert.

Giulio Vita

Artistic director

Giulio Vita (Italy, 1988) grew up in Venezuela. He studied journalism in Caracas and film in Madrid, and in 2013 he founded La Guarimba in Amantea. He’s also a musician: El Rey Tuqueque is his music project.

At the Music Camp he gets to know every participant from the selection interview onwards, suggests possible directions for collaboration between the musicians, builds connections with other artists and with the film residency, and presents the group’s work to the people of Amantea.

WHERE YOU’LL LIVE

Musicians share an apartment only with each other, a short walk from the studio and a few minutes on foot from the sea. Sharing the same rhythms and goals makes home a calm place, where you can write, edit or mix while someone else is in the studio. And when a session takes an interesting turn, one message is enough to have a fellow musician drop by and play.

Every apartment has a kitchen and a bathroom. There’s no air conditioning or WiFi: September is still hot, and every participant gets their own fan. For internet, you can work at our library, which has workstations, computers and a fast connection.

Before you arrive you’ll receive a practical guide to Amantea and the residency, and throughout the three weeks our team is always reachable, whether for a problem or just for a chat.

“The location of our apartment near the studio was absolutely invaluable. I would credit that fact with quite a lot of the collaboration that happened between us.”

Patrick McGlynn (Dr. Mindflip), Music Camp 2026

OUR APPROACH

Freedom with clear rules. Our method is inspired by Cooperative Learning and Montessori education: the freedom to choose, to make mistakes and to find your own path, within a few clear rules. The tutors accompany you without interfering with your process.

Process over results. As in the Kino method, projects grow in a non-competitive way. You don’t have to deliver a perfect product: you have to live the journey.

Collaboration that respects everyone’s pace. For us, collaborating doesn’t just mean working on the same track. It means letting collective creativity inspire your own way of creating. Some people do everything as a group, others need to work alone: both are fine, and we encourage you to explore the edges of your comfort zone.

Respect. We ask you to respect the other participants, people from different cultures and backgrounds, the spaces that host you and the people of Amantea. Being a guest in a small town in Southern Italy means being aware of your privileges and your impact, and knowing that you represent La Guarimba. Clear rules also make it easier to speak up about any disrespectful behaviour.

THE FINAL CONCERT

The residency ends with a concert open to the public, where everyone presents their work, solo or accompanied by the other musicians. For many participants it was their first time on stage, the first song they ever sang, or their first live show with their own instruments. One musician arrived after two years of creative block and left with two new tracks.

PARTICIPATION FEES

• A) Residency + shared accommodation, max 3 people per room (17 nights): €600
• B) Residency + private room (17 nights): €760

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• 17 nights of accommodation in an apartment shared with the other musicians, close to the studio.
• Use of the studio by booking, with priority in the final week.
• A tutor and a sound engineer for recording, mixing, mastering and the final concert.
• Masterclasses, workshops and Naked Sessions.
• Access to the Amantea Sound Library.
• The final concert for the people of Amantea.
• Professional photos and videos of your work and the concert, including an individual portrait.
• Your tracks on the official playlist and in the edition report on our website.
• Welcome dinner, speed dating with breakfast, social lunch and guided tour of the historic centre.
• Networking events with the around 50 Kino Guarimba participants from all over the world.
• Welcome kit with a tote bag and gifts, plus a practical guide to the residency.

HOW TO APPLY

• Form. Fill in the form by 30 May 2027. We’ll read your application and get in touch by email.
• Interview. We’ll meet for an informal 15-minute video call on Zoom.
• Selection. Final results will be announced by 1 July 2027. If you’re selected, we’ll explain the next steps by email.
• Confirmation. You confirm your place by paying the fee.

The 5 places are awarded based on portfolio, enthusiasm and eagerness to discover. Over the last three editions we’ve received more than 100 applications: don’t wait until the last day, we usually fill all the places in advance.

PAST EDITIONS

Read the reports, meet the musicians who have passed through here and listen to what they created in Amantea.

2026 Edition | 2025 Edition | 2024 Edition

Important notes

• The programme does not cover travel expenses.
• Every apartment has a kitchen and a bathroom.
• The apartments do not have air conditioning or WiFi.

REFUND POLICY

If a participant withdraws after having already paid the registration fee, the organisation can guarantee a refund of only 50% of the amount, and only if the withdrawal is communicated at least 45 days before the start of the residency and is due to a valid reason.

INSURANCE

It is your responsibility to protect yourself and your personal belongings. Our organisation takes no responsibility for damage to or loss of personal property before, during or after the residency.

LEGAL ASPECTS

• By taking part, musicians grant La Guarimba the right to use the tracks produced for promotional purposes, provided this use does not damage or interfere with any strategies previously agreed with the musician.
• During the residency, a photographer and a videomaker from our team will take photos and videos of the activities. By taking part in La Guarimba Music Camp, participants consent to being photographed and/or filmed, and to the reproduction and publication of their images, by any technical means, for journalistic and institutional-promotional purposes related to the event’s activities.
• Individual portraits will also be taken. If you do not wish to be filmed, we recommend not taking part in the residency.

ORGANISED BY

PAST EDITIONS WERE SUPPORTED BY