Why participation and play is at the centre of Beat Retreat: Magic Mountain 2024

Our flagship event, Beat Retreat is where 8-12 people get together with a bunch of music making gear and just vibe out with each other for a weekend away from distractions. We gather around the table for meals. We stoke fireside conversations on culture, philosophy and just whatever is happening in our lives. We get out into nature and then we go back into the music. It’s essentially a breath of fresh air for creatives.

In our latest edition dubbed ‘Magic Mountain’, over a weekend in the sunshine coast hinterland we recorded more than 4 hours of unrehearsed completely spontaneous music. But this wasn’t the purpose of the gathering, nor was it the original idea of Beat Retreat. What began as an extension of Beat Sessions, a place where artists could come and share their works with others and expand their craft, has evolved in to this collective activation of artistic expression.

A few Beat Retreats ago we noticed that the heart of the space was the jamming room. Where we plug in all this sound making gear and we just make noises together. We sit or stand, we wiggle and jump around, we twiddle the knobs and pluck strings, we clap and dance and as we discovered after a minute (or 30) something incredible happens. As each participant begins to tinker with whatever is in front of them we fall into a collective movement in sound. From the heart. No fixed roles. No vision. No direction.

and so the idea of ‘Super Casj’ was born.

Was there any purpose? Not really.

What do we do? Just jam

Who’s in it? There’s no roster. It’s whoever is at Beat Retreat that year.

It’s Super Casj. It’s a band, but in the least serious way possible.