Well, those doubts were squashed within the first hour. The level of professionalism in terms of musicality, composition, attitude and dedication around the room was inspiring. The booths were filled with participants who strive to be professional musicians for the rest of their lives, and they took it seriously - it could be felt in lyric and song. Compositions started forming as soon as personal stories started flowing. Thoughts about where we’re from and where we’d like to go, our fears, dreams, insecurities, hopes and beliefs enabled us to come up with at least 15 rough demos by the end of the week. And they weren’t just some random demos thrown together, they were serious hits. Ranging in styles and arrangements but with a very clear, common thread: a group of young musicians from all over Europe who love doing what they do, who don’t have to compete, but work together and draw the best out of each other. The songs were awesome.

This writing process was encouraged even further by the evenings we spent together. Following ten-hour sessions at the studio, we got together for dinner and drinks, and even managed a dip in the ocean. Five hours of sleep became sufficient. Laura and Tamara celebrated consecutive birthdays. Strangers became friends. We’re having serious withdrawal symptoms now.

The story behind Louvana Records and Lefteris, Andreas and Maria is inspiring. To raise an infrastructure from the ground up with resources for a local community of musicians that is not having an easy time expressing their art given their circumstances and industry at present requires guts and determination. The line “there was nothing for us, so we did it ourselves” stuck with me every day, a line we have surely all taken home. Andrea Solomonides, who shared a workshop on entrepreneurship beside Henry Walton on management and Michalis Karakatsanis on networking, said that entrepreneurs are those who jump off a cliff and build their plane on the way down. That’s exactly how we feel. Thank you, Lefteris, Andreas and Maria, for bringing us together, and putting in a tremendous amount of work to write up the proposal.

Being in conversation with my peers made me realise how privileged I am to be a musician in Luxembourg. When it comes to touring, recording and financial support, the infrastructure here is steadily available, something I’ve been taking for granted. It has taught me to open my eyes further, and then to encourage others with their own development, see what resources and knowledge we can share and exchange that we can benefit from as a team. Eurotoire has not only established a co-writing project, but a community of driven musicians and young professionals that can feed off each other.

I can’t wait to be back in July, this time in the rolling hills at Fengaros Music Village with more interaction with local musicians. How cool does it feel to say ‘goodbye’ to someone, but then adding: ‘see you in six weeks?’. We’re already finetuning the demos we finished in the first session, and it will be great to welcome a further six session musicians next time around to bring a fresh perspective on the compositions. The song seeds have been planted, now let us attend to them carefully and the album will flourish.

Posted by Josh Island, member of the Eurotoire team

Josh Island is a Dutch singer-songwriter based in Luxembourg. He has performed extensively across Europe, forging ties with producers and musicians across the continent. His European identity was shaped by an international upbringing, and thanks to this he has become a prominent figure in promoting the EU's shared values and opportunities through musical performances for political institutions and organisations. Josh also worked as a radio DJ for a local community station, and is an active journalist for RTL Luxembourg.