The Unbound Voice - 5 Day Vocal Immersive

17TH - 21ST APRIL 2024 AT CAE MABON RETREAT CENTER SNOWDONIA, WALES
 

Explore the magical quality of sound, by journeying from your primal depths to a state of sublime union, experiencing yourself as a vessel for the unlimited power of the unbound voice.

APPLY HERE

Join us at Cae Mabon, deep in the heart of Snowdonia, for an exploration of the limitless capacity of the voice, where you will experience total freedom of expression, both individually and as a group, connecting you deeply to the animate forces which surround us at all times. 

The Unbound Voice is a full immersion into what once would have been our everyday human experience - to sing, dance and commune with nature. Not only is this a retreat teaching you how to sing and express yourself, it is also a process of deep remembering of our place in this world, of how we are profoundly interwoven within the community of all beings, both seen and unseen.

When we engage in the art of sonic ceremony, we allow ourselves to disolve and enter into the state of void, a space of infinite knowing, from which we can practice deep listening, and experience the art of inner alchemy, re-weaving ourselves and the community back into harmony with the greater cosmos.

 

The Retreat Includes

▲ Exploring Your Internal Landscape Through Sound ▲

▲ Transmuting Energy Within the Body ▲

▲ Releasing Creative Blocks ▲

▲ Unlocking the Art of Improvisation ▲

▲ Deep Listening and Responding to Nature ▲

▲ Expanding Your Palette of Sound and Expression ▲

▲ Learning Traditional Welsh Songs ▲

▲ Experiencing Your Animal Body ▲

▲ Working with the Elements ▲

▲ Grief Tending Ritual ▲

▲ Sonic Ceremonies to Honour the Ancestors ▲

▲ Somatically Experiencing the Stories of this Mythic Land ▲

▲ Celebrating the Beauty of Life Through Group Song and Dance ▲

APPLY HERE

The Unbound Voice is a full immersion into what once would have been our everyday human experience - to sing, dance and commune with nature. Not only is this a retreat teaching you how to sing and express yourself, it is also a process of deep remembering of our place in this world, of how we are profoundly interwoven within the community of all beings, both seen and unseen.

When we engage in the art of sonic ceremony, we allow ourselves to disolve and enter into the state of void, a space of infinite knowing, from which we can practice deep listening, and experience the art of inner alchemy, re-weaving ourselves and the community back into harmony with the greater cosmos.

The Unbound Voice is for anybody who feels the call to…

✨ Write, record and perform their own music

✨ Connect deeply to the source of all inspiration

✨ Use their creativity as a catalyst for change both internally and externally

✨ Incorporate voice into their teaching, healing or facilitation work

✨ Remember the old ways and how voice was used in ritual and ceremony

You will leave this retreat with...

✨ Courage to freely express yourself 

✨ Ability to improvise with confidence 

✨ Power to alchemise your internal landscape

✨ Inspiration to experiment with voice and sound

✨ A deeper connection with the web of life

✨ A community of like minded sonic explorers

The Location

Cae Mabon is an extremely special location in North West Wales. A place that has witnessed and supported a range of deep personal explorations. It lies at the foot of Yr Wyddfa on the bank of Llyn Padarn. A River flows through its grounds, and a wood-fired hot tub sits right by the rivers side. You will be staying in one of the many traditionally built dwellings and eating locally sourced, organic food. 

Prices include all meals during your stay, facilitation of sessions, use of facilities, accommodation, hot tub and organisation for the 5-day residency. 

Travelling to Cae Mabon is very easy. The nearest station is Bangor which is 20 minutes from the retreat centre. You can reach Bangor on a direct train from London Euston and with 1 change from Bristol and Manchester. We will create a google doc for everyone coming to assist with car sharing and organising taxis from the station.

Investment

We are implementing a sliding scale price range starting at £690 to £890

The base price of £690 pays for all the expenses of the retreat centre and costs for organisation and facilitation. If you have the means to pay more, it gives the opportunity for people to come for a bursary price option and covers their costs for the stay.

To apply for a bursary please fill in the application form (suggested starting price £490) Spaces are limited on this retreat as we like to keep the container small and intimate.

Arrivals begin from 2pm on the Wednesday and we will have our closing circle on Sunday morning to allow people time to travel home.

 

Your Added Extras

✨ Free group integration Zoom call post retreat

✨ Opportunity for tailored 1:1 voice sessions post-retreat with Bethan

✨ Access to community WhatsApp group with your fellow sonic explorers 

 

Meet Your Facilitator - Bethan Lloyd

Hello, I’m Bethan and I’ll be guiding you on this retreat. I have spent many years researching voice and how it is used across the globe in ritual, ceremony and magic. I started singing and performing when I was 6 years old, in Wales, where voice is still honoured as an integral part of our culture and I went on to train as a classical singer. My interest in spirituality was always deeply interwoven with vocal expression, I spent many hours singing up trees and rolling around in mud trying to uncover the secrets of the Universe! This interest led me to Theology and Religious studies at Cambridge University where I learned all that I could from an academic perspective, but ultimately, my real studies were experiential and embodied. After university I travelled the world, and came to focus my attention on the ancient wisdoms of India and Brazil. In both lands I learnt about the void, deep listening, spirit possession and Animacy. I lived with indigenous Tribes and in Ashrams deeply immersing myself in both cultures. 

A very deep remembering started in me however when I returned to my homeland of Wales and spent many months in silence. This re-sensitised me to the needs and the longings of this land, which is still singing, and has never forgotten its own indigenous wisdoms. I have worked alongside teachers such as Mac Macartney and countless numbers of vocal explorers in numerous retreats across the British Isles to try to bring back the ancient ceremonies of this land. Voice was one of the central modes of entering trance and connecting to forces beyond our everyday experience. By stepping into a ceremony with sound and voice, we are remembering the old ways and allowing the memory to fill us with a deep knowing of land and place. 

As well as teaching voice, I work as a professional musician and performer. I have four solo releases and have performed at festivals and shows across the globe. I collaborate with a number of artists on various musical projects and work as a vocal composer for film, TV and multi-disciplinary performances.  

The Unbound Voice will leave you feeling more alive and integrated with your environment, allowing you to enter into the fullest expression of your being. You will experience a sense of empowerment and a deep knowledge of your internal landscape. You will know the capacity of the voice as being more than just a tool for speaking and singing, but as a magical instrument for accessing deeper unseen realms. From there you will gain confidence to write, perform and share your unique gift of sound with the world. 

APPLY HERE