“This is more than just a music project,” presenter and host Lea Ogunlami tells us on our first night in Cavan, Ireland. “Get ready to listen, learn, experiment and step outside your comfort zone. Welcome to Distilled Sounds.”

Now in its second year, Jameson Distilled Sounds, in collaboration with Anderson .Paak, brought together emerging musicians from around the world. Throughout the week, participants attended workshops, created new music and formed meaningful connections with one another, all united by their love of music.

The artists, who hailed from Nigeria, Thailand, Italy, Malaysia, Kenya, India, Kazakhstan and Ireland, spent the week making music under .Paak’s guidance. He challenged them to remix his songs, compose original scores and prepare new work for a digital showcase at the end of the week. “Bring out the contracts and the champagne!” .Paak exclaimed after hearing one group’s creation. This was the kind of infectious encouragement they were met with all week. For all who missed it, here’s a rundown of what went down at Jameson Distilled Sounds 2025.

WORKSHOPS GALORE

While the focus was on collaboration, the musicians were also there to learn. Each day included three workshops hosted by Ogunlami. A standout was the Vocal Production Masterclass by Ramera Abraham – a vocal producer, arranger and engineer who has worked with JADE, Ms Banks and Victoria Monét. She taught the group how to refine vocals from demo to final take.

“As a girl in an industry full of men, seeing [Ramera] excel in a male-dominated field gives me hope,” said DJ and producer Rossella Essence from Naples, Italy. “I work to inspire other women to do the same. I loved seeing her in this space.”

Other workshops explored fashion’s relationship with music and building a creative universe, which featured talks from electronic producer Iglooghost, director Jeremy Ngatho Cole and animator Rhymezlikedimez, among others.

Meanwhile, .Paak kept the group on their toes with challenges. One had them remix a sample of his song into entirely different genres – trap, pop-punk, even country. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he laughed, hyping up each remix while also giving sharp, constructive feedback.

ALL-NIGHT JAM SESSIONS

When they weren’t in workshops or wandering through the Irish countryside, the musicians were making music late into the night. Jameson provided a studio, instruments and equipment, and the artists took full advantage.

Indie-folk musician Aoibha from Belfast recalled staying up until 2am with others. “This experience has been like nothing else,” she said. “The highlight has been meeting people from all over the world I’d never have otherwise met. We don’t all speak the same language, but we all speak music. Finding that common ground has been amazing.”

ANDERSON .PAAK TORE IT UP

Throughout the week, .Paak wore many hats: teacher, mentor and friend. But on the final night, full-blown entertainer. He closed the programme with a high-energy performance, singing, rapping, dancing and drumming alongside his Grammy-winning trumpeter Maurice “Mobetta” Brown. Together they tore through ‘Fly As Me’ and ‘Smokin’ Out The Window’.

At one point in the week, Brown even stepped outside to play jazz for cows in a nearby field – who supposedly love the genre.

LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIPS WE’RE MADE

The week ended with paired musicians performing the original tracks they’d written together. On stage, they cheered each other on, and staff remarked on how quickly they had bonded.

“My favourite thing about this week has been meeting everyone,” said singer-songwriter and DJ Xenia Manasseh from Kenya. “I feel like I now have people all over the world – in places I’d never even thought of visiting. Even though we don’t all speak the same language, music gives us a shared synergy.”