Here’s the scenario: put together local hip hop emcee L Fresh The Lion with his super talented band, jam them into Vienna People studio in Annandale, then add folks like myself with no musical gene but a faithful ear… and what do you get?

A musical experience different to any other.

Those lucky enough to have musical mates may not be a stranger to joining a studio jam session – certainly the better way to spend an afternoon with a cold bev in hand. But what about the rest of us?

Enter Arribaa: a project co-founded by Colette and Vinko Grgic and Roger Barnes. According to Vinko, the idea behind Arribaa is “to create unique experiences, hosted by genuine and passionate people to give access to an insider’s view that’s truly authentic and moving.” Arribaa breaches the barrier between the recording process and the listener – literally opening the studio doors and offering fans a sneak peek into how an album comes into being.

After a chance meeting with L Fresh The Lion at the Platform 5 festival, Vinko was inspired to share his music in a new and unique way. “L-Fresh has this aura, a kind of thing about him where he speaks softly with complex rich words and I just realised, I’ve got to get people to this guy… he’s a really genuinely cool guy and he makes me feel something different.”

It took only five weeks for the in-studio concept to come together. The Arribaa team set up a unique behind-the-scenes experience: to watch L-Fresh The Lion record live in his state-of-the-art studio, to hear his songs in their earliest and rawest incarnations, and watch his album progress.

“It’s about getting an insight into making music and [what it’s like] to be in a studio, and the work that goes into these songs and how songs are made. We hear the final product as fans of music and it sounds amazing, but it’s a journey to get to that point and it takes a lot of time and energy to get to that point, so this is about showing that side so that people can get involved with it,” says L Fresh.

This is L Fresh’s debut full-length album; a representation of where he’s at and what he’s been building up to – having recently graduated with a Law degree alongside his work as a prominent and committed community worker in Western Sydney.

Sitting in the studio and having the chance to see L Fresh jam in the main room with Mirrah (backing vocalist), Duane (guitarist) and producer Michael McGlynn (owner of Vienna People) in the one room, then Clinton (drummer) and Chris (bass) in the soundproof room as DJ MK-1 mixed it up in the front was definitely loud.

The vibe was intimate and intriguing, watching L Fresh on the couch next to me get into his rhymes with Mirrah busting out in vocals, all as the band jammed out. There were a few stop and start moments as the tempo was being worked out and the track listing got sorted, yet there was this phantom direction in each song that everyone kept going back to – then to see those moments of kick-ass jubilation when the vision of the song was achieved.

Have something awesome you believe is worth sharing? You could offer your own hosted experience on Arribaa… click here to get started: http://arribaa.com/become-a-host/