Walking down leafy Heath Park Avenue in Cardiff, if it weren’t for the little sign on the gate, you’d easily miss Henhouse Recording Studios.

Unless you’ve just passed by when a band has stopped ready to record with instruments in tow – or you’ve spotted a bunch of kids ready to be pop stars for the day.

Otherwise, you would have no idea of ​​the full-fledged recording studio used by musicians from all over the world in one of the back gardens.

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Jinx Jones from Cardiff has been a musician all his life and always dreamed of having his own studio. And so 10 years ago he decided to build his “haven” of a studio in his back garden.

The studio, which started as a small summer house for Jinx and his wife to relax in, has been transformed – it now consists of a recording booth, a reception area, a control and more space for recording groups.

And with the studio soundproofed and tucked away in the “secret garden” behind her house, Jinx said “The only way to find out is to fly a drone over it”.

“The studio has been under construction for about ten years now. The studio originally started out as a kind of little summer house, my wife and I used to come down there and sleep,” the studio said. 62 year old man.

“My wife gradually got a little sicker and at the time I decided to have a recording studio on premises in Treforest Industrial Estate, but as she got sicker and sicker I decided to do it at home.

“So I started the additions and the soundproofing and everything else on the building, and I think it took about five or six years to get to where we are now.

“I’ve been a musician for most of my life and always wanted to have my own studio to myself where I could record with my friends.

“And then it went from there with people saying ‘can we come into your studio and record,’ so we started doing that, and it evolved from there.”

But even if you step into Jinx’s garden – especially in the summer – you might mistake the studio for an elaborate summer house. Surrounded by trees and flowers, the studio is nestled in a “secret garden”, to create a serene atmosphere for the artists who use it.

He said he wanted to give musicians a different type of studio than the “clinical” studios that have become the norm in the industry.

“It’s like the tardis. From the outside, we kept it to look like a log cabin, but it’s actually bricks and mortar behind it and everything is soundproof.

“That’s one of the main reasons I started is because it’s pretty intimidating if you’ve never been there before. And some can be pretty clinical, sterile, so I wanted to create a place that puts people at ease.

“I had so many people say ‘I was so comfortable, after 10 minutes I felt like I was there forever’

“And that was the kind of reaction I wanted. You go there and it’s a warm atmosphere.

“It’s not the right time of year now because the fruit trees are all bare, but in the summer it’s beautiful, you can’t even see it. It’s really picturesque.”

And if that wasn’t enough, Jinx also has a chicken run in the garden – hence ‘Henhouse’ studios. He said they used to move freely but they were causing too much chaos.

“You walk around the side of the house, through a kind of secret garden and there’s the studio. It’s kind of weird, the website doesn’t really show it to its full potential, it’s a really unique place “, did he declare.

“I haven’t had anyone come and say ‘it’s not for me’ yet, we have the opposite – it’s fabulous.

“It’s also great when you bring down someone who is a very good singer, a very good guitarist, who says ‘I’ve done so much more than I expected’ and that’s because they feel so comfortable.”

Selena, Jinx’s wife, sadly passed away three years ago. Since then, he said the studio was a “safe haven” and provided him with respite.

“My wife died three years ago and I built it so I could work from home when she was getting worse and worse.

“So it was a bit difficult having him there, but it really gave me a lot of breathing space to be so close to home.

“It was definitely a labor of love. It’s just been my world for what feels like forever now.”

And while the studio may be modest in size, it definitely punches above its weight in the work it produces, with Jinx working with musicians and songwriters around the world.

“We do a lot of recording artists, solo artists. We used to do a lot of songwriting work in order to work remotely with people around the world.

“With the digital side of things, you can do that. We do a lot of TV work, so people will come in and do stories for movies or plays.”

“Most of the time, especially when I work with people from different time zones, I can be there until 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. playing guitar or making music and Nobody knows.”

While Jinx originally started the studio to record his own songs and those of his friends, over the years the studio has found its own niche offering parties and experiences – which, to his surprise, has now become the Jinx’s favorite part of the whole adventure.

Before the lockdown brought the world to a standstill, he held children’s parties most weekends where a band came to make their own CD and became “popstars” for the day.

He said he also brought in a wide range of people just to have a little fun. He once recorded an album for an 80-year-old man who had always loved to sing but never had the confidence to make a record.

“Now we do things like packages for children’s parties, where they come in groups of say 10 of them, and then they sing along to backing tracks and we record them and put them on a CD to them. It makes them feel like pop stars for the day.

“I love doing them. You’ll have the parents come and at the end they’ll be like ‘this is the best party we’ve ever had’, it’s just awesome.

“We had a crazy day about six or seven years ago when we did an all-day session for the charity Follow your Dreams. All these people came to do a Christmas single.

“In disguises we had X Factor people, we had Lightning McQueen the car from the Disney movie ‘Cars’ in the drive, and it was lovely.

“We had a mix of people of all ages coming in and singing and we did a charity single.”

But despite being a musician all his life, until he started the studio, Jinx had almost no idea about production – teaching himself all the essential technologies that come with a studio.

“I didn’t even know how to use a computer 10 years ago, everything was analog as far as I was concerned. I taught myself to become digitally formatted

“Everything goes so fast, I’m constantly updating programs just to keep advancing with technology.”

And as technology evolves, so does the way people create and produce music, with programs making self-production easier than ever.

Despite this change, Jinx says there’s still a demand for studio space — especially one that’s more accessible and welcoming as he thinks.

“It’s quite diverse what we’re able to do in the studio,” he said.

“Thanks to technology these days, people can now make fantastic recordings on their phones. With just a microphone on and a guitar, you can make wonderful sounds, wonderful recordings.

“It has really progressed.

“There are still some really big studios, because recording artists and their record companies will want them to go to big big studios, because that’s how the world is.

“A lot of these musicians have their own home studio. But mine is just a little, a little more. It’s not just your home studio, it’s a little more than that.”

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Famous music recording studio Abbey Road Studios expand their legacy with all of its latest technological advancements and services.

Abbey Road Studio, formerly known as EMI Studios, is a famous music recording studio located in London, United Kingdom. The English rock band “The Beatles”, very popular in the rock industry, named the studio after their eleventh studio album released in September 1969. Previously, Abbey Road was just the name of the street where find the studio.

Story

The history of the Abbey Road studio dates back to 1929 when musical recordings were still made by wax disc. The Gramophone Company bought the land for the nine-bedroom house with a large garden and built the world’s first recording studio. The Gramophone company later merged with the electrical and music industries, thus naming the studio after EMI recording studios.

The Abbey Road Music Recording Studio was officially opened in 1939 with the performance of Sir Edward Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory. The studio with its grand opening went on to feature classical and orchestral legends like Sir Thomas Beecham, Maria Callas, Geoff Love and many more.

Abbey Road is a studio that has defined generation after generation and provided us with world renowned artists. The 1940s were defined by dance and jazz artists like Joe Loss Orchestra and Glenn Miller and the 1960s pop charts were defined by Ravi Shankar, Cilla Black and many other famous artists. The Beatles, however, recorded their 190 out of 210 songs in the studio between 1962 and 1970. They had a great influence on the studio as they changed the studio and its culture forever. The three-hour studio sessions lasted all night as they pushed experimentation beyond the limits with their creativity.

Contribution of new technologies

It was at Abbey Road that the concept of stereo music was invented by master Alan Blumlein when he patented ‘Binaural’, which means listening with two ears. The Record Engineering Development Department was introduced by engineer Len Page in 1955 to meet the needs of the various artists and music producers using the rooms, developing their first mixing desks.

It was also at Abbey Road that the concept of Artificial Double Tracking (ADT) was discovered by Ken Townsend, who was an engineer at the studio.

The mastering heritage has always been a special aspect of Abbey Road Studios as it consists of several mastering suites, combining an unrivaled selection of classic analogue and modern digital equipment. From the early 1970s until today, many well-known artists have chosen their music to be recorded there. From George Harrison to Lady Gaga, everyone is fond of Abbey Studio.

Workshop Sections

Abbey Road has a lot to offer as having the chance to record or even work on a project is a dream come true for any artist and producer. They are available with large spaces and segments ranging from Studio One, Two, Three to their latest additions of The Gatehouse and the Front Room. Emerging talent from around the world is welcome at Abbey Road and for them it is exciting to use the legendary studio equipped with all the modern equipment needed for excellent production. The Penthouse offers flexibility for every type of project.

Studio 1 – it is the largest purpose-built recording studio in the world where it can comfortably accommodate a large orchestral symphony or choir.

Studio 2-It is their most famous studio which offers a unique design, modern cubicles, warm acoustics and an unparalleled history has made it the most sought after studio in the world.

Studio Three – This is the ideal large room for mixing sessions and a substantial living room. It also offers isolation booths for vocal and instrumental recordings.

The Penthouse – The Penthouse is a modern studio for versatile mixing projects. This is a completely different studio space than previous ones as it is fully accredited for Dolby ATMOShome entertainment projects. It is dedicated to high-end musical productions.

The gatehouse – It is absolutely perfect for a small group or vocal artists who are looking for state-of-the-art technological equipment with a control room and a mixing desk.

The road ahead – The studio was designed for smaller scale recordings and writing sessions. It is designed to allow a wider range of customers to benefit from Abbey Road’s unique inspiring atmosphere.

Abbey Road studio has been contributing for the past 40 years, their excellence in film music has made the studio the world’s premier destination for all types of projects. Projects like Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lord of the Rings, The Harry Potter Series, Avengers: Endgame, etc. have been well rated and mastered in this very popular studio. The studio is a place where artists come to get inspiration for their brand new productions and this particular studio has been the hallowed ground for many world famous artists who have started their golden journey to greatness.

LIST OF THE DAY

Site: London, United Kingdom

Price: £ 7.75 million (US $ 10.4 million)

This unique triplex apartment occupies the first, second and second levels of a listed historic building in the center of London’s Notting Hill.

Built in 1904 by famed Scottish architect William Flockhart, the building first served as an artist’s studio and apartment, according to listing agent Giles Barrett. Then, in 1957, it was transformed into the infamous Lansdowne Recording Studios, graced by rock and roll royalty like the Sex Pistols, Shirley Bassey, Rod Stewart and John Lennon. Today the building is Grade II listed, a designation that gives it historical significance and ensures that renovations and alterations are carried out in accordance with its architectural integrity.

Following: A London apartment from the Victorian era redesigned with Smart-Home technology

In 2006, the interiors of the building were redesigned and transformed into thirteen residential apartments. “While there is also a penthouse, this can still be the key apartment in the building,” Barrett said. The triplex is characterized by double-height rooms, dramatic arched windows and a sloping skylight, with a wide range of entertainment and living spaces spread over three dynamic levels.

“Ceiling heights of 15 and 17 feet are very rare in the London market, where the standard ceiling height is 2.4 meters. [around 8 feet]”Mr. Barrett said.” This home presents a veritable maze of space and a quiet retreat from the busy streets on your doorstep. “

Statistics

The 5,338 square foot triplex home has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Following: A taste of minimalism by the English seaside

Approvals

In addition to a gym, sauna and steam room, there is also a party room, wine cellar and cinema room that “will make you wish on rainy days,” said Mr. Barrett.

A first-floor living room opens onto a private patio, while the property also has private gated off-street parking, which is a rare feature at properties in central London, Mr Barrett noted.

Quarter Notes

Situated in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, this apartment is ideally located in the heart of Notting Hill, close to the many shops, bars and restaurants of Holland Park and Portobello Road.

The house is a short walk from the green spaces of Holland Park, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, while Holland Park and Ladbroke Grove underground stations are also nearby.

Reputable local schools include Kensington Aldridge Academy and Bousfield Primary School.

Agent: Giles Barrett, Sales Manager at Domus Nova

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LONDON – Abbey Road Studios, the legendary heart of The Beatles’ music catalog, celebrated its 90th anniversary this month.

A number of other famous artists – from Pink Floyd to Adele – have also used the recording studio. But it’s the Beatles and their chart-topping 1969 album – named after the street in London where the studio is located – that the venue is most closely associated with.

“I remember being pretty nervous most of the time in the recording studio, but also very excited – nervous excitement. It was fantastic to be in Abbey Road,” said Paul McCartney, according to the Autobiography of Beatles in 2000, “The Beatles Anthology.”

“We lived there,” he added. “I loved it so much that I even had a house around the corner. I never wanted to leave.”

To celebrate nine decades of recording music, Abbey Road Studios hosted a two-day festival this month dedicated to the next generation of music makers. The festival featured panels and other events covering a range of topics, from how to become a music producer or engineer, to the business of music publishing. While looking to the future, this milestone anniversary was also an opportunity for Beatles fans to remember the studio’s important place in musical history.

Abbey Road Studios, formerly EMI Recording Studios, opened on November 12, 1931. The Gramophone Company, one of the UK’s first record companies, had purchased a nine-bedroom house on Abbey Road in the north of London, in St. John’s Wood. neighborhood in 1929 and spent two years turning it into “the world’s first purpose-built recording studio,” according to the Abbey Road Studios website.

The Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1931, becoming Electric Musical Industries (EMI). The recording studio was renamed in the 1970s in honor of the Beatles’ album “Abbey Road”.

Over the years, Abbey Road Studios has been an integral part of many beloved film scores including “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “Harry Potter”, “Star Wars” “,” Skyfall, “” Gravity “and” Black Panther “.

Lester Smith, the keeper of Abbey Road Studios’ impressive collection of microphones for the past 50 years, recalls working on the 2010 Oscar-winning film “The King’s Speech” with veteran sound engineer Peter Cobbin , who requested the microphone used by King George of Great Britain. VI.

“There were actually five microphones, and Peter asked me to try to get them to work,” Smith said in a statement earlier this month. “After being silent for 70 years, this was a very special occasion to try.”

Abbey Road Studios is also credited with important technological creations. Stereophonic, or stereo, sound was invented in the 1930s by Alan Blumlein, electronic engineer at EMI. Artificial Dual Track (ADT), a revolutionary technology that helps enhance vocals or instruments while mixing, was invented specifically for the Beatles in 1966 by Ken Townsend, sound engineer at EMI.

“There are composers who can hear if something was recorded at Abbey Road because it has such a distinct sound,” Isabel Garvey, general manager of Abbey Road Studios, told ABC News Wednesday.

Today, Abbey Road Studios not only makes musical magic, but is also a place of pilgrimage for generations of Beatles fans. Every day, people from all over the world come to cross the famous Abbey Road level crossing, as depicted on the iconic album cover art, and pay tribute to the band by writing on a graffiti wall in front of the studio building, which repaints itself. every few months to make room for new messages.

“The gravitational pull to Abbey Road is global,” Garvey said, “and it’s not just for The Beatles.”

In 2010, amid reports that the building could be sold, Abbey Road Studios was added to England’s List of Listed Buildings on the advice of the English Heritage charity. The crosswalk also became the first of its kind to be classified in the same year. Garvey said that means the building and its recording studios, especially the famous Studio Two, are virtually unchanged since the Beatles recorded there.

Abbey Road Studios remains at the forefront of technological and musical developments with its innovation arm, Abbey Road Red. Launched in 2015 as Europe’s first music-focused technology incubator, the program supports the efforts of entrepreneurs, developers and researchers. From an automated mastering platform to BrainRap, an AI-powered device that generates lyrics while an artist freestyle or sing, Abbey Road Red harnesses the scope and fame of the studio to foster a new wave inventions that will change the world of music.

London’s Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse and Adele have made legendary recordings, are celebrating their 90th anniversary this week with a festival of events for the next generation of music makers.

Two days of panels, listening sessions and lectures for beginners in the industry will cover topics ranging from how to become a producer or engineer to understanding music publishing.

The “Amplify” festival, where guest speakers include record producer Steve Mac, composers Steven Price and James Newton Howard, among others, follows other events earlier this week to mark the anniversary, including parties listening and a photography panel.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants, we have had so many amazing names across this place so we have to celebrate this,” Isabel Garvey, general manager of Abbey Road Studios, told Reuters.

“The next two days are about: we know people love coming to the studio, but what the future holds, how the recording process evolves, how the future of an artist evolves, how technology evolves.”

Although it has hosted a long list of famous names and produced soundtracks for films such as “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones”, Abbey Road Studios is also known for its innovation in music recording technology. .

On Thursday at Studio Three, a range of new creative tools were showcased, including BrainRap, which listens to an artist sing or freestyle and immediately suggests words.
Built as a Georgian townhouse in 1831, no. 3 Abbey Road was converted to studios in 1929. It became EMI Recording Studios two years later.

“How are we going to be so famous in 90 years? We have to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation,” Garvey said.
“We have to be really relevant, we have to know how the technology is changing, how the world outside of us is changing and keep going.”

It is probably the most supervised recording studio in the world. You don’t just come in here to take a look. You must register and justify the reason for your registration. The curious can only look at it from the outside.

The corner of Abbey Road / Grove End Road and Garden Road is often on the must-see list for many music fans and London tourists. Because it was here, on the world-famous crosswalk in front of the studio, where John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison walked around in a bad mood on a sunny August day in 1969 several times.

This venture resulted in one of the most famous album covers of all time – and sealed the cult status of the recording studio that first opened on November 12, 1931.

It all started with classical music recordings

The London Symphony Orchestra recorded “Land of Hope and Glory” by composer Edward Elgar. It was the first sound recording made at Abbey Road Studios, which was then called EMI Recording Studios.

All of EMI’s classic recordings have been produced here – the vast majority of them under the direction of famous conductor, Yehudi Menuhin.

Popular music has also found its place here, pushed in the 1950s by a certain George Martin. As a producer he worked for the EMI Parlophone label, to which he gradually added jazz, comedy and finally pop music productions in addition to classical music productions.

In 1962 he took the Beatles under his wing, and the rest is musical history. To this day, Abbey Road Studios is a renowned address for musicians of all genres from around the world.

Legendary studio 1

Behind the simple entrance opens a veritable labyrinth of production and control rooms. The centerpieces are the rooms of Studios 1 and 2 – where the global hits were created.

As a general rule, the Hallowed Halls at Abbey Road Studios are only accessible to those who need to produce a full album there and must be physically present there, and not those who aim to polish an album digitally.

Still, Cologne-based singer-songwriter Björn Heuser was fortunate enough to be invited there in 2018 to put the finishing touches on his album “Himmel Övver Kölle” (Heaven over Cologne).

“When you’re as music-crazy as I am and aware of everyone that’s been through that door – and suddenly I’m standing there with my new album in my bag under that Abbey Road lettering – it was quite a magical moment, ”he told DW.

Luckily, Heuser sees the famous Studio 1 and sneaks in briefly; the door was open while it was being cleaned. Within seconds, the musician was caught up in the magic of this room, considered the mother of all recording studios in the world.

The hall, with parquet floors and light blue walls, breathed years of musical history: Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Sting, U2, Queen, Massive Attack, Shirley Bassey and, of course, the Beatles. The who’s who of music has worked within these walls.

A must for music freaks

Old recording equipment, tape recorders and consoles line the aisles. “You just want to touch this on for a moment,” Heuser says. Even the smell is age-old, almost like Cologne Cathedral, without the incense, he says.

Although the Cologne singer-songwriter might not be a famous musician in London, and they are usually world-famous stars who usually hang out at Abbey Road Studios, Björn Heuser was greeted there on a rocky foot. equal and discussed with his sound engineer about the music and the peculiarities of the Cologne dialect.

After his visit to the studios, it was clear to Heuser that this was one of those things music freaks just had to experience.