Since re-launching as a high-end London writing studio last year, The Bridge continues to go from strength to strength. Lately we have been busy upgrading the equipment spec. Firstly, we have treated you all to a Neve 1073 mic pre/EQ, a remake of the classic vintage 1073, which has been added to boos the vocal recording chain in the studio. The 1073 was first launched in 1970 and quickly became the first choice mic pre for many leading producers and artists. It has delivered the unique Neve sound on some of the most famous recordings of the past 40 years – its big, punchy sound complements any musical genre – from rock to pop, hip-hop to rap, thrash to classical.
To enhance The Bridge’s reputation as a leading writing studio, we have also purchased Native Instruments Komplete 9 a software package for songwriting, and its larger version Native Instruments Komplete 9 Ultimate has been installed at The Yard – another one of our top writing studios in Highbury, North London. Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate features countless great products for songwriting, including synthesizers, strings & cinematic plug-ins, creative & studio effects, drums & percussion, guitar & bass and piano & keys.
Check out the full equipment spec at The Yard’s equipment spec here.
For all bookings enquiries contact bookings@miloco.co.uk or call +44(0)207 232 0008.
Posted in London Recording Studios, Recording Studio Equipment, UK Recording Studios, Writing Studios | Tagged audio, eq, komplete 9 ultimate, mic pre, Miloco, native instruments, neve 1073, new equipment, the bridge, The Yard |
Last week Miloco were proud to launch a brilliant vintage Neve mixing studio in West London alongside its owner and long-term partner, producer Craig Silvey. For the opening of Toast as a commercial studio, we carried out an exclusive interview with Craig and filmed the whole thing. You can now watch the finished video interview on Youtube.
Through his prolific work over the years with the likes of The Horrors, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Anna Calvi, Editors, Arctic Monkeys, The National, The Arcade Fire, Magic Numbers and many more, Craig has become one of the most highly-regarded producers and mix engineers in the business. Find out about his ideas behind the studio, his amazing collection of vintage gear, and his career to-date by clicking on the link below.
Click here to view the video on Youtube
A full interview transcript can be read here.
Posted in London Recording Studios, Mixing Studios, Neve Recording Studios, Record Producers, Recording Studio Engineers, UK Recording Studios, Writing Studios | Tagged Craig Silvey, Miloco, record producer, toast, west london |
This week we have launched a fantastic new mixing studio in Ladbroke Grove, West London, with leading record producer Craig Silvey. Toast Studios is the reincarnation of two studios that Craig has worked in during his career; The Garden Studios in Shoreditch and the original Toast Studios in San Francisco, which he owned during his time on the California. Both of these famous studios were well-known for their large collections of vintage gear and much of it is now at Toast MKII.
Toast is split into two areas: a large, day-lit control room and a good size overdub booth. At the heart of the equipment specification is an incredibly rare and sought-after vintage Neve 8026 console circa 1972. It features a 24-channel monitor section some of the very best Neve modules: 1084s, 1076s and a 1066. The board is joined by some custom Boxer T2 monitors and stacks of great vintage outboard.
The booth is a good space for overdubs and can accommodate a drum kit. There is a choice of synths, amplifiers and other instruments, that is supplemented by a selection of excellent microphones. This means Toast is an equally brilliant writing / overdub studio for anyone looking to use top-end vintage equipment.
Toast is based in a complex used by many musicians, record producers, song writers and other artists, which has created a melting pot of creativity. Its West London location is a real draw for artists – who so far include Goldfrapp, Editors, The Horrors and The National – and the many West London labels. The studio is close to some of the best locations in the West including Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill and Kensal Green and there are excellent transport links to the rest of the City.
Welcome to Toast, London’s latest vintage studio gem…
Posted in European Recording Studios, London Recording Studios, Mixing Studios, Neve Recording Studios, Recording Studio Engineers, UK Recording Studios, Writing Studios | Tagged Craig Silvey, Miloco, mixing studio, toast, west london |It’s been 2 years since we were first teased with Close Your Eyes, and now the wait for The Bullits’ debut album is finally over.
Recorded and mixed at Miloco’s Musikbox studio, the record is an intriguing mix of Hip Hop, Rap and Electronica curated by super-connected, all-round talent, Jeymes Samuel – a songwriter, producer and filmmaker.
They Die By Dawn… is an interesting concept to say the least and is made even more appealing by the somewhat supergroup status. Essentially a collective recruited by and revolving around Samuels, The Bullitts consist of various members who dip in and out, including actress Lucy Lui, Jay Electronica and Idris Elba, but also enlisted are other famous names including Cornflake Girl, Tori Amos on track, Wait Until Tomorrow. With each release there is an accompanying short piece of cinema, perhaps an excuse to show off some more famous faces, but also to add another dimension to the music, too.
The title track and lead single is a modern take on a classic Spaghetti Western–style soundtrack, complete with the conventional Wild West brass, guitar finger picking and whistling, but infused with ultra cool beats and slick productions, topped off with some seriously skilled rapping. Tongue clicking imitates the clip-clopping of horse shoes as they gallop off into the distance. You can find out more about the film, They Die By Dawn here.
Murder, Death, Kill opens with a monoluge from Luicy Lui, with the evokative line “Killing someone is difficult…lying about it afterwards is the easy part”, before kicking into an authoritative falsetto from Samuels and some witty rapping from Jay Electronica – “A picture’s worth a thousand words, so welcome to the cinema”.
Continuing along the cinematic/soundtrack theme, Close Your Eyes sparks into action with majestic strings before another ‘in character’ narration by Lucy Lui is executed over a synth heavy accompaniment. If you’re going to listen to one track, make it this one – the rapping is oozing with American style and coolness, whilst still managing to remain dream-like and relaxed.
Landspeeder is one of the standout tracks on the record. With a simple, repeated guitar riff played throughout, it’s a laid back jam with big beats and smooth vocals. An occasional reverberating bass line and a catchy hook make this a real summer song. As the only acoustic track on the album, A World Inside Your Rainbow is a tender, beautifully simple song featuring just Samuels’ vocal and guitar, a welcome step back from the polyphonic chaos of the rest of the album.
The Bullitts have delivered so much more than just a standard album with this record. It takes elements of the concept album from the 70’s, acts as a soundtrack to it’s own cinematic work and is a refreshing step outside the musical genre boundaries. With so many ideas, themes and plots, this easily could have been a disjointed and confusing offering, but somehow this just works!
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The Bullitts’ debut album was released 9th July Via Kilburn Lane Music.
Like what you hear? Tweet us at @Milocostudios and join the conversation.
Posted in London Recording Studios, Miloco Clients, Mixing Studios, Neve Recording Studios, New Albums, Tracking Studios, UK Recording Studios, Uncategorized | Tagged Album review, Jeymes Samuel, Lucy Lui, Miloco Recording Studio, musikbox, New release, The Bullits, They Die By Dawn And Other Short Stories |Here’s a quick burst of equipment news from The Pool recording studio in London. The Yamaha Baby Grand Piano is being overhauled with some brand new bass strings, restoring it to maximum health and quality of sound!
Here are a few pictures of the re-stringing in process. The piano will be back up-and-running apart of this studio’s incredible equipment spec in no time – check out the full Pool equipment spec here.
Produced by Flood, mixed by Craig Silvey at Toast Studio and recorded at Miloco’s Assault and Battery 2 and The Pool, the follow up to Editors’ last album, 2009’s In This Light and On This Evening, sees the group returning to their indie roots.
Having reignited their passion (and original inspiration) for Eighties new wave, The Weight Of Your Love is bursting with references to icons of that era, such as Joy Division, Echo And The Bunnymen and Simple Minds, helping them to retain their title for the gloomiest, melancholic band of the noughties. This alt-rock offering is a small, but well-manoeuvred step from their previous, synth-drenched record.
Opening track, The Weight announces its presence with a authoritative string section before transitioning to a sombre guitar riff and the ever so distinctive vocal of lead singer, Tom Smith. With dark lyrics, pensive staccato strings, and an anthemic feel, this is perhaps Editors’ biggest and fullest record to date.
In What Is This Thing Called Love, we hear Smith employing a rare falsetto, giving a sweet sensitivity to the record and, let’s face it, a nice variation from his often dour default baritone. Lead single, A Ton of Love is the real stadium-filler, upbeat and driving, with some (not-so-subtle) hints of U2 heard in the sing-along, arena-rock style chorus, whilst Formaldehyde has The Killers written all over it.
Sugar is by far the most interesting track on the record with it’s multi-layered soundscape, muddy bass-line, bittersweet lyrics (“It breaks my heart to love you”) and the gradual build towards an agitated but fantastic guitar and strings solo.
This well-constructed record proved Editors haven’t lost their touch when it comes to big choruses, huge vocals and intriguing misery.
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Do you like the album? Let us know by tweeting us at @milocostudios
Posted in European Recording Studios, London Recording Studios, Miloco Clients, Mixing Studios, New Albums, Record Producers, Tracking Studios, UK Recording Studios, Uncategorized | Tagged Craig Silvey, Editors, flood, Indie music, Miloco, Miloco Recording studios, Producers, The Weight of Your Love |
Released today, Tom Odell’s debut album, Long Way Down, has already sparked much controversy in the music world. Since appearing on the Later…With Jools Holland show, he went on to win the 2013 Critic’s Choice Award and was the first male to do so, too. So it’s fair to say Odell has a lot riding on this record.
So does the record justify all the hype? Well, it’s clear that Odell falls neatly into a pre-existing category of melancholic pop; the ‘Other Listeners Bought..’ section on iTunes placing him alongside the likes of Ben Howard, newcomer, Luke Sital-Singh and Lucy Rose. But that’s not a bad thing. Producer Dan Grech-Marguerat (Keane) was obviously the perfect choice for this record, blending clunky piano chords with Odell’s swelling vocals and rich textural harmonies created by gospel choirs and backing vocals.
Album opener, Grow Old With Me, is perhaps the most uplifting track, brooding and endearing with lyrics placing Tom much wiser than his twenty-two years. Hold Me features Odell’s famed piano comping, utilising his well known influences of Elton John, making this a real stadium-worthy track. Another Love, initially released as part of the Another Love EP, takes a confessional stance. Slowly building emotion with delicate and almost broken vocals, driving percussion and haunting backing vocals emerge like an epiphany, creating the final rousing chorus.
Supposed To Be is a true soul track, with references (whether intended or not) to Lionel Richie’s Easy mimicked in the chord structure. It’s a reminder that Odell has real potential, even if it hasn’t fully been realised here, yet. Title track, Long Way Down, is scattered with subtle nuances of Jeff Buckley; vulnerable and pain stricken – it’s easy to see why such comparisons have been made. Till I Lost is a prime example of what Tom Odell does best in this record; booming, heartfelt vocals (usually made up of numerous Ohh ohh ohh’s), big choruses and stomping piano and drums. But it’s not just Odell’s playing that stands out, his songwriting is superb, too. Mature, frank and highly relatable, with lines like “I shouldn’t say it, but I’m starting to think I care
I’ve had a drink, you probably think my judgement is impaired“, from the track Hold Me; a feel good sing-along with a hint of 90’s about it.
Critics have dubbed it ‘too focused’, ‘bogus’ and said Odell is ‘yet to prove his range’, but as first albums go, he’s got nothing to worry about. Throughout the swathes of passion, heartache and pain, this is a great album, but anyone lucky enough to catch him live will truly witness Tom Odell at his best.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/84833050″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Recorded and produced by Dan Grech-Marguerat at Miloco’s The Square and The Bridge and mixed at Miloco’s Engine Room.
So what do you think of the album? Join the conversation on our Twitter page @milocostudios.
Posted in London Recording Studios, Miloco Clients, New Albums, Record Producers, Tracking Studios, UK Recording Studios, Uncategorized | Tagged Debut, Long Way Down, Miloco, New Album Release, tom odell |
123 Recording Studio in Shoreditch East London, home to producer Brett Shaw, has announced it has acquired two new fantastic Tonelux EQ5Ps.
Taken from the Tonelux Website:
The EQ5P is a DISCRETE Parametric Equalizer with some very unique features. Notice that the panel has no Q control. The filter Q control is in relation to the Boost and Cut control, and uses a “Constant Energy Curve” or known as “Proportional Q” that keeps the bandwidth wider at lower boost or cut levels and becomes narrow at higher boost or cut levels. This is musically pleasing. The curve is identical to many classic equalizers and is one of the reasons they are preferred over newer designs. When the PEAK button pressed, the 3 yellow “peak” buttons keep the width at a constant 1/3 octave for more precision control.
The High Frequency has a Shelving button instead of a Peak button. Since the Constant Energy Curve is so broad in the lower frequencies, there is no need for a low frequency shelf button.
With 4 bands of controls, each of the lower 2 have slightly different frequencies, allowing the lower band to go to 16 Hz, and the upper 2 bands are identical. The IN button is a silent IN/OUT button that does not bypass the unit, but it bypasses the filters.
The “INPUT” of the V4 is the normal EQ input, at a +4 dBu level. The “INSERT RETURN” input is a padded down input, making the nominal level +10 instead of +4. This can be used when the input level going into the EQ is too hot.
Find out everything you need to know about 123 Studios by clicking here.
Posted in London Recording Studios, Recording Studio Equipment, Tracking Studios, UK Recording Studios, Writing Studios | Tagged 123 recording studio, brett shaw, london, shoreditch, tonelux eq5p |
We have a brand new studio in a brand new location to tell you about this June. Summerfield Studios is based in Birmingham, and we are pleased to have partnered with the owner Phil Croft and his team to offer another great studio in a new UK city.
Summerfield Studios was formed out of Phil’s vision to create a comfortable and creative studio atmosphere, combined with a top-end acoustic quality and an ever-growing selection of excellent recording studio gear. As the only facility in this part of the UK to join Miloco so far, we believe we have a first-of-its-kind Birmingham recording studio that offers the city’s music scene something different to before.
This is a beautifully-crafted space with brilliant acoustics. A 48 sq m live room yields all sorts of interesting sounds, and the studio’s control room is an extremely accurate mix environment. The studio also comprises an overdub booth, echo chamber and chill out room. The entire facility looks great thanks to a top-to-bottom aesthetic refurb. Much attention has been paid to lighting, decor and furniture, amongst other things.
Summerfield’s various spaces are complemented by an ever-growing collection of recording studio equipment. The spec is currently centered around a Soundtracs Jade console, a choice of outboard and plug-ins, plus a very good collection of guitars synths, pedals, amps and drums (there are two kits).
Located on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre, Summerfield is well located for main transport routes, making it great for Birmingham-based artists, however it is also within reach for bands and producers located in other cities around the UK.
Find out everything you need to know about Summerfield Studios by visiting www.miloco.co.uk/summerfield. To make an enquiry contact bookings@miloco.co.uk or call +44 (0)207 232 0008.
We’re kicking off this summer with the latest news from Miloco Builds, our internationally acclaimed recording studio design, construction and analysis service.
We have redesigned the entire Miloco Builds website, found at www.milocobuilds.com. It now has a brand new look and layout for a much-improved user experience. You can find all sorts of useful content on the studio design and construction work we do for many different producers, engineers and musicians, which includes recording studio design and builds, audio installations, acoustic analysis, and custom-made acoustic panels and recording studio furniture.
There are numerous profiles on all of the work we have completed, including projects for artists such as Pnau, Matt Johnson (The The) and Calvin Harris; producers Stephen Street, Ben Hillier and Andy Whitmore; leading London post-production house SNK Studios, and many other diverse and interesting clients. Click here to view them all, and to view a photo gallery of all our finished studios, click here.
You can also read up on all Miloco Builds news, which includes the most recent and current projects we are working on. Lately, we have been busy constructing eight dry hire studios in Farringdon and carrying out a beautiful rebuild of a room that used to be part of the famous Lansdowne Studios in West London. The team has also been refurbishing a state-of-the-art mastering suite in one of the World’s most famous recording studios (based in London), and we are about to begin building a private facility in Bermondsey including a recording studio and live room. Click here to view all of our recent news stories.
If you are looking to build a recording studio, or carry out work on an exisiting one, we want to hear from you! As you can see by from the website, out team of studio build experts are hugely experienced in all sorts of construction, analysis and installation work. If you want to enquire after our services, please contact hello@milocobuilds.com or call +44 (0) 207 232 0008. We look forward to hearing from you.
Images courtesy of Andy Whitmore (www.andywhitmore.com) and SNK Studios (www.snkstudios.co.uk)
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