| Founded | 1965 in London, England |
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| Founders |
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| Website | www |
Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, [1] after their departure from Parlophone. [2] The studio complex was founded in 1969. Since then AIR has operated its own professional audio recording facilities, AIR Studios. [2]
AIR's first facility opened on 6 October 1970. It was located on the fourth floor of 214 Oxford Street, at Oxford Circus, containing four studios and (later) a MIDI programming room. The facility included two large studios (one 58×32 feet, the other 30×28 feet) and two small ones. The studios contained two Bösendorfer pianos, many soundproof booths, and a 56-channel mixing console, custom-designed by Neve Electronics to AIR's specification. [2]
AIR London became popular in the 1970s for spoken word recordings. [3] It also became one of the most in-demand music studios in London by 1973. [4]
Martin had a residence at Olveston House in Salem on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. [5] In 1979, the company built a recording studio on Montserrat near Martin's home. [6] AIR Montserrat ( 16°44′28″N62°12′53″W / 16.74111°N 62.21472°W ) opened in July 1979. The first band to record there were Climax Blues Band with their Real to Reel album.
Jimmy Buffett recorded Volcano at the Montserrat studio in May 1979, naming the album and its title song for the then dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island. Elton John recorded three albums at the Montserrat studio in the 1980s. Dire Straits recorded their hugely successful Brothers in Arms album at the studio between 1984 and 1985. Amongst other well-known studio clients [7] were: the Police ( Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity ), Earth, Wind & Fire, [8] Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (pre-recorded Junk Culture ), Paul McCartney, Gerry Rafferty, Rush, the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Midge Ure, Little River Band, Duran Duran, Sheena Easton and Luther Vandross.
Equipment-wise, as of 1979 the studio consisted of a 46-channel Neve console, a pair of MCI 24-track recorders, three Ampex ATR-102 stereo machines and an MCI synchronizer (for any 46-track work), with JBL and Tannoy monitors. [9]
In 1986, the studio equipment list read, in part:
Recently refurbished control room now featuring 60 channels by SSL with automation and TR and 12 fully integrated channels by Rupert Neve of Focusrite, two 32track Mitsubishi X850 digital machines and 24track Studer A800. Digital mixing on two Mitsubishi X86. Very comprehensive ancillary equipment list.
In 1989, shortly after the Rolling Stones had recorded their Steel Wheels album there, Hurricane Hugo devastated the island but the Montserrat studio facility sustained only minor damage. The studio was never reopened, mainly due to changes in the recording industry.
According to George Martin, [10]
Before we came to Montserrat there was no western music to speak of on the island. Building AIR meant that many leading recording artists came to stay. It cast its spell on them as they mingled with the local people. It was, and still is, a unique place... But after ten great years of recording there the music business had changed fundamentally. The moguls running the business no longer wanted their artists miles away, outside their control. That happened to coincide with the immense devastation caused by the hurricane and sadly the studios had to close. The people of Montserrat are still very proud of the work that was done at AIR Studios.
The abandoned studio buildings were still standing as of 2021, but have been long neglected and have fallen into dereliction; their roofs are failing, leading to extensive damage to the floors of the accommodation area and the inner part of the studio complex, making them unsafe to walk on. The facility is now a modern ruin and is closed to the public. Olveston House operates as a guest house. [6] [11]
The 2021 Australian documentary film Under the Volcano interviews more than a dozen major artists and technicians who worked in the studio during the 1980s, and also includes archival narration and commentary by George Martin. [12]
In 1991, with the lease on the Oxford Street premises coming to an end, AIR Studios took over Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church, a Grade II listed building designed in 1880 by Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse and located in the Hampstead suburb of north London. The space was revamped as a recording facility and opened for business in December 1992. AIR Lyndhurst is now a key London facility for classical and popular recordings, as well as film scores, television post-production, and dialogue, sound effects and music for video games. Spitfire Audio has recorded many of its digital audio samples here. Employees include Olga Fitzroy. [13]
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about 16 km (10 mi) long and 11 km (7 mi) wide, with roughly 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. It is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants. Montserrat is the only non-fully sovereign full member of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
Sir George Henry Martin was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatles' original albums. Martin's formal musical expertise and interest in novel recording practices facilitated the group's rudimentary musical education and desire for new musical sounds to record. Most of their orchestral and string arrangements were written by Martin, and he played piano or keyboards on a number of their records. Their collaborations resulted in popular, highly acclaimed records with innovative sounds, such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band—the first rock album to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995.
Mark Freuder Knopfler is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1988, and from 1990 to 1995. He pursued a solo career after the band dissolved, and is now an independent artist.
Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 9 June 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album features the hit single "Sultans of Swing", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached the top of the album charts in Germany, Australia and France, number 2 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. Dire Straits was later certified double platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) respectively.
Communiqué is the second studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 5 June 1979 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album featured the single "Lady Writer," which reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 51 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number one on album charts in Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden, number 11 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. Communiqué was later certified gold in the United States, platinum in the United Kingdom and double-platinum in France.
Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 13 May 1985 through Vertigo Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It is credited with being the first album in history to sell over one million copies in CD format.
On Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 9 September 1991 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The follow-up to the band's massively successful album Brothers in Arms, On Every Street reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and was also certified platinum by the RIAA.
"Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put in rotation on BBC Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band's eponymous debut album.
Power Station at BerkleeNYC is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City originally founded in 1977 as Power Station and known as Avatar Studios from 1996 to 2017. Renowned for its exceptional acoustics, the studio has been the site of hundreds of gold, platinum, and Grammy-winning recordings.
The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since. Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations: about two-thirds of the population have left the island. Chances Peak in the Soufrière Hills was the highest summit on Montserrat until the mid-1990s, but it has since been eclipsed by various rising and falling volcanic domes during the recent volcanic activity.
The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. Since 1969, The Hit Factory recording studios have existed in six different locations in New York City as well as facilities in London and Miami. Today the studios are located at 676 Broadway in the Noho neighborhood of New York City.
The Neve 8078 was the last of the "80 series" hand-wired analogue mixing consoles designed and manufactured by Neve Electronics, founded in 1961 by the English electronics engineer Rupert Neve, for high-end recording studios during the 1970s. Some were custom built for major studios like CBS Sony.
Basing Street Studios was a recording studio in a former 17th century chapel at 8–10 Basing Street, in Notting Hill, London, England. Originally established in 1969 as Island Studios by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, the studio's location also housed the offices for Island Records from 1969 until 1973, and was renamed Basing Street Studios in 1975. Island/Basing Street Studios produced many notable recordings in the 1970s from artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Traffic, and Dire Straits. In 1982, the studios were acquired by Sarm Studio owners Jill Sinclair and her husband, producer Trevor Horn in 1982, and renamed Sarm West.
Wessex Sound Studios was a recording studio located at 106a Highbury New Park, London, England. Many renowned popular music artists recorded there, including King Crimson, Queen, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Pete Townshend and the Pretenders. The property was sold to a residential development company in 2003.
"Volcano" is a song performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was written by Jimmy Buffett, Keith Sykes, and Harry Dailey and released as a single on MCA 41161 in November 1979. The song was first released on his 1979 album Volcano and reached No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as peaking at No. 43 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
Music for Montserrat was a benefit concert held on 15 September 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall. The event was organised by Sir George Martin, former producer for The Beatles and founder of Associated Independent Recording, to raise funds for the Caribbean island of Montserrat after a major volcanic eruption by the Soufrière Hills volcano earlier that year.
Paul Moak is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Salem is the most populous town in Montserrat, a British overseas territory in the West Indies, situated on the western coast of the island, in St Peter Parish.
Under the Volcano is a 2021 music documentary film by Australian filmmaker Gracie Otto. Centered on a 1980s recording studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the film features renowned 1970s–80s musicians such as Sting, Nick Rhodes, Jimmy Buffett, Verdine White, Tony Iommi and Stewart Copeland.
