Nemo Studios

Nemo Studios was a recording studio in London, planned, built and used by Greek composer Vangelis between 1975 and 1987. ^[1] Numerous highlights of Vangelis' career were composed in Nemo, including soundtracks for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner , and Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire (the soundtrack for which he won an Oscar).

Vangelis' equipment included more than 20 synthesizers and acoustic keyboard instruments, ^[1] as well as numerous percussion instruments.

The studio was located on the second floor of the former Hampden Gurney Primary School building. ^[2] Brian Jackson (actor) owned and ran several TV production and international distribution companies from his photographic, film & recording studios at the Hampden Gurney Studios ^[3] complex near Marble Arch. ^[4] The building no longer exists. ^[4]

Equipment

In the 1982 Keyboard magazine interview several instruments were noted: a Minimoog, Yamaha CS-40M synthesiser, Roland CSQ-100 digital sequencer, Yamaha CP-80 electric grand, Roland Compuphonic synthesiser, modified vintage Fender Rhodes electric piano, CSQ-600 digital sequencer, Roland VP-330 vocoder / string machine, Roland CR-5000 Compurhythm, Yamaha CS-80 synthesiser, E-mu Emulator, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Prophet-10, Simmons SDS-V drum machine, Linn LM-1 drum computer, Roland Jupiter-4, nine-foot Steinway grand piano, Yamaha GS-2, 24-track Quad-8 Pacifica mixing console, and an RSF one-octave Blackbox synthesiser. There were also three timpani, a trap drum set, and rows of gongs, chimes, and exotic bells. ^[5]

References

1. Richard Clews. Inside the Synth Lab, in Sound on Sound , November 1997 issue.
   • Available online.
   • https://www.soundonsound.com/people/vangelis-recording-nemo-studios
   • 20 Hampden Gurney Street, London, United Kingdom
   • https://media.bladezone.com/contents/film/production/soundtrack/vangelis/
   • https://www.tonybarrell.com/vangelis-in-wonderland/
   • https://www.hampdengurneyschool.co.uk/about-us/the-annunciation-marble-arch/
   • https://www.bdp.com/en/projects/f-l/hampden-gurney-school/
   • https://betweenrecords.com/products/february-papers
   • https://talltalesfromthetrees.blogspot.com/2012/11/rev-john-hampden-gurney-1802-1862-and.html
2. NemoStudios.co.uk. Portrait of a studio. Retrieved 8 April 2010 Available online.
3. • https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jul/27/brian-jackson-obituary
   • https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jul/27/brian-jackson-obituary
4. Wolfgang Fenchel. Captain Nemo's Musical Odysseys Part 1, in Neumusik Vol. 5, August 1981.
   • Available online.
   • https://web.archive.org/web/20231102002443/http://vangeliscollector.com/neumusik_5.htm
5. Bob Doerschuk (November 1982), "Oscar-winning Synthesist", Keyboard , retrieved 22 August 2016

External links

• NemoStudios.co.uk - A tribute to the Nemo Studios, includes history, instruments, equipment, photographs.
• Nemo Studios' floorplan Circa 1982 with photographs.
• Studio photo gallery at Elsewhere.com, photographs of Vangelis' studios including Nemo Studios, at the Elsewhere fan site
• Vangelis: Recording the Future, a compilation of Sound on Sound and Recording World Magazine interviews, featuring photographs and a floor plan of the studio.

51°30′54″N0°09′42″W / 51.5149°N 0.1617°W / 51.5149; -0.1617