Sound Techniques

Last updated

Sound Techniques was a recording studio in Chelsea, London that was operational between 1965 and 1976. Housed in a former dairy, it was founded by recording engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood. The studio became well known as the place where many of the folk-rock acts signed to Joe Boyd's Witchseason publishing company, such as Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and John Martyn, recorded their albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but it was also the studio where early records by Pink Floyd, Elton John and Jethro Tull were made.

Contents

History

Geoff Frost and John Wood had both been working at Levy's Sound Studio in the centre of London. When studio owner Morris Levy sold the studio in 1964, the pair decided that they would start their own studio. Frost left Levy's in September 1964 and began looking for premises for the studio while the pair raised funds to start the company. They registered the name of the company in December 1964, with Wood explaining to Sound on Sound magazine in 2008 where the name came from:

"Geoff rang me up from Peter Godfrey's office, who was our solicitor, saying, 'We've got to have a name for the company!', and I'm sitting in the control room at Levy's, and there's a Pultec on the rack and an Altec compressor and I see Pulse Techniques underneath Pultec so I said, 'Well, what about Sotec or Sound Techniques?' and that's literally where our name came from. And it was a great name!" [1]

Frost eventually found a property that had been a former dairy located at 46a Old Church Street, Chelsea, London, with both the first and second floors available to lease. Wood left Levy's and the pair knocked out the middle of the second floor to obtain a high ceiling from the first floor in the centre of the room, and created a workshop and a control room from the two remaining sections of the second floor, both accessed via stairways from the first floor. With a limited budget, Wood and Frost designed and built most of the equipment themselves, utilising Frost's experience as chief engineer at Levy's. The studio opened its doors for business in mid-1965. [1]

In addition to building the mixing desk at Sound Techniques, Frost and his team (including engineer Vernon Morris) manufactured desks for other studios such as the Music Centre and Trident Studios. The early desks were made in the workshop above the Sound Techniques recording studio, and whenever recording was in progress a red light would go on in the workshop and work would stop. In 1969 manufacturing would move to a mass production facility at a small factory in Mildenhall, Suffolk. [2]

Sound Techniques gained a reputation for the sound it could obtain for string sections, following a commission from composer Philip Green. The studio also began to gain regular work from Elektra Records, and Wood became friends with Elektra's UK office manager, Joe Boyd. When Boyd started his Witchseason production company and signed with Island Records, many of his artists also recorded at Sound Techniques, notably Nick Drake and Fairport Convention (and the subsequent records made by the group's former members such as Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny). [1]

Other acts also recorded at Sound Techniques in their early days before finding fame. The first two singles by Pink Floyd, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", were both recorded at Sound Techniques in 1967. [3] Jethro Tull's debut album This Was was recorded at Sound Techniques in 1968. [4] In 1970 during his early career as a session musician, Elton John recorded an album of songs written by the artists on Witchseason, as an attempt to make them more widely known through a more commercial style. [5]

The studio closed in 1976 when the lease on the building ran out and Frost and Wood were unable to purchase the property due to lack of funds. [6]

A documentary film about the studio, provisionally titled The Parts You Don't Hear and directed by Neil Innes and Nick Turner, is due for release in 2023.

Partial list of artists who recorded at Sound Techniques

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Mattacks</span> English drummer

David James Mattacks is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Drake</span> English singer-songwriter (1948–1974)

Nicholas Rodney Drake was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognition following his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jethro Tull (band)</span> British rock band

Jethro Tull are a British rock band formed in Luton, Bedfordshire, in 1967. Initially playing blues rock and jazz fusion, the band soon incorporated elements of English folk music, hard rock and classical music, forging a signature progressive rock sound. The group's lead vocalist, bandleader, founder, principal composer and only constant member is Ian Anderson, who also plays flute and acoustic guitar. The group has featured a succession of musicians throughout the decades, including significant contributors such as guitarists Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre ; bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, John Glascock, Dave Pegg and Jonathan Noyce; drummers Clive Bunker, Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and Doane Perry; and keyboardists John Evan, Dee Palmer, Peter-John Vettese and Andrew Giddings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Pegg</span> English bass guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and record producer (born 1947)

David Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk and rock groups including the Ian Campbell Folk Group and Jethro Tull.

<i>Benefit</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Jethro Tull

Benefit is the third studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in April 1970. It was the first Tull album to include pianist and organist John Evan – though he was not yet considered a permanent member of the group – and the last to include bass guitarist Glenn Cornick, who was fired from the band upon completion of touring for the album. It was recorded at Morgan Studios, the same studio where the band recorded its previous album Stand Up; however, they experimented with more advanced recording techniques.

<i>Songs from the Wood</i> 1977 studio album by Jethro Tull

Songs from the Wood is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 11 February 1977 by Chrysalis Records. The album is considered to be the first of three folk rock albums released by the band at the end of the 1970s: Songs from the Wood,Heavy Horses (1978) and Stormwatch (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Boyd</span> American record producer and writer

Joe Boyd is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band, R.E.M., Vashti Bunyan, John and Beverley Martyn, Maria Muldaur, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Billy Bragg, James Booker, 10,000 Maniacs, and Muzsikás. He was also one of the founders of the highly influential nightclub venue UFO.

<i>Pink Moon</i> 1972 studio album by Nick Drake

Pink Moon is the third and final studio album by the English musician Nick Drake, released in the UK by Island Records on 25 February 1972. It was the only one of Drake's studio albums to be released in North America during his lifetime. Pink Moon differs from Drake's previous albums in that it was recorded without a backing band, featuring just Drake on vocals, acoustic guitar and a brief piano riff overdubbed onto the title track.

<i>The Broadsword and the Beast</i> 1982 studio album by Jethro Tull

The Broadsword and the Beast is the 14th studio album by rock band Jethro Tull, released in April 1982 by Chrysalis Records. The album's musical style features a cross between the dominant synthesizer sound of the 1980s and the folk-influenced style that Jethro Tull used in the previous decade. As such, the band's characteristic acoustic instrumentation is augmented by electronic soundscapes. The electronic aspects of this album would be explored further by the band on their next album, Under Wraps (1984), as well as on Ian Anderson's solo album Walk into Light (1983).

<i>Five Leaves Left</i> 1969 studio album by Nick Drake

Five Leaves Left is the debut studio album by English folk musician Nick Drake. Recorded between 1968 and 1969, it was released in 1969 by Island Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstellar Overdrive</span> 1967 instrumental by Pink Floyd

"Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by Pink Floyd. The song was written in 1966 and is on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, clocking in at almost ten minutes in length. It features long sections of free-form instrumental improvisation reflective of the group's live performances.

<i>Changing Horses</i> (Incredible String Band album) 1969 studio album by the Incredible String Band

Changing Horses is the fifth album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, the Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in November 1969 on Elektra Records. The album saw the group continuing their use of unique instruments while integrating a standard musical structure. In addition, the album is seen as a transitional period in which the ISB shifted in musical textures, including early utilization of electric-based instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Kowalski</span> American drummer, percussionist, musicologist (born 1944)

Mike Kowalski is an American drummer, percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as a longtime touring and session drummer for the rock band the Beach Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Church Street</span> Street in London, England

Old Church Street is a street in London, England in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Sky</span> Song by Nick Drake

"Northern Sky" is a song from the English singer-songwriter Nick Drake's 1971 album Bryter Layter, produced by Joe Boyd. During the recording sessions for the album, the chronically shy and withdrawn songwriter formed a friendship and a mentorship of sorts with producer Joe Boyd, an early supporter of Drake. Boyd saw commercial potential in the acoustic and unaccompanied demo version of the song, and recruited former Velvet Underground member John Cale as producer. Cale added piano, organ and celesta arrangements, initially against Drake's wishes.

John Wood is an English sound engineer and producer, best known for his work with Fairport Convention, John Martyn, Cat Stevens, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, the Incredible String Band, Pink Floyd, Nico and Squeeze.

Morgan Studios was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, Yes, Black Sabbath, Donovan, Joan Armatrading, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, UFO and many more. Morgan sold its studios in the early 1980s, with some of its studios succeeded by Battery Studios.

Dee Palmer is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980.

John Burns is a British recording engineer best known for his credits with noted bands of the 1970s including Jethro Tull, Clouds, Genesis, John Martyn and reggae acts Burning Spear, Delroy Washington, Jimmy Cliff and Toots & The Maytals.

<i>Bumpers</i> (album) 1970 compilation album by Various Artists

Bumpers is a double sampler album from Island Records, released in Europe and Australasia in 1970; there were minor variations in track listings within Europe but the Australian release was fundamentally different. The title refers to the basketball-style shoes on the front of the album cover and to the meaning "unusually large, abundant or excellent". The album is left to present itself: there are no sleeve notes; the gatefold interior consists of a photograph showing publicity shots of the featured acts attached to the stump of a tree on a seemingly wet and gloomy day, without any identification. This image is flanked on each side by the track listings, but even there, the information given is unreliable. Unlike its predecessors You Can All Join In and Nice Enough To Eat, there are no credits for cover art. [It was in fact by Tony Wright - his first sleeve for Island.] The English version of the album came out in two pressings, first with the pink label and "i" logo, and later with the palm motif on a white background and pink rim, each version with some minor variations in the production of individual tracks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frost, Matt (October 2008). "Studio Stories: Sound Techniques". Sound on Sound . Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Massey, Howard (2015). "Other Important Studios of the Era: Sound Techniques". The Great British Recording Studios. Hal Leonard Books. ISBN   978-1-4584-2197-5.
  3. ↑ Pinnock, Tom (December 2016). "Pink Floyd: their secrets unlocked!". Uncut . No. 235.
  4. ↑ Perrone, Pierre (9 September 2014). "Glenn Cornick: Bassist whose solid yet supple playing helped to crystallise the sound and direction of Jethro Tull" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Doyle, Tom (2017). "A Well-Known Gun". Captain Fantastic: Elton John's Stellar Trip Through the '70s. Ballantine Books. p. 53. ISBN   978-1-1018-8418-8.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Max (22 June 2012). "The house that rocked". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 20 June 2018.

51°29′04″N0°10′20″W / 51.484341°N 0.172102°W / 51.484341; -0.172102


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.