London – The Music Metropolis (Part 2)

After we dealt with music business statistics, famous artists and important music companies in the first article of the two-part blog series, we will now focus on locations where you can perfectly produce your music. This includes recording and mastering studios but also distributors to release your finished product. In the end, I will give you some updates regarding AlbrechtProductions.

Music Studios

Recording Studios

Metropolis Studios - The Power House, 70 Chiswick High Rd, London W4 1SY, United Kingdom

Studio A (Live room): SSL 9072 J Series console, PMC QB1 main monitoring
Studio B (Live room): SSL 4064 G series console, Genelec 1236 main monitoring
Studio C (Overdubs, mixing): Neve VR 72, PMC BB5/XBD active main monitoring system
Studio E (Surround, sound-to-pictures): SSL XL 9072 K Series Console, PMC BB5/XBD/MB1 active 5.1 main monitoring system

Credits: Queen, Michael Jackson, U2, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, will.i.am, The Stone Roses, Lauryn Hill, The Verve, Adele, Rihanna and many more.

Abbey Road Studios - 3 Abbey Rd, London NW8 9AY, United Kingdom

Studio One: AMS NEVE 88RS, Bowers & Wilkins 800D
Studio Two: AMS NEVE 88RS, Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus 801
Studio Three: SSL 9000J, Bowers & Wilkins 800D, Quested Q412 System
The Gatehouse: AMS Neve 16 fader BCM10/2 Mk2, Focal SM9 monitoring
The Front Room: SSL 24 fader Duality delta, ATC SCM25A monitoring
Penthouse Studio: Pro Tools Avid S6 Mixing Console, Bower & Wilkins 800D

Credits: Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Adele, John Legend, Sam Smith, Frank Ocean, Amy Winehouse, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding and many more.

The Church Studios - 145H Crouch Hill, London N8 9QH, United Kingdom

Studio 1: EMI Neve 72 Channels, Acoustic Energy AE22, Barefoot MicroMain27 Nearfield Monitors
Studio 2: SSL 4000G, Augspurger Monitors Custom made with horn compression drivers 4x 14" drivers and 4x 18" subs
Studio 3: Neve 20-Channel Sidecar, Barefoot MicroMain27 Nearfield Monitors

Credits: Bob Dylan, Depeche Mode, Jamie Lidell, Radiohead, Tom Jones, U2, Usher, Kanye West, Tom Jones and many more.

Livingston Studios - 1 Brook Rd, Wood Green, London N22 6TR, United Kingdom

Studio 1: SSL SL4072 G Series, Augspurger Duo 12 SUB18-3A 3 Way Monitors, Barefoot MicroMain27 Nearfield Monitors
Studio 2: Neve Custom Series 75 Console, Augspurger Duo 8 Active 3 way monitors, Genelec 1031A

Credits: The 1975, Incognito, Jamie Cullum, Kanye West, Olly Murs, Sam Smith, Muse, Plan B, Shakira, Clean Bandit, Die Toten Hosen and many more.

Dean Street Studios - 59 Dean St, Soho, London W1D 6AN, United Kingdom

Studio 1: SSL Duality, ATC SCM50ASL Pro

Credits: Adele, Ed Sheeran, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Cee Lo Green, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Miguel, Take That and many more.

Air Studios - Lyndhurst Hall, Lyndhurst Rd, Hampstead, London NW3 5NG, United Kingdom

Lyndhurst Hall: Neve 88R, custom Dynaudio 5.1 system
Studio 1: Custom vintage Neve/Focusrite desk, Dynaudio Custom M4 Main Monitors LCR, Dynaudio BM15
Studio 2: SSL 8000G, Dynaudio M4 Main Monitors
Studio 3: AMS DFC Gemini, Dynaudio M4 Main Monitors LCR, Dynaudio BM15 Surround

Credits: Jamiroquai, Katy Perry, Adele, Mumford & Sons, Don Broco, Coldplay, Muse, Paul McCartney, Mark Ronson, Jessie J, Black Eyed Peas, Ellie Goulding, James Morrison, James Blunt, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Robbie Williams, U2, Michael Buble, Jamie Cullum, George Michael and many more.

RAK Studios - 42-52 Charlbert St, London NW8 7BU, United Kingdom

Studio 1: API console, Genelec 1032A , KRK V8
Studio 2: API console, Genelec 1032A , KRK V8
Studio 3: Neve VR Legend, Dynaudio Acoustics M3A, KRK V8
Studio 4: SSL 4056 E, Genelec 1032A , KRK V8

Credits: Paul McCartney, The Who, Sting, Pink Floyd, The Police, Radiohead, Simply Red, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Status Quo, Ed Sheeran, Level 42, Sam Smith, Shakira, Frank Ocean, Mary J. Blige, Nile Rodgers, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Tinie Tempah and many more.

Angel Recording Studios - 311-312 Upper St, London N1 2TU, United Kingdom

Studio 1: AMS Neve 88RS, Meyer X-10 5.1 monitoring
Studio 2: Euphonix System 5 digital console, M&K 5.1 monitoring
Studio 3: Neve VXS, ATC 5.1 monitoring

Credits: Adele, Sam Smith, Tom Jones, Snow Patrol, Kylie Minogue, Lisa Stansfield, Eric Clapton, Enrique Iglesias, Zucchero, James Blunt, Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Melanie C, Incognito, Seal, Eros Ramazzotti, Leona Lewis and many more.

Mastering Studios

Although we know from the first article of this series what a huge amount of global super stars were grown in London and work there every day, the credits of the studios are still stunning! The following will list you some of the most popular mastering studios in London.

Metropolis Mastering - 70 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick, London W4 1SY, United Kingdom

Metropolis Mastering is the home of several multi-award winning mastering engineers who collected an extensive list of credits including Amy Winehouse, U2, Adele, Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, The Beatles, Lorde, Sam Smith, Take That, Lana Del Rey, The Rolling Stones, Duffy and many more...

Metropolis isn’t just Europe’s #1 independent professional recording studio, nor just home to the best mastering engineers in the world.[...]

Abbey Road Mastering - 3 Abbey Rd, London NW8 9AY, United Kingdom

Of course, Abbey Road also offers a high-quality mastering service with an excellent portfolio.

Credits: The Kooks, Paul Mccartney, Radiohead, Marvin Gaye, Duke Dumont, U2, The Beatles, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Coldplay, Abba, Dire Straits, Kylie Minogue, Amy Winehouse, Frank Sinatra, The Police, Phil Collins, Iggy Azalea, Queen, Ramones, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Sex Pistols, ...

Alchemy Mastering - 10 Barb Mews, London W6 7PA, United Kingdom

Credits: Donna Summer, Lisa Stansfield, Motörhead, Status Quo, Craig David, David Bowie, Gorillaz, Madonna, Radiohead, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Coldplay, George Michael, Muse, ...

Unity Mastering - Mildrose Court, 16-19 Malvern Mews, London NW6 5PT, United Kingdom

Credits: (CD/digital) Jay Sean, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Sugababes, R. Kelly, Tom Jones, The Prodigy, Brand New Heavies, (vinyl) Rammstein, Madonna, Akon, Linking Park, ...

Fluid Mastering - Ravenscourt Studios, 66 Paddenswick Rd, London W6 0UB, United Kingdom

Credits: Bastille, Seal, Mumford & Sons, Bo Saris, The Vamps, Lily Allen, Elvis Presley, Amy McDonald, ...

The Airlab - 15 Oakhill, Claygate, Esher KT10 0TG, United Kingdom

Credits: DJ Premier, Diplo, ...

Distributors

To be able to sell the produced music in stores (especially digital) and make it streamable on Spotify and others, an adequate distributor is needed. Needless to say that London is hosting such companies.

The Orchard - 20-23 Greville St, London EC1N 8SS, United Kingdom

The Orchard with the headquarter in New York is represented in 27 countries by its employees and is specialised in the distribution of digital music and video. The company collaborates with independent artists and labels and was founded in 1997. Since March 2015, The Orchard is a full subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment.

Believe Digital UK - 5ab, Ct, Union 6JP, Union Rd, London SW4, United Kingdom

The French company Believe Music is the leading distributor of digital music in Europe for independent artists and labels. The company was founded in 2005 and acquired the New York-based distribution service TuneCore in April 2015. Jointly, both companies represent 25 to 30% of the new music uploaded to iTunes each day. TuneCore's artist community has made over $836 million in revenue and sold over 57.3 billion total downloads and streams since TuneCore launched in 2006.

Credits: Drake, The Civil Wars, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, Keith Richards, Public Enemy, Willie Nelson, Donna Summer, MGM Studios, ...

Ditto Music - Bloomfield Rooms Palace, Bishop's Ave, Fulham, London SW6 6EA, United Kingdom

Ditto Music has its headquarter in Liverpool and was founded in 2005. The private company with 51 employees, for now, has achieved 11 UK Top 40 hits with unsigned artists and realised over 6,000 record label foundations. In August 2015, Ditto Music launched "Record Label in a Box", a product containing the digital and physical tools needed to set up and run an independent record label.

Credits: Royal Blood, James Arthur, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The Backstreet Boys, Izzy Bizu, Ed Sheeran, ...

AlbrechtProductions News

Unfortunately, I have to announce that the work on the "Von Berg" EP production had to be prematurely terminated because of dissensions within the band. This happened in the later mixdown phase. Therefore there will not be further articles and general news about it anymore. What a pity! However, let us see what will be next up... ;)