Sydney Recording Studio, Crash Symphony Productions, is definitely a lovely place to Record. It’s not the only place to record! I’ve spent the last two weeks travelling around America recording with some of the biggest names in American music history. One studio that stood out was Imaginary Rd Studio. This is a historic recording studio that is the epicentre of the New Age genre of music. Don’t mention that to them.
The Difference in a Recording Studio
Unlike our Sydney Recording Studio, Imaginary Rd is located in the remote woods of Vermont. That’s a long four-hour drive north of New York City. It’s an inconspicuous exterior when you arrive. The studio is build on the side of a large hill, or mountain, amongst some of the USA’s most beautiful countryside with tall trees of all different colours. At the time that I write this it is just on fall and the range of colours that can be observed is absolutely breath taking. It is an overwhelming display of natural beauty that is sure to inspire any creative type before they even step into the recording studio.
Imaginary Rd and Will Ackerman
The recording studio, Imaginary Rd, is the centre of activity for the famous New Age label, Windham Hill. The label was founded by legendary, mulit- Grammy Award winning producer, Will Ackerman. Will is known for his incredible natural intuition in the recording studio. He brings intense emotion to the albums that he makes and manages to find the best in all his artists.
Unlike our Sydney Recording Studio, Imaginary Rd has been built almost entirely with wood. In fact, it was Will (with his love of carpentry) that created the studio and all its interior acoustic beauty. The windows of the recording studio overlook the colourful trees and wildlife that characterise the countryside in Windham Hill, Vermont.
What leads to work overseas?
So what was I doing out of my Sydney Recording Studio and on the other side of the world – in someone else’s recording studio? Well, a talented Australian-based, New Age artist required my audio engineering services. Her name was Fiona Joy. She has been signed to the famous American recording label, Windham Hill, for sometime.
The beginnings in Kendall, Australia
However, Fiona Joy owns a huge Stuart & Sons Grand piano that she always uses on her records, but this was located in Australia – in her living room! This required me to pack up my studio equipment in Sydney and drive up the east coast of Australia to her home in Kendall, NSW. Up there we recorded the monster grand piano and sent the files to the US to be mixed by Tom Eaton. He is the in-house engineer for Windham Hill at Imaginary Rd, Vermont. The remainder of the record would be recording in the USA. My job was to make sure that the transition of the project from Australia to the USA was successful. And of course, along the way I learned a bucket load from some of the best in the business!
If you’re interested to learn more about Windham Hill and their beautiful recording studio check out some of the attached links.
