Dubway West's beautiful Audient console gets a shout-out from the manufacturer

We’ve been super excited for the past few months as Dubway West, our new large-format studio in Los Angeles, has gotten off the ground. Major acts like Bishop Briggs, Halsey, AlunaGeorge, and more have already experienced the space firsthand, but for those who haven’t, allow us to introduce you to its heart: a one-of-a-kind, fully restored Audient ASP8024 mixing desk.

This console is a true beast, so much so that Audient went ahead and wrote an article showcasing the console, its path to health from a state of neglect, and its steward, Dubway’s Chris Montgomery. Read the article here, and as always, if you want some personal time with it, head here to book a session!

EMS Synthi "A" restored and studio-ready!

Years ago, studio owner Al Houghton found an old EMS Synthi A series synthesizer for sale at an antique store. That same synthesizer has now been repaired and refurbished, and is back at the studios! The EMS Synthi series has been used on numerous classic records (Jean-Michel Jarre, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, King Crimson, and many others), and was famously used to design the sound of the Daleks in Dr. Who. These are very special synthesizers, built in the UK in 1971 with the classic “Putney” style matrix patching. Three oscillators, a noise generator, a filter, an envelope generator, a ring mod, and a spring reverb round out the unit.

The Synthi A is available on request for music, post production, or whatever use you find for it!

"Behind The Curtain" in consideration for Best Musical Theatre Album Grammy

Michael Zager’s Behind The Curtain - Broadway Composers and Lyricists Sing Their Songs, which was partially tracked at Dubway, is up for Grammy consideration in the Best Musical Theatre Album category. The album is a series of recordings of major Broadway composers, singing stripped-down versions of their work accompanied by only a piano.

Featured composers have written the music for shows like Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked, Annie, The Book Of Mormon, Avenue Q, and many more.

You can pick up a copy of the album at the above link, and learn more about Professor Zager here.

The Life tracks in the Mezzanine

NYC band The Life recorded drums and guitar for an upcoming album in our Mezzanine studio last month.

The Life is the project of Curtis Pawley; the sessions also featured drummer Ned Haweeli, producer/guitarist Dashael Nadler-Fennell, and Dubway recording engineer Keenan DuBois.

Drums were tracked through our SSL 4064 G+ desk with additional outboard gear, and the guitar was recorded through a group of Mercenary Audio Neve preamps.

The album is still in production, but in the meantime you can read an interview with Curtis or listen to previous releases by The Life.

Tommy Saeli returns to Dubway for vocal tracking

Longtime musician/entertainer and friend of the studios Tommie Saeli has been tracking vocals on our main floor for the past month. The tracking has been helmed by Dubway engineer Zach Grappone.

Here’s Tommie (left), pictured with studio owner Al Houghton (center) in one of our sound rooms after the session. We look forward to hearing the final project!

Natalie Weiss tracks leads and background vocals for a new song

Noted musical theatre singer, vocal coach, and person-online-in-music (not to mention someone we love working with) Natalie Weiss spent a few days on our Main Floor recently to record vocals for a new song. Weiss tracked both main vocals and a group of backgrounds with Dubway engineer Russell Castiglione. We can’t say too much about the project yet, but keep your ears open – her productions and songs are always entertaining.

Thanks Natalie for stopping in—let’s do it again sometime!

Gospel singer Carla Harris tracks vocals in Dubway's Blue room

Local area gospel vocalist (accomplished investment banker and Obama advisor) Carla Harris recorded vocals for an upcoming release with Dubway engineer Russell Castiglione last week in our Blue room. The session was produced by gospel producer Shawn Lucas.

Keep up with Carla’s various performance and speech dates at her website above, or here. Thanks for stopping in, Carla!

SOCAPA caps off another summer of recording at Dubway

NYC’s School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA) has wrapped up another full summer of recording with us! We love having these talented kids, most of whom are highschool age, back each summer to work on their music with our engineers.

During the camp, the attendees write, record, and (depending on the length of their camp stay) shoot a music video for an original song. Songs are recorded in sprint-style sessions, with each student getting a two or three hour chunk to track their entire song! SOCAPA days are where Dubway engineers tend to prove they can work at speed over the course of an entire day – a single engineer may start and finish up to four songs – as they follow one camper’s creative process through to the next’s.

Check out videos of finished songs from previous years here, here, and here (all shot in our Mezzanine studio) and if you’ve got a young songwriter in the family, consider signing them up! Thanks again to the SOCAPA team for another great summer. See you next year!

ECR Music takes over the Mezzanine, with Blake Morgan, Janita, and Miles East

Several of ECR Music Group’s artists, including Blake Morgan and Janita, recorded drums in our Mezzanine studio last week, with local session musician Miles East on drums. The session was tracked through our SSL 4064 G+ console, and helmed by in-house Dubway engineer Russell Castiglione.

From left: Dubway engineer Russell Castiglione, ECR artists Blake Morgan and Janita, and ECR drummer Miles East.

These songs are destined for upcoming EP’s from both Blake Morgan and Janita. There isn’t a release date set for either project as of yet, but in the meantime, check out the backcatalog from these artists and affiliated labels here.

The Aberdeen tracks at Dubway

Aberdeen in the newly-lit Mezz studio, tracking Korg Minilogue.

Local Brooklyn band The Aberdeen had the run of our Mezzanine studio recently, tracking drums, synths, guitar, and additional instruments for an upcoming record. The record was handled by Dubway’s Sam Palumbo on the console.

The band just came off a few local shows, including a stop at the Bowery Electric on Friday, as well as an international tour that included Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming dates!

Charli XCX performance at Pier 17

Charli XCX on stage at Pier 17; image courtesy Joe Papeo for Artists Den Entertainment.

Dubway’s ongoing relationship with Live From The Artists’ Den allowed us the recent opportunity to record a live performance featuring pop futurist Charli XCX at NYC’s Pier 17 rooftop venue. Our engineers Russell Castiglione and assistant Burgess Carleton were backstage tracking and mixing the audio recording for the entire performance. Check out the photos and video above and below, and keep an eye on the Artists’ Den website for the full multimedia release of concert documentation!

Stage preparation, before.

Stage, after. Image courtesy Joe Papeo and Kevin Condon for Artists Den Entertainment.

Raleigh Hall produces, records vocals

Noted NYC gospel producer Raleigh Hall took over Dubway recently to track vocals, harmonies, and a small chorus for an upcoming project. The session was split between Dubway’s Mezzanine studio, where a four-person chorus tracked background vocals, and the Red Room on our Main Floor, where the lead singer tracked the main vocal. The session highlighted our facility’s flexibility and the speed of our engineers, as data and singers moved from one room to the next throughout the session.

Raleigh, center, with his all-star singers (Lajuan Carter, Audrey Wheeler-Downing, and Keith Anthony Fluitt) arranged behind him.

The project doesn’t have a release date just yet, but is nearing the final stages of production. Keep an eye on Raleigh’s website (link above) or Facebook page for news on the release!

Dubway engineer Diego Demarco, left, with producer Raleigh Hall in our Mezzanine studio.

Chamber Music Society mixes in surround in the Blue Room

The Temple of Apollo, Delphi (courtesy of Live From Lincoln Center).

Live From The Lincoln Center’s new Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Center (CMS) program Odyssey: The Chamber Music Society in Greece, the company’s first international program, was mixed recently at Dubway Studio’s Blue Room by chief engineer Nathaniel Reichman. The film consists of multiple CMS performances throughout Greece, culminating in a visit to Delphi. Nathaniel mixed the film in stereo and surround, utilizing our Blue Room’s 5.1 surround system, multiple stereo monitoring options, and comfortable layout for attending producers.

You can listen and watch these performances Friday, September 6th on PBS, or streaming anytime during the following month on their website.

CMS musicians at the Church of Pammegiston Taxiarchon (courtesy of Live From Lincoln Center).

Pinna’s “Sound Dots” records with Rhumba in the Mezzanine

Rhumba Recorders – the collaborative project of Dubway’s Al Houghton and Mike Rubin of Murmur Music – recently produced a series of recordings in our Mezzanine Studio for Pinna, a children’s podcast developer. The engineering was done by Diego Demarco and featured tuba and clarinet, along with a host of our microphones and our outboard equipment.

Rhumba has produced sound design, music, and effects for an extensive list of shows and networks, and we look forward to seeing where this project goes!

Mike Rubin, left, and Al Houghton, right

Emma Rosenkranz tracks vocals at Dubway

New York musician Emma Rosenkranz stopped by recently to record vocals with Dubway engineer Sam Palumbo. Rosenkraz tracked three songs for First Sessions, a six-track release of new music.

You can hear the project on her site here. Give it a listen and watch for upcoming shows in the city – congratulations on the release!

Erica Rotstein records album tracks in Dubway's Mezzanine

Erica Rotstein, center, performing in support of her previous EP.

Songwriter and bandleader Erica Rotstein took over Dubway’s Mezz recently to record parts of an upcoming album. Dubway engineer Diego Demarco was behind the board, with notable NYC producer-musician Justin Goldner (Sting, Macy Gray, Ledisi, Donald Glover, Dear Evan Hansen) managing the session.

Erica Rotstein recorded piano and B3 (using our Hammond and Leslie pair!) on this session. Best of luck with the rest of the project, and we look forward to hearing the finished product!

Everything Turned To Color tracks drums in Dubway's Mezzanine

Engineer Russell Castiglione, left, with Everything Turned To Color in the Mezz.

New York band Everything Turned To Color recently stopped by our Mezzanine studio to track drums for their upcoming second album, with local powerhouse producer Blake Morgan in the control room. The session was engineered by Dubway’s Russell Castiglione and tracked through our classic SSL 4000+ G Series console. The band chose some of our more interesting microphones to capture their drum sounds, including our pair of BBC-engineered Coles 4038 ribbon microphones.

Best of luck to the band as they continue work on this project! For a full list of our equipment, microphones, and rooms for your upcoming projects, check out our facility overview.

John Luther Adams' "Become Desert" edited at Dubway with Nathaniel Reichman

Pulitzer-prize winning composer John Luther Adams is set to release the companion piece to his award winning Become Ocean this week. The piece is titled Become Desert, and was produced for Cantaloupe Music by Dubway Studios lead engineer Nathaniel Reichman, who mixed the album in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos formats in addition to stereo. Reichman worked extensively with the composer to make sure the mixes capture the spatial elements of the piece, which is orchestrated such that five smaller ensembles are placed throughout the recital hall for additional spatial effects.

The recording was performed by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and commissioned by their music director, Ludovic Morlot. Editing for the piece took place at Dubway’s Main Floor studios to ensure the recordings were ready for the multiformat mixing process Reichman, Adams, and Morlot elected to undertake. Check out some photos of the recording below, read a write up of the album on NPR’s First Listen here, and pick up the album at the Cantaloupe Music link above after June 14th!

Adams, arm raised, takes a bow with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Nathaniel Reichman, John Luther Adams, and Ludovic Morlot at the recording location.

"WEIRD! The Musical" tracks vocals at Dubway's Main Floor

WEIRD! The Musical, a new play from Peaceful Schools Productions, tracked vocal overdubs at Dubway’s Main Floor this month, with our engineer Violette Furton recording.

The musical is a family-friendly story that deals with the issue of bullying, and features a number of incredible vocalists and performers. The recording was produced by Dani Ryan and directed by an all-star team of Shawn Forster, Natalie Weiss, and Riley Mahan.

You can find more information about the production, including upcoming showtimes, at its website.

Dubway records James Bay for Artist's Den

Dubway engineer Russell Castiglione did the live record for the Artist’s Den series, featuring James Bay live at Webster Hall. Artist’s Den has worked with Dubway previously as a reliable source for recording engineers in the studio and out. For those unfamiliar with the format, Artist’s Den hosts live showings of artists, often of new work, which is performed for an audience with a full touring-style lights and sound setup, and simultaneously recorded at the highest-fidelity for release, often with video.

Congratulations to all involved on the successful show – you can find additional photos of the show here, with video and audio to come!