“Rather than trying to get the market to adapt to us, we have decided to adapt to the market” James Stringfellow
community as well as artists from further afield. The studio was originally
built by music publisher Robin Phillips who created in KPM probably the most successful music library in the world. Phillips died in 2006, but the house and studio remain in the family, with his son, music business entrepreneur Chris Phillips, playing an active role in the studio and related activities.
“The studio had been
gathering dust for a couple of years when Chris [Phillips] approached me,” says Brighton Electric founder and managing director James Stringfellow. “We considered the potential of the place and talked ourselves round to Brighton Electric managing the studio. They were willing to take on our expertise and experience and listen to what we had to say.
“The facility has been given a complete makeover. The original Amek Einstein console was sold, along with various
other bits and pieces, the control room was moved upstairs to create more space in the live area and a vintage Neve installed.” Clients who have used the
new-look Brighton Electric so far include singer Sarah Blasko who has three Australian top 10 albums to her credit, British Sea Power and Grammy Award- winning producer Pete Smith. “It’s proving very popular in the flourishing Brighton acoustic and folk scene,” adds Stringfellow. “There’s something quite magical about the place.” Meanwhile, at Brighton Electric’s main studio complex, there are now 11 well-equipped and maintained rehearsal studios, while 400m down the road Brighton Electric 2 (formerly operating as Scream and now under Brighton Electric’s stewardship) offers four newly refurbished rehearsal spaces including an acoustically treated production rehearsal room with Mackie HD PA rig.
studioreport
Set in a converted barn, Brighton Acoustic has recently been given a complete makeover
Back on the recording studio
front, the main studio in Coombe Terrace continues to flourish, with a change of approach. “Rather than trying to get the market to adapt to us, we have decided to adapt to the market,” says Stringfellow. “We’ve cut out the smaller live
room, but we’ve still got the main big live room where we are focused on providing super high-end tracking quality in our main room. Our mobile mixing rack is available for The Workshop clients.” Central to the latest
developments is the purchase
of a vintage console – a 1970’s Neve 5316. “This is about as good as consoles get,” enthuses Stringfellow. “It came from a Mormon TV studio in Salt Lake City. “We bought it ‘blind’ and had no idea whether it would work or not. It turned out to be in pristine condition, hardly used and with no signs of wear and tear. Not surprisingly, it’s proving very popular with our clients.” Further developments at Brighton Electric are on the cards. “Our mission is to get better and better, and that’s not going to end,” says Stringfellow who also has plans to establish a live music venue and studio complex on Australia’s Gold Coast. “We are currently in talks with the Queensland government. There is great potential out there. Initially the project will be a non-profit operation with the aim of developing artists, working at the sharp end which is what we love best.” www.brightonelectric.co.uk