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November 2013 l 15


studionews UNITED KINGDOM Toast’s reputation spreads


When Craig Silvey and Miloco created a new mix facility in west London, it didn’t take long for the diary to become jam-packed with work. Crumbs, says Dave Robinson


THE RESIDENT of Toast has an itch: a gear itch. “I don’t really need any new tech,” explains Craig Silvey, “but with the creation of a new studio, I’ve gotten the bug again!” Toast is the reincarnation of


two studios Silvey has worked in extensively during his busy career; Matt Johnson’s now- defunct Garden Studios in


Craig Silvey, mixer to the stars UNITED KINGDOM The all new Jungle look


Change isn’t always easy, but sometimes – as Jungle has discovered – being forced to change is a very good thing, writes Erica Basnicki


UNEXPECTEDLY TOLDto move out of its Dean Street facility, London post house Jungle has completed a £500,000 refurbishment of its facilities, bringing all its studios under one roof – by knocking through the wall that once separated its offices at 143 and 145 Wardour Street. The overall refurbishment took place over six months – and unfortunately began with the Dean Street building “and then we learned the landlord was turning it into flats,” said studio co-manager Chris Turner. The revamp of the


Wardour facility involved the construction of three new studios, including a new


Jungle’s studio co-manager and senior sound designer Chris Turner


7.1 Dolby cinema studio, for a total of 10. From a technical standpoint Jungle continued its almost 20-year relationship with Fairlight, upgrading all its studios to EVO mixing consoles with Fairlight’s Xynergi DAW. “We’ve had (Fairlight


systems) since 1994, the original MX2s,” said Jungle’s technical manager Patrick James. “We’re not trying to be different, we’re not trying to fight the trend,” added Turner. “The great thing about it is that if we want to change something, or there’s something we want to build into it or configure it differently, we just write them an email and they do it. If I had Pro Tools, I’m not even sure who I would write to.” It is very obvious that speed


and flexibility are very important to Jungle’s workflow. The inaugural project in the


Technical manager Patrick James


7.1 Dolby cinema studio was Sony Mobile’s ‘Best Of You’ spot, requiring mixes for several territories – “basically, the world”, said Turner – meaning several loudness standards to conform to. Nugen’s VislM-H loudness meter ticked those all-important adaptability boxes: “We use it on every job we do,” said Turner. “We do have all the other boxes that have ever been invented, but when they update the software, you have to wait until they get it over to you, then you have to update the box.


Shoreditch, east London, where he worked between 2009 and 2012, and his original Toast Studios in California. It’s based in a building used by musicians, record producers and songwriters, in a classic Brill Building-style, media hub arrangement, round the corner from Ladbroke Grove. (“And five minutes from my house!” says the American.) When The The’s Johnson closed the Garden at the end of 2012, securing new premises for Silvey’s much sought-after mixing skills – and quickly – was paramount. A connection with Swedish producer Martin Terefe (KT Tunstall, Jamie Cullum) drew Silvey to the new west London location. He transported his collection of vintage outboard gear, including


Toast main room featuring the much-prized 1972 Neve 8026 desk


the 1972 Neve 8026 desk he has owned since 1995, into Toast over the Christmas break. As with the Garden, the Miloco Group is managing the bookings at the facility. Toast is split between a large, day-lit control room and a recording booth big enough for overdubs or a drum kit. “Plus Martin’s


big tracking room is upstairs if I need it,” Silvey adds. “It took a while to get used to the acoustics – they were very different to the Garden,” he continues. Miloco subsequently drafted in an acoustician to tune the space, followed by Silvey installing his beloved Boxer T2 monitors there. “Now its closer


to the Garden’s sound. Maybe even better.” Since the official launch in


July, Silvey says he’s been “as busy as I want to be”, with the likes of Goldfrapp, Arcade Fire, The National and old friends The Horrors all dropping in for mix sessions. Recent projects include work for Rae Morrison, a new signing to Atlantic, and a solo album by Hamilton Leithauser, frontman of indie band The Walkmen. “A good portion of my sound comes from the Neve desk, so it was good to get that back in place and working here,” he remarks. “The mix buss has a certain sound – it’s beefier than later models.” Asked to highlight three other pieces of ‘go-to’ kit in his extensive collection, Silvey highlights a Thermionic Culture Phoenix compressor, original Helios 69 modules from Chris Blackwell’s Island Studios, and an Ibanez AD202 analogue delay (“you can pick them up for 200 quid”). But there’s still that itch


to scratch… “I’ve been contemplating


more API modules,” he reveals, “and a major Pro Tools upgrade. I haven’t had to upgrade so far. I’m still on version 8!” www.miloco.co.uk/studios/toast


This, I just change the settings and I’m away.”


Each studio is technically identical and fully networked, with James currently applying the same consistency to the monitoring with Genelec active speakers. “At the moment we’ve got a little bit of a mixture,” he said. “We’ve got some M&Ks, some older Questeds. Putting the GLM software all the way through makes it that much easier to move between rooms because they sound so much closer at that point.” A forced eviction is never a


welcomed event, but its evident Jungle has used the external pressure to its advantage: “We had no choice, our hands were tied, but it’s given us the opportunity to make some great studios here,” said Turner. “We’ve always had good


communication as a company: everyone works in a set way and anyone can pick up anyone else’s job and just get on with it, it’s easy. But physically just being in one place makes life so much easier.” www.thejunglegroup.co.uk


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