FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE
has designed every single space, and we have really raised the bar.” Since the not-so-early days
(the first 10 studios were built in 2011) the complex has moved onwards and upwards and is currently in phase 15, with every studio still bespoke to its client. The momentum and energy is apparent as soon as you step foot on the property and is now attracting more and more high-profile clients. According to Keynes,
when musician-cum- Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Ronson came to him looking for a new space, he wanted to create an environment that felt like it had been at Tileyard forever. Co-designed by Nashville- based acoustic engineer Steve Durr, the studio definitely delivered on Ronson’s brief. Behind the brick wall and plain steel door, the studio’s
black and white checkered tile floors and walls covered in gold and platinum records feel in line with any studio that lived through the golden era of the 60s and 70s.
CONTROL ROOM Ronson’s control room feels equally ‘worked in’, and features an MCI-500, UREI 813 and ATC SCM25ASL Pro monitors, and an impressive offering of outboard including a stereo Fairchild compressor. EMT 140 and 240 plate reverbs are supplemented with stereo reverb sends to the toilet for a ‘toilet reverb’ (which Walls claims gives the classic plate reverbs a run for their money). A machine room off the
back of the control room houses a Studer A800 2in and a Scully eight-track tape machine while the large live room, which is easily viewed
MEET THE DESIGNER Credit: Alicia Light Photography
to choose their flooring, fabrics, paint etc, so they can really get involved in giving the studios the look and feel they want. I spend time with each of the clients to try to understand how they work so that I can make sure that the studios work ergonomically. And a lot of it is down to the room acoustics – these guys will regularly spend 12 hours or more in the studio so they need to be natural-sounding spaces, not oppressive dungeons!
Chris Walls is an acoustician specialising in the design of music and post-production studios.
How were you retained as a consultant? Nick approached me in 2011, while I was working at Munro Acoustics to appraise the first few studios that had been built. I was instantly sold on the Tileyard concept and Nick and I ended up discussing how I could get involved in the design and build process. The first studio I designed at Tileyard was for Basement Jaxx at the tail end of 2011 and I haven’t stopped since.
Was the design and layout of the studios based on a template? Yes and no… Certain aspects of the design have become standardised. For example the isolation shell
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construction I designed for Basement Jaxx worked really well acoustically and was cost-effective, so that has been implemented on the vast majority of studios. But no two studios are the same – they are all different sizes and shapes, and the acoustic requirements change depending on what the studio is used for, so I still start with a blank piece of paper for each studio.
Did anyone make requests for tweaks or additions? A few people have asked for flush- mounted speakers, timber panelling, an acoustic enclosure for a projector, things like that. But what is supplied as standard is more than enough for most of the clients.
How did you create comfortable surroundings? The guys moving into the studios get
What was it like working with Davies Design & Construction? It has been really good. I think the first studio was a steep learning curve as they hadn’t done anything quite like it before, but they grasped the concept quickly and have consistently impressed. The site foreman, Justin Martin, has been a phenomenal asset to the project.
What was the biggest challenge about the build? It’s got to be isolation. We’ve got more than 60 rooms in a concentrated area and making sure that they can all operate without disruption from one another is key to the success of the complex. In the most recent phase we built Chase and Status’ and Nero’s studios between Mark Ronson’s live room (below) and The Temper Trap live room (above). It’s not an ideal
situation and Nick and I discussed it at some length, but I did a lot of testing and a lot of calculations and came up with a solution that works.
You’re now designing under the Level Acoustic Design banner? Yes, I left Munro Acoustics at the end of last year to start my own company. I first started at Munro in 2003 as a summer student and worked my way up to principal acoustician, with overall responsibility for acoustic design. I’m immensely proud of the projects I worked on there and it was a very tough decision to leave. I want Level to be able to provide
clients with studios that enable them to thrive in an industry that has changed drastically in the last 10 years. Increasingly that means small yet perfectly formed! I’ve been refining techniques for designing smaller studios for a while now and the studios at Tileyard are testament to what can be achieved.
What projects are you currently working on away from Tileyard? A lot of my projects are covered by NDAs unfortunately, but it’s quite an exciting portfolio; there is a mixture of private and commercial, music and post production. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more once they’re complete!
www.levelacousticdesign.com
April 2014 33
though a massive window in front of the console, contains a serious amount of vintage kit from drums and guitars to amps as well as a separate booth for cabinets, drums, or any other isolation needs. “The thing that we need to
be sure about is that it’s built and designed properly. It’s all about creating a space that you feel good in. This was a really interesting one. It took a while – it was a slower process – but Mark loves what he’s got and hopefully he’ll make some really important records in here.” Behind another similarly
unassuming steel door and up a flight of stairs is the home of MTA Records, the label formed in 2008 by electronic music duo Chase and Status. Inside is a far cry from
Ronson’s vintage-inspired room where a Pro Tools system plays out into a pair of
“We thought that there might have been a saturation point but actually
the more you build the more people want to be here. It
just feeds itself. It’s a monster.” Nick Keynes
massive, soffit-mounted Genelec 1034As acquired from their previous studio at County Hall when it closed last year. Traversing the car park and
heading up another flight of stairs you’ll find the personal studios of film, TV, and games composers Paul Thomson and Christian Henson, the founders of high-end sample library company Spitfire Audio. If the entirely custom nature of
Tileyard wasn’t already apparent, walking into the Spitfire studios makes it perfectly clear. The two rooms feel more in line with a Soho post-production suite rather than a business park in King’s Cross, with spacious rooms in a red colour scheme and a wild variety of synths, keyboards, and outboard kit sitting on furniture made from reclaimed wood and metal. The complex has got
10,000ft coming back this year and 30 people on the waiting list. “It shows you there is an audience and I think the more you build the more compelling being here becomes,” says Keynes. “We thought that there might have been a saturation point but actually the more you build the more people want to be here. It just feeds itself. It’s a monster.”
www.tileyard.co.uk
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