STUDIO PROFILE: LONESOME DOG STUDIOS

LONESOME DOG STUDIOS

Ali “Bla Bla” Bazrcar, founder of Lonesome Dog Studios, speaks to Audio Media International about the last six years in the studio business in Kingston, London

AMI: How long have you been running and why was your space set up?

We opened at the start of 2016. I was in the rap rock band KINGS OF THE CITY. We had disbanded, after our lead singer died of lung cancer. I had spent 2013-2015 finishing the album we had made, in my bedroom studio, and once it was released, I was at a life’s crossroads. Around the same time, my old friend Hak Baker had been released from prison, and wanted to start making some new styles of music together. He egged me on to find a space where we could work properly. That and the need for some sort of life’s fulfillment, I found a space and setup Lonesome Dog Studios. It was named after the song ‘Lonesome Dog’ on the KOTC album ‘No Snake’. It is a homage to our lost friend.

AMI: Who helped you build, tune or upgrade your space?

When I first moved in, there had been a studio there previously, and they had built their own style of “room in a room” structure in the warehouse unit. I took it over, did some basic decorating and sound proofing, with the help of my friends. After a couple of years, there was flooding, which damaged most of that structure. I had the choice of abandoning ship or starting fresh. It took a good 18 months of building, bit by bit, myself and hiring some contractors here and there, but we finally achieved our studio look. The whole time we were building the new studio, we were running sessions as well. There was even a time where some clients had to climb a ladder to get up to the vocal booth upstairs. I produced some of my biggest songs to date, in that magical chaos.

AMI: What artists, presenters or other creators pass through your doors?

We get a good mix of singer/songwriters, bands and rappers passing through. We have had our fair share of artists that are popping, but name dropping is lame.

AMI: What’s your USP as a studio based on feedback from artists and completed sessions?

We are Lonesome Dog, every artist feels at home with us, should they feel like a Lonesome Dog too.

AMI: Who’s on the team?

Myself Ali Bla Bla, founder of LDS. Prasheen Naran (senior engineer), Guy Buss (our veteran mix engineer) and our collective of young engineer/producers: Aftrmind, Oisin Flynn, Sykotix and Fraser Holloway. We also have an extended roster of content creators.

AMI: Studios have experienced massive change in the last few years and there’s many different types - where do you fit in?

I always tell people interested in similar things, there are easier ways to make money. We just have our unique space, which is available and accessible by the everyday independent artist. Other than offering services, we have been building a collective and online community, which we are very proud of.

AMI: How would you describe the overall vibe of the studio and what’s the balance between creating a great sound vs a great vibe - can they exist hand in hand without compromise?

At the moment, we have a massive kitchenette/bar in the control room! We are firm believers in vibes equals great sound. Our studio is also designed in a bohemian psychedelic way, and the furthest thing away from the majority of generic corporate style studios. It’s not for everyone, but the people who do come, sure do love it. We would describe our studio as that scene in Wayne’s World, where Wayne is walking through the desert and meets Jim Morrison.

AMI: How do you feel about remote collaboration in your studio with apps such as Audiomovers, do you embrace it or does it change the magic in the room?

We do not fear change, and have been working hard behind the scenes, building towards online a lot more. The future of music will involve a lot of remote, virtual reality etc… and we must adapt to and enjoy the changes coming! Imagine if we did the interview years ago, you might have asked, how do you feel about recording into digital instead of tape?

AMI: Can you share a list of the gear you have and the room types and dimensions?

“We would describe our studio as that scene in Wayne’s World, where Wayne is walking through the desert and meets Jim Morrison.”

We have an SSL Matrix Hybrid Mixing Console at the heart of our setup, a 25 m2 control room/live room, and a 8 m2 vocal booth upstairs with lounge area.

AMI: Can artists stay at your studio and if so what’s the set up?

We don’t offer overnight accommodation, but have a shisha style floor mattress bed upstairs, should anyone need a quick nap!

AMI: Talk us through your rooms and why they are designed in the way they are

We have an open plan ground floor control room/live room, and up the spiral staircase, we have a vocal booth and lounge area. It was the best use of the space available to us, with of course real estate being so expensive in the London area, every inch counts.

AMI: What’s your dream recording project or client?

Everyday I’m recording my dream projects and clients, my friends and their music, my dream would only be for that music to be heard by the people.

LONESOME DOG STUDIO SPECS

COMPUTER 27″ iMac 5k Retina i7 4.2 Ghz 64gb Ram Mirrored to Sony Bravia 36″ Flatscreen TV MONITORING PMC Two Two 8s Yamaha MSP5s 4x Beyerdynamic DT-100 Headphones Beyerdynamic DT250 Headphones INTERFACE Universal Audio Apollo x16 + x8p Large selection of UAD Plugins Prism Atlas with 8 preamps MICS 2x Neumann U87ai Condenser Mics 2x Shure SM7b 2x Coles 4038 Matched Pair Ribbon Mics Selection of Drum Mics OUTBOARD SSL Matrix Analog Console 2x AMS Neve 1073 DPX Preamp + EQ 2x Heritage Audio 1073 Preamps 2x Heritage Audio 1073 Preamps 4x API 512c Preamps 4x SSL X Logic Alpha VHD Preamps 1x Avalon VT 737 Pre/Eq/Dyn SSL X-Rack with 2x Silver EQ/DYN and 1x Black EQ/DYN SSL G-Comp Stereo Bus Compressor UA 1176 FET Compressor UA Teletronix LA-2A Compressor modded with Original UTC ’60s Output Transformer 2x Empirical Labs Distressor EL-8 X Compressors 1x SSL Fusion Analog Stereo Master Processor INSTRUMENTS Selection of Guitars Selection of Amps Nord Stage-3 88 Analog Keyboard Arturia Keylab 88 Midi Keyboard Korg MS-20 Mini Synth