Location: 1-9 Gordon St, Cremorne, VIC and First Floor, 643 Chapel St, South Yarra VIC.
Tell us about the history of your studio.
The studio was established in 1975 under the name of Dahlstrom Recording Studio – an owner/operator concern run by Kaj Dahlstrom. It morphed later into K.A.J Recording and then in 1983 it became Sing Sing Recording Studios which it has remained for the past 33 years. All manner of Australian and international artists have worked in our studios over the years and to us, all are equally important … but some of our clients have included Paul Kelly, Nick Cave and The Badseeds, INXS, Missy Higgins, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Temper Trap, British India, Crowded House, Powder_ nger, The Living End, Dead Letter Circus, Shihad, Renee Geyer, Kiss, Lady Gaga, Elvis Costello, Mark Ronson and The Mars Volta.
What are your studios digital and/or analogue capabilities for recording?
If you are an analogue purist and have the budget for tape costs, we have the facility to track and mix completely to tape. Equally, you can track your project to Protools and mix digitally or you can mix it up using both analogue and digital.
How many rooms does the studio include and what are they ideal for?
We have six studios within our two complexes.
At Gordon Street we offer:
The Neve Room – our largest and best appointed tracking room, The K Room – our premiere mix suite with two overdub rooms, The SSL Room – useful as both a mix suite and an overdub suite, The M Room – great for vocals and general overdubs and the Mastering suite – including mastering for vinyl – we are certified iTunes MFiT providers through Ross Cockle (Mastering Engineer).
At South Yarra we offer:
The Back Room – our B tracking room and the Front Room – for vocals and general overdubs.
What recording gear is available to use?
Consoles: Neve VR (64 CH) and Neve Console (20 CH of 1073’s) and SSL G (80 CH) and SSL XL 9000K (72 CH).
Mics – Neumanns, AKGS, Royers, Shures, Senheisers, Calrecs, AEA, Mojaves, RCA’s, B and K’s etc
Outboard Gear: incl. Neves, APIs, GMLs, Summits, Focusrites, Avalons, Ureis (wide range), EMT’s, Pultecs, Tube-Techs, Manley Vox Boxes, Universal Audio, DBX 160’s, TC 6000, Roland, AMS – and many more!
Who are your in-house engineers and what is their experience?
All the Engineer/Producers who work at our studios are freelance operators. However there are around 20 Engineer/Producers who often work out of Sing Sing and they know our rooms inside out. These are all experienced operators who have worked in a wide variety of musical genres.
What do you think makes a good studio?
The ability to listen to and understand the client and respond to requests; being able to provide a wide range of gear; being able to provide a clean, comfortable, relaxed atmosphere in which to work.
What separates you from the rest? Why should people come to you?
We are not an owner operator facility so we are able to focus more directly on providing speci_ c services for clients; tailoring each session to each client’s needs. We have a long history of service to the music industry and therefore have an extensive list of contacts covering an enormous range of goods and services (creative, technical, practical) all of which we can direct towards our clients to help meet their needs.
What have you learned in your time working at Sing Sing? How has your experience shaped the way you go about your work?
We have learnt that the music industry is completely random in terms of where the work is coming from – you just have to go with the flow. We have learnt that the music industry can change in the blink of an eye, so you must be able to adapt. The other thing we have learnt is that, if you want a great sounding recording, you still need a studio and you still need a great Producer/Engineer (either in one person or as two individuals). Australia is full of amazing talent: in this we include creative and inspiring artists, gifted Engineers and Producers and some great studios; and the truth is that all, in the right combination, can produce world standard work right here in this country.
Extras:
Each studio at Gordon St has its own private lounge area plus we’ve got spacious common areas for dining and relaxing (both indoor and outdoor) … You can cook here and have a BBQ if you like. There are a few distractions for when you’re on a break (billiards/table tennis, electronic games). We’ve got some cool hire gear (outboard and instruments) plus some great cameras, lenses and lights for hire.
