Tom Moore takes a trip to Mark Knopfler's Chiswick recording studio

Hidden away in Chiswick, a stone’s throw away from the A4, is British Grove Studios.

The recording studios, owned by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame, were opened in 2005 and have been used by Knopfler and other artists including Razorlight.

Given the location the building has to be able to keep out external sounds from the arterial road, A4, and overhead air traffic. In order to do this each recording studio, both for the artist and the producer, and the walls of the studios do not touch each other. The floor is mounted on 40-50 springs and the walls are surrounded by steel to prevent background noise.

The recording studio uses a mixture of old and state-of-the-art equipment, in order to gain the best performance from the artist in question. The interior has been designed with the intention of making the artist feel comfortable as the more comfortable the artist, the better the production. Even the climate is also controlled to ensure the best from the artist.

Grammy and Brit award-winning record producer Steve Levine, who has worked with The Clash and Culture Club, was carrying out his first recording session in the building with the up-and-coming band, Patch William. Levine described the recording studios as “fantastic” because the building had been “built with people that care” with a “great team of people” working there. Patch William consist of brothers Will and Ed Adlard on vocals + guitar and drums respectively, George Eddy on guitar and Ali Digby on bass. Stephen Fry is a fan of them and tweeted “Might Patch William be the next big thing? They seem rather wonderful to me”. The band were nominated for an Ivor-Novello award this year and are one of the chosen acts for the BBC’s “BBC Introducing” Glastonbury coverage.

Patch William were taking part in a promotional event showing how pioneers of in car infotainment Harman take the performance from a live recording to replicating that sound in a car, the example being the 10.5 model year Range Rover.

The recording equipment in the Studios combined with the quality of the audio equipment, using Logic 7 HD, in the car means that the passengers feel as if they are listening to a live performance. Harman say that Logic 7 HD “offers the very best for the audio connoisseur searching for a truly dynamic listening experience."

Utilising the most up-to-date digital technology, the impressive 1200W D class amplifier is at the heart of this world-class system, delivering high dynamic (HD) performance, effortlessly delivering Ivor Novello nominee Patch William's recording back to the listener with the same unparalleled quality achieved during the live performance.

Tom Moore

June 30, 2010