The Studio
The year was 1964 and in a small renovated recording studio within an old milking shed in Chelsea, London, two young men were about to go out on a limb to follow their dream and inadvertently change music forever…
As one of the first indie studios in England, the modest Sound Techniques made a name for itself with a beautiful live sound and its own hand crafted mixing console. In that studio Geoff Frost‘s electronic mastery and head engineer John Wood‘s perfect ear created some of the finest music in the UK; Artists such as Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Vashti Bunyan, The Incredible String Band, John Martyn, John Cale, The Yardbirds and The Who all recorded sessions, enamoured with the studio’s rich sound.
As their reputation grew Frost began crafting his hand-built desks to measure for major studios including Elektra, Trident, De Lane Lea and Sunset Sound; The Sound Techniques influence sparked right at the heart of some of the greatest music ever recorded. From London to Los Angeles, from Jamaica to Paris and back again, these bespoke Sound Techniques consoles captured and created seminal tracks and albums for Hendrix, The Doors, The Beatles, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Stooges, T-Rex and Lou Reed; A few names among many.
Now, four decades after the doors closed on the Chelsea studio, a new chapter in the fascinating Sound Techniques story is being written; One which will bring us full circle and help discover, once and for all, just how deep the Sound Techniques secrets go.
These are The Parts You Don’t Hear and this is The Untold Story of Sound Techniques.
The latest …
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The Jamaica story with Ray Hitchins
It is The Parts You Don’t Hear‘s dream to visit Jamaica and cover the Jamaican aspect of the Sound Techniques story but in the meantime Ray Hitchins, author of Vibe Merchants: The Sound…
4 min read
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Dr Strangely Strange at Sound Techniques
Dr Strangely Strange celebrated the 50th anniversary of their wonderful debut album Kip of the Serenes (1969) this year which was produced by Joe Boyd and recorded at Sound Techniques, Chelsea by engineer Vic Gamm. Their follow…
4 min read
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Liam Watson: The way of recording way back in the 1960’s
Liam Watson owns and runs Toe Rag recording studio in Hackney, East London. Even if you think you haven’t heard of it, you will have actually heard his work – the monster global…
4 min read
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Pete Paphides: His Favourite Sound Techniques Records
Music journalist, writer, broadcaster and all round nice guy Pete Paphides has been an outspoken fan of unsung British music for more than 30 years. We joined him for a…
4 min read
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Keith Christmas & Sound Techniques
Keith Christmas was a student of engineering at Bristol University when he recorded his debut album Stimulus (1969) at Sound Techniques, Chelsea. Inspired by guitar legends he was seeing at the folk clubs…
4 min read
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Rose Simpson on Sound Techniques & The Incredible String Band
Rose Simpson accidentally fell into one of the most iconic late sixties groups: The Incredible String Band. They have been unfairly forgotten in recent years but at the time The Beatles were…
4 min read






