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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Brian Kehew: Rediscovering Sound Techniques
Brian Kehew might know more about Sound Techniques than even Sound Techniques founder Geoff Frost or new owner Danny White. We are joking but we might also be serious – Brian can supposedly tell…
4 min read
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Bill Schnee: Recording Ringo
Neil Innes & Nick Turner of The Parts You Don’t Hear enjoyed two visits to the legendary Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. Firstly meeting Paul Camarata, the charming son of original owner Salvador “Tutti” Camarata and secondly the…
4 min read
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Bruce Botnick: The Doors at Sunset Sound & Elektra
Legendary recording engineer and producer Bruce Botnick invited The Parts You Don’t Hear to his studio in Ojai, California to talk about making some of his classic records including The Doors. Bruce grew up with very…
4 min read
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Paul Camarata: Sound Techniques at Sunset Sound
In the mid 1950s Walt Disney hired composer and arranger Salvador “Tutti” Camarata to build a recording studio where the animation giant could record their numerous soundtracks. Opening in 1958, Sunset Sound became one…
4 min read
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Andrew Ratcliffe and the future of Sound Techniques
The Parts You Don’t Hear sat with the charming Andrew Ratcliffe in his hotel suite in Anaheim overlooking parts of Disney Land, Los Angeles at dusk. Andrew was attending NAMM 2018, the music industries…
4 min read
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Dave Mattacks: Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and many more at the old dairy
Kudos to Dave Mattacks for finishing his extremely busy, long weekend drumming for the Fairport Convention 50th Anniversary at Cropredy 2017 and winding down with The Part’s You Don’t Hear,chatting about the good old days at Sound Techniques,…
4 min read
