HISTORY

Preservation of an institution

Whitfield Street Studios originally opened in 1965 in the heart of the city's vibrant West End. For four decades the three studios and seven mastering suites housed within it’s purpose-built complex occupied a significant place in the annals of popular music and also had major continuing importance in the arenas of pop, rock and dance as well as classical, orchestral and film soundtracks.

A glance at the history of the studios reveals a deep and abiding association with artists from Jimmy Hendrix to Madonna, from The Who to The Prodigy, from Iggy & The Stooges to Charlotte Church, while landmark producers and engineers such as William Orbit, Fred Jerkins, Brian Eno and Mike Ross-Trevor all conjured up aural magic from behind the faders.

This long era sadly came to an end in 2005 after the turbulence of the modern music industry forced the recording side of the studios to close.

Since then the mastering facility has relocated to a new building in Soho - just five minutes walk from the original site. The engineers were keen to continue using the post production system they’d spent years developing, so the equipment (including a Neumann VMS80 cutting lathe and PMC monitoring system) was reinstalled at the new location, preserving the quality and prestige in what is now the biggest remaining consolidation of mastering equipment and engineers from the original studios.

The facility may have downsized somewhat, but the standard of quality remains as high as ever and continues to develop.

After 40 years of excellence as one of the world most prominent recording mixing & mastering facilities Whitfield Street Studios is now entering another new era.

Following the 2005 closure of the Recording facility, the Post Production team have joint forces with Livestock Music and relocated to a new address in the heart of Soho. Offering the same high quality of service as ever the facility continues to develop.

 

 

SERVICES

Mastering Facilities

To capture every intricate detail of a recording demands ideal listening conditions and highly-skilled engineering. Our suites offer the perfect environment for mastering new tracks, re-mastering old classics and performing critical edits.

Our suites are equipped with excellent monitoring (PMC/KRK) and SADiE workstations, along with a variety of high quality digital and analogue EQ’s, Neumann VMS80 cutting lathe and re-mastering and restoration tools. Additionally, the Signal path is carried by a selection of the finest AD/DA converters available (Prismsound/dCS/Digital Audio Denmark)

As you would expect, we are at the forefront of advancing technology and now offer matchless facilities for mastering and editing high resolution projects on DSD (Super Audio CD) and 96k/24 Bit along with 5.1 surround sound for DVD.

Having honed their art from a variety of musical backgrounds, our engineers have a wealth of experience and have brought the best to projects across all musical genres.

Re-mastering

As mastering techniques evolve, new technology affords us the opportunity to re-visit old sounds and re-work the finished product. Whether it be filtering out unwanted noise, increasing the dynamic range or capturing more detail, we have re-mastered some of the all-time classics and our track record in this area is unparalleled.

Editing Facilities

Whether it be intricate radio edits or complex multi-track editing, our engineers will help you achieve seamless results. Our workstations are configured to work up to 16 tracks while we are one of the few worldwide facilities to offer 24 and 48 track editing.

SACD and 24/96 plus 5.1 and DVD Mastering

The potential to achieve audiophile quality is now with us as these new formats open new horizons for the mastering engineer. The wider bandwidth and dynamic range of these systems reduces distortion and allows us to hear the complete detail of the original sound. Along with the added spatial aspects of 5.1 we can now increase the reality of the recorded environment. As pioneers in each of these fields we will help you achieve astounding results.

Vinyl Cutting

The art of making the perfect mechanical recording takes years of experience to acquire. Our engineers have the skill to know how far they can push the limitations of vinyl and to know how loud a cut can be. >From booming bass on a new club 12" to an audiophile album, we will see that your cut delivers the best possible results.

 

PARTIAL DISCOGRAPHY

 

Jamiroquai

(Album) High Times – The Singles – Sony Bmg

 

Kanye West

(Album)late Orchestration -  Def Jam Uk

 

Jamiroquai

(Singles)Dynamite, Space Cowboy,Cosmic Girl,Deeper Underground, Love Foolosophy, Run Away, Alright.

 

Mark Ronson

(Singles)  - Sony Bmg

 

John Legend

(Single) Heaven – Sony Bmg

 

Justin Timberlake

(Single) What Goes Around – Sony Bmg

 

Mika

(Uk Single) Grace Kelly – Universal

 

Bodyrockers

(Album/Singles)

 Mercury

 

Sway

 – One For The Journey – Decypha

 

Ne-Yo

 – All Because Of You - Mercury

 

Mika

 – (Uk Single) Love Today – Universal

 

Nas

 - (Uk Single) Can’t Forget About You – Def Jam Uk

 

Natasha Bedingfield

- (Single) Wanna Have Your Babies  -Sony Bmg

 

Lemar

 – (Single) Tick Tock – Sony Bmg

 

The Killers

 - (Uk Single) Read My Mind – Mercury

 

Plaid

 - (Album/Singles) – Splokes – Warp

 

Stonebridge

 – (Album/Singles)  - SOS – Stonebrdige Productions

 

Chris Clark

 – (Album/Singles) Mathew Unburdened – Warp

 

Freestylers

 - (Album/Singles) Adventures In Freestyle – Supercharged

 

Freestylers

 - (Album/Singles) Raw As F**k – Supercharged

 

Akon Feat. Snoop Dogg

 – (Uk Single) I Wanna Love You – Universal

 

Klashnekoff

 - (Album/Singles) Tussle With The Beast – Budha/Lowlife

 

Chamillionaire

 – (Uk Single) Grown Up And Sexy – Island Records

 

Fatman Scoop

 – (Album/Singles) – Def Jam Uk

 

Jamie Foxx Feat. Ludacris

 – (Single) Unpredicatable - Sony Bmg

 

John Legend

-(Single) So High – Sony Bmg

 

Mariah Carey

 – (Single) Boy I Need You – Def Jam UK

 

Mariah Carey

 – (Single) Don’t Forget About Us – Def Jam Uk

 

Mariah Carey

 – (Single) Say Something – Def Jam Uk

 

Jennifer Lopez

 – (Single) Alive – Sony Bmg

 

Jennifer Lopez

 – (Single) All I Have – Sony Bmg

 

Jennifer Lopez

 – (Single) Baby I Love U – Sony Bmg

 

Beyonce

 – (Single) Baby Boy – Sony Bmg

 

Beyonce

 – (Single) De Ja Vu Remix – Sony Bmg

 

MIMS

 –(Single)Like This - EMI

 

Will Smith

 (Re-master)-Summertime – Sony Bmg