Member Article

New recording studio opens on Gateshead Quays

Musicians and music lovers can record and rehearse their music in the region’s newest recording studio which has just opened on Gateshead Quays.

The Aquarium Studio recently opened its doors for business, allowing its owner Peter Slowey the chance to turn his dream job into a reality.

Peter has performed in bands for more than 20 years and spent his evenings and weekends working in a studio that he had built in his South Shields home. However, when O2 and Vodafone installed a new mobile phone mast nearby, he found that the frequency from the mast’s 4G signal interfered with his equipment, leaving it redundant.

After battling with the mobile phone operators and being unable to use his home studio for more than a year, Peter was on the verge of selling his kit when he heard about the opportunity to take over an existing studio that hadn’t been used for some time. He got the keys just before Christmas and since then he and his wife Andrea have been busy fitting it with high-spec equipment ready to open for business.

The Aquarium Studio has two acoustically-treated live rooms, a vocal booth, an in-house PA system and drum kit, while the mixing room is fitted with state-of-the art pro-audio equipment including the industry standard ProTools HD.

As well as working with bands, musicians and agencies needing voice-over recordings, Peter is also hiring the studio out to other recording engineers and is hosting pop star and rock star parties for children’s birthday and hen parties.

Peter explained: “I’ve been in bands since I was a teenager and I’ve been obsessed with the process of recording and mixing music. Over the years I’ve worked in many of the region’s best studios and have spent thousands on pro-audio equipment for my own home studio where I honed my skills in engineering, recording, mixing and production. I’ve worked on records that have been played on Radio 1 and 6 Music and championed by the likes of Nick Grimshaw and Tom Robinson.

“I’ve always dreamed about opening my own studio and spending more time working on something I loved so when I heard that the premises had been sitting unused for months and the building owner was looking for someone to take over I jumped at the chance.”

He added: “We’ve deliberately given the studio a laid-back vibe without the intimidating feeling of some other facilities. This is really important as by helping artists to feel comfortable and relaxed they can get into the best headspace to achieve their creative goals.

“We hire the live rooms out for rehearsals, as well as the full recording, mixing and mastering service, and we’re also branching out into the parties market to help people come up with new ways to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.

“It’s still early days, but every bit of feedback we’ve had from people who have used the studio so far has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The Aquarium Studio is located on South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, just a few minutes from BALTIC and the Sage Gateshead.

For more information visit www.theaquariumstudio.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Aquarium Studio .