Eastcote Studios, an independent music recording facility in West London, has opened a new Dolby Atmos mix room.  

Founded in 1980 by musician Chaz Jankel, from Ian Dury & The Blockheads, and music engineer Philip Bagenal, the studio, with its airy courtyard and creative ambiance, is now owned by music producer and musician Martin Terefe (pictured below).

Terefe has produced Grammy, Brit and Juno award-winning albums, and worked with artists such as A-ha, Jason Mraz, Cat Stevens, Shawn Mendes and Yungblud. 

The new mix and mastering facility, Eastcote Mastering, is a joint venture with Grammy nominated sound engineer and producer Dyre Gormsen (pictured above), who has worked with Terefe on dozens of projects including two Diamond certified records, with Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’ and Train’s ‘Hey Soul Sister’. 

Of Eastcote Studios‘ storied history, Martin Terefe says: “There was a lot of punk recorded here in the early days, including Nina Hagen and Transmission Vamp. Massive Attack’s Blue Lines was made here – a lot of the Bristol scene actually recorded here – and then came the Britpop scene with Placebo, Suede and Elastica. More recently it’s been the new generation: Adele, Laura Marling, Marcus Mumford. Depeche Mode, Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs have also recorded here. But the point is that most of them came here very early in their careers.  Philip’s thing was that people should be allowed to make the records they want to make. If you don’t leave with the record you want to make, then we know something’s gone wrong.”

The Atmos mix room has a 7.1.4 configuration, with a PMC speaker array.  Over the years, the studio has seen radical changes in technology, from tape to Pro Tools. 

Terefe told Audio Media International he believes Dolby Atmos will usher in a new era of better sounding music: ”I think that maybe it’ll bring back dynamics, and give young artists a new palette of tools to experiment with.”

One such is alt-pop artist Henjila (pictured above), signed to Locomotion Records. Her single Yellowface has been mixed in Dolby Atmos at Eastcote. 

To celebrate the opening of the Atmos mix room, Henjila played an acoustic set, and said of her single: 

“Yellowface was written a while ago, when I was at school. I was subjected to racism, which I used it as a fuel, a creative outlet. I use music as a source of healing. When I released it I hoped others would be comforted by my words. What I found with Dolby Atmos is that it really raised the bar in ways I couldn’t imagine. It immerses you into the song even more, it puts you into this state where you feel a lot more.”

A second track mixed by the studio,  ‘Open Ches’t by Sitrekin, a.k.a Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg, is due for release. Known as the former lead singer of Blue Foundation and co-composer and lyricist of and Grammy nominated ‘Eyes on Fire’ which featured in the original Twilight movie. Jack Savoretti’s latest album, Europiana was also mixed in Dolby Atmos at Eastcote Studios. 

All tracks will be available on Apple Music.