History
Miloco studios was born thanks to the amalagamation of three top independent studios. Milo Music, The Garden and Orinoco were brought together to provide clients with an exceptional variety and range of recording and mixing environments, and with over 25 years' experience of quality recording under our belt, this unique marriage of facilities continues to go from strength to strength.
Milo Music, was started in 1984 in the heart of Hoxton Square. Starting life as a mid-range studio it quickly became a well-respected facility - catering for the likes of Marc Almond, Tricky, M-People and The Brand New Heavies - before growing in size with the building of a pre-production suite. This space doubled-up as a studio, recording artists such as The Divine Comedy and UNKLE, and for many years these two studios were at the heart of the Milo operation.
In the early 90s Milo acquired another building close to Hoxton Square and set about constructing seven purpose-built programming suites. These were self-contained, semi-soundproofed rental rooms designed for artists and producers in need of somewhere to house their equipment long term. To this day we still operate five of these rooms, and they're currently filled by clients including Richard X, Swing Out Sister and Jason Pierce from Spiritualised.
From 1997 to 2000 Milo was also home to Howie B's infamous cult label Pussyfoot. The label recorded the majority of their output here, along with many other acts similarly attuned to the unique Pussyfoot ethos, including artists from Ninja Tunes, Soul Jazz, Wall of Sound & Mo Wax.
The main studio at Hoxton Square has seen many equipment additions over the years. In 2003 we installed 52-frame Amek 2520 along with ATC SMC200 monitors, the whole room was refurbished and finally acoustically tweaked by Nick Whitaker. Today this room is an ideal haven for bands on a budget thanks to its wide variety of equipment and flexibility as a recording or mixing environment.
The second part of the Miloco family is The Garden - a legendary studio with an impressive history all of its own. Started in 1978 by John Foxx of Ultravox fame, it swiftly became a cult studio where the likes of Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure and Depeche Mode all came to record. During the 1980s it was home for Matt Johnson of The The (and he liked it so much he actually bought it). Then, from the mid-1990s, Milo Music began running the studio as a commercial enterprise.
The Garden added yet another great recording space to the Miloco stable. Wonderfully suited to recording live bands, it too has been gradually and considerately overhauled over the years. We moved from an Amek 2500 to an Amek 2520, and then most recently, in 2003, to a Neve V3 along with fantastic Boxer monitoring. In 2004 the studio had a facelift which saw all the communal areas and live rooms redecorated, buffed and polished, and our modernisation plans continue to this day as we strive to create and maintain the best tracking environment in London.
The third piece of the jigsaw is Orinoco studios. Bought by Milo Music in 2000 - and resulting in the birth of the Miloco name - Orinoco allowed us to offer our clients an even greater variety of services, thanks to its top-of-the-range mixing room.
Built in the mid-80s, Orinoco quickly made its mark producing Enya's groundbreaking album 'Watermark' (including the worldwide hit single 'Orinoco Flow' - named after the studio). It was then at the forefront of the Dance Music explosion of the late 80s, the rise of the Indie scene and the subsequent Brit Pop reign of the early 90s.
In 1997 Orinoco produced more Number One albums than any other studio in Britain (apart from the legendary EMI Abbey Road). 'What's The Story Morning Glory' by Oasis was partly recorded and entirely mixed at Orinoco, and has since become the second highest selling album ever in the UK after 'Sergeant Pepper'. Oasis then returned to mix the follow up 'Be Here Now'. In recent years the studio has become a second home to The Chemical Brothers who have made all their records ( successive platinums no less ) - using a combination of Miloco's Neve VR Room and programming suite "The Toyshop".
In 2006 Miloco opened three new studios. The first was The SSL room - formerly Innovation studios - which is based in Highbury, Islington. Not only is it an ideal mix room, but it also gave us the capacity to offer that sought-after solid state sound to a whole new range of clients. The second studio we opened in 2006 was Musikbox, located in Kentish Town. Owned by the legendary producer/engineer/artist Pete Heller, a key attraction to the studio is the vast collection of analogue keyboards. It boasts a beautifully designed Recording Architecture room, and in February 2007 was enhanced by a Neve VR60 console, completing the studios set-up and hence making it the leading mix room in the area.
Finally, the third new addition of 2006 came in the form of The Pool. With the aid of producer Ben Hillier, this concept room was converted from our massive 1800 square foot storage area at Leroy Street. The sheer size of the room is a musician's dream, offering plenty of space to fully spread out, and with Ben Hillier's impressive collection of vintage equipment at hand, the studio is becoming increasingly in demand.
Today Miloco boasts an unparalleled range of studio facilities. We currently offer fourteen rooms of varying size and specification, from basic long-let suites to an all-singing, all-dancing mix rooms. Whatever the scale or type of project, Miloco has a studio to satisfy your recording requirements.
And, what's more, we're also proud to be one of the most competitively priced recording studios around. Add to this our array of excellent in-house assistants and engineers, robust technical backup and quality assurance from first concept to final mix, and you can rest assured we will provide the great recording experience you are looking for.