Miloco Residentials
A whole new level of residential recording...
Welcome back to the Miloco news desk, where we, like most other news desks currently, have become increasingly aware of this bloody awful weather sweeping across the
land leaving everyone stressed, stranded and seething. As we do seem to be clawing our way deeper and deeper into one of the messiest winters in years, we thought we
should at least try to bring back some feel-good factor for February's Miloco newsletter. So this month we are indulging in our two gloriously luxurious residential
getaways, Fisher Lane and El Cortijo, and in doing so leaving the damp sludge and defective railways of London in a place where they'll act as mere distant
memories...
Fisher Lane - 'Escape, Relax, Create'
Fisher Lane is Miloco's first UK residential studio. It is located in the blissful and picturesque countryside of Surrey near Guildford, and is the only top-end residential
in the UK that can be reached in an hour from London, making it an ideal residential option for labels based in the capital. A truly legendary studio since the early 1980s,
it was converted into a residential facility last summer, and now stands as one of the greatest residential locations in the country thanks to
its large and fantastic-sounding tracking and mix rooms, incredible collection of backline gear and immaculate newly-refurbished accommodation.
Located in the beautiful Surrey village of Chiddingfold, Fisher Lane was designed and built in the early '80s by the legendary studio acoustician Sam Toyoshima, and over the
last three decades has produced many classic albums by the likes of Genesis, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and The Cure. The studio is famous for its large, light and airy spaces.
It boasts a vast day-lit control room featuring an SSL E series console, Westlake HR1 monitors and a fantastic selection of outboard. Its live areas are also very spacious, and
include a main live room featuring a beautiful 7-foot Steinway Grand with Forte Music MIDI, a terrific-sounding stone room providing a variety of different recording options,
and a secondary control room which serves as a great programming and editing suite, or additional isolation area.
One of the real standout components of Fisher Lane is its incredible collection of backline gear. For small additional fees, clients can make full use of some mouth-watering
collections of guitars, amps and keyboards, including rare and highly sought-after models by Gretch, Rickenbacker, Fender, Gibson and Steinberger, as well as a whole host of
rare and incredible-sounding keyboards by Moog, Roland, Hammond, Korg, ARP and Yamaha.
Now accompanying this tremendous recording facility are two quintessential English country cottages, which were bought in 2008 to develop Fisher Lane into a first-rate
residential. The cottages are a stone's throw from the studio, and together provide eight bedrooms, spacious and comforting living and dining areas, beautifully kept gardens
featuring a barbecue area, and also many acres of roaming fields which too belong to the premises. Meals are provided daily by the in-house cook, and groceries for
self-catered stays can be provided throughout your stay. The cottages were completely stripped down and refurbished last summer, and now offer a chic, modern vibe for guests to
settle into during their stay.
The local amenities of Chiddingfold include a number of excellent pubs/restaurants, and the town of Guildford is a short drive away. If trips to and from London are required,
the journey can be made within an hour!
To find out more about Fisher Lane, and to book time at the studio, call Linda at the Miloco office on 0207 232 008 or email linda@miloco.co.uk.
www.miloco.co.uk/fisherlane
El Cortijo - 'Record In Paradise'
If you're looking for an ideal place to evade the treacherous conditions back home, El Cortijo should undoubtedly end your search. This is our magnificent 5-star
seven bedroom villa and recording studio based in the south of Spain, minutes from the golden Mediterranean beaches and beautiful coastal towns of Andalucia.
The El Cortijo villa is located in the Ronda National Park, south Andalucia. This sensational retreat offers clients a fully secure and idyllic environment to work and live in.
Immersed in the roaming hills and valleys and overlooking Marbella, the Mediterranean Sea and Moroccan Atlas Mountains in the distance, guests are assured a completely private,
exclusive and luxurious setting to take their project to.
You will have the sole enjoyment of this stunning residence. Built and decorated in the style of classic Andalucian palaces, El Cortijo comprises several lavish living and
dining areas, many terraces and balconies enjoying the spectacular surrounding views, and of course a pristine recording studio. The seven gorgeous bedrooms have each been
designed and furnished to give their own individual character, and most have their own beautiful en suite bathrooms. Guests will have the option to enjoy exquisite Mediterranean
dishes cooked and served daily by El Cortijo staff. And of course, in addition to the house is El Cortijo's stunning garden, made up of a number of tranquil bathing spots,
a badminton court, outdoor dining areas and a sumptuous 11-meter swimming pool.
El Cortijo's recording studio sits at the heart of the villa. It boasts an expansive collection of quality gear, plus a variety of dynamic live rooms centered around a Trident
console and a Protools HD3 rig. We have recently added to the backline spec a Fender Twin and Ampeg B15 Portaflex meaning there's now a greater
range of amps for you to choose from. Set in the most creative environment imaginable, the studio's spectacular surroundings are guaranteed to inspire any recording project.
Out and about, the elegant town of Marbella with its vibrant and world-famous nightlife, and many scorching beaches is a short 15-minute drive away. The beautiful historic
cities of Seville, Grenada, Cadiz and Ronda are also in the region, as are Gibraltar and Malaga, which both provide airports just 45 minutes from El Cortijo.
To find out more about this phenomenal residential recording destination, and to book yourself in for an unforgettable experience, call the Miloco office on
0207 232 0008, or email linda@miloco.co.uk.
www.miloco.co.uk/elcortijo
Introducing 5.1 to the studios!
We're sure many of you will be ecstatic to hear the news that we have purchased a 5.1 monitoring system which can be setup and used in a variety of our rooms. Clients
can request the system prior to their mix
session on a first come first serve basis, and can use it for no additional fee, meaning you'll get even more bang for your buck! Our new purchase is an easy-to-use system
that is ideal for surround sound mixing, so we're sure the producers and engineers amongst you are going to love getting your teeth stuck into it!
The system uses Dynaudio BM15A speakers and an Audient ASP510 Monitor Controller. The BM15As are the largest and most powerful speakers within the BM Passive range and are
designed to comply with any studio application where high sound pressure levels and extended low frequency response are required. The Audient ASP510 features 5 preset monitor
formats and 8 inputs and outputs. The ASP510 also allows a Dolby Surround encoder and decoder to be switched into the monitor path for preparation of encoded material.
We've already taken the 5.1 gear for a thorough test drive on a session over at Alpha Centauri, and we're glad to report that it was sounding awesome. Now clients can
request the system to use in most of Miloco's mix rooms.
To find out more about using the gear on a forthcoming session then get in touch with us at the office on 020 7232 0008.
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Loads of new Pool gear!
We've gone on a mic amp frenzy down at our SE1 'extreme live tracking' room, The Pool.
Filling a newly-acquired API 500V rack are the following new units: API 512c (x2), La Chapell 583s, Buzz Audio Elixir, Purple Audio Biz, Shadow Hills Gamma,
A Designs P1 and Great River MP-500NV, which we're sure you'll agree will create some fantastic new options when recording...
And yet there's more... We've also picked up two Little Labs IBPs, and a very tasty Limited Edition Little Labs LMNO Mic Pre.
Lastly, joining this new armoury of purchases is a Roland SH09, to add to the studio's already-impressive selection of analogue synths.
So the Pool's wonderful and esoteric array of analogue gems continues to grow from strength to strength. Book some time down there: call 0207 232 0008.
Find out more on The Pool by clicking here.
Welcoming to the team... Alex Miles!
We're pleased to unveil a new star player this February. Alex joined us at the start of the month and will be plying his trade in our maintenance department. A real dab hand
at working all things technical, electrical, mechanical, seemingly un-repairable and anything else which leaves those of us who are challenged by a screw-in light bulb
feeling impossibly mutton-brained, Alex will be doing the rounds and using his expertise in helping out making sure the studios are all as smooth as a Ken doll.
Alex has recently been working at West Street studios doing some engineering, as well as in his own home studio. Alex makes cool stuff as well, and has developed his own
customised mic amp which is now being used across a number of local studios... so not bad then!
So we're very much looking forward to working with Alex in the future, and wish him a warm welcome to the Miloco team.
Miloco Clients in Award Land!
As we're right in the thick of award season, we thought we should wrap up our February bulletin by paying tribute to our clients who are on the frontline of action when this
year's gong-scooping activities are concerned. Coldplay and Adele have already prevailed at the Grammys last week, succeeding Stateside with their respective albums
Viva La Vida, which Miloco recorded overdubs on, and 19, which was mixed in Musikbox by Jim Abbiss. Coldplay picked up 'Best Rock Album',
'Best Pop Performance by a Group with Vocals' and 'Song of the Year', and Adele won 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' and 'Best New Artist'.
With the Brits fast approaching we've got a lot more to be placing our bets on too. Coldplay once again look set to bag the lion's share of acclaim with four nominations,
with Adele not far behind on three nominations. But it's by no means a two-horse show, with other clients M.I.A., Santogold and Will Young also
all gunning for glory. Of course we already have one Brit Award-winning client in Florence and the Machine, who was selected for the coveted 'Critcs Choice Award',
following in the footsteps of Adele who won it in 2008.
But its at the end of the month where our roster could really paint the town red, when the NME start dishing out their annual 'middle-fingers' to the most worthy of industry
stars this past year. Bloc Party are in the running for three NMEs due to their excellent Intimacy album recorded in The Pool by Paul Epworth:
'Best British Band', 'Best Album' and 'Best Dance Floor Filler' for track Mercury. Crystal Castles, who mixed their debut album in The Yard with Lexxx Dromgoole,
will be looking to further enhance their popular status with the NME crowd by converting the following nominations into gold: 'Best International Band' and 'Best
Dancefloor Filler'. We have Late of the Pier chasing glory for 'Best New Band' and 'Best Video', Glasvegas for 'Best Album' and 'Best New Band', as
well as Pete Doherty who'll be hoping to be crowned 'Best Solo Artist' on the night.
Finally, we must congratulate our good friend and client Paul Epworth on his success at the MPG Awards on Thursday night (12th Feb), after he was awarded the
'Best Newcomer' at the prestigious ceremony, and also Bernard Butler, who came to us last year with the 1990s, who was crowned 'Producer of the Year' by the guild.
So congratulations to all winners and nominees on their recognition and success. It makes us very proud to be associated with you all!
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