July 8, 2008

Sound engineers at Capitol recording studio fear impact of nearby building project

LOS ANGELES

Standing in the photo-lined hallway, you can almost hear the history.

One picture shows Frank Sinatra crooning into a sleek, silver microphone, his fedora tipped back. In another, Nat King Cole sits in front of a music stand in a crisp, white V-neck sweater.

Both were taken only a few metres away, a half-century ago, in the wood and glass studios of Capitol Records’ famed cylindrical tower in Hollywood, familiar to tourists from around the globe as resembling a giant stack of vinyl records.

In this age of mp3s, digital home recording and compressed and condensed tunes, Capitol Studios remain a rare gem, a legendary yet working homage to high-quality sound.

“It’s not a historical monument to itself, it’s a contemporary studio,” said engineer Jim Scott, who recently recorded Dido with a 30-piece orchestra at Capitol.

But the large, three-room facility and its fabled subterranean echo chambers, whose sound, experts say, cannot be recreated, may soon be picking up some bad vibrations from an adjacent 16-storey condominium and office project, part of downtown Hollywood’s ambitious revitalization effort.

Sound engineers fear noise from the construction site, as well as from traffic that would eventually use the project’s underground parking garage, will ruin the delicate aural qualities of the echo chambers.

“To steal a quote from (Beatles engineer) Phil Ramone, ‘People just play better here,” ” said Greg Parkin, Capitol Studios and Mastering’s senior director of operations.

Buried more than 25 feet below the Capitol tower’s parking lot, the studios’ trapezoidal-shaped echo chambers, built out of 10-inch thick concrete walls, were co-designed by famed sound innovator Les Paul, who pioneered the electric guitar.

Artists sing or play into microphones in the studios and the sound is piped through wires in the walls down through a corridor and into the chambers, Parkin said.

Speakers in the chambers bounce the sound to microphones on the other side, which pick up the music in stereo and then funnel it back to a mixing console in the studios. This provides a smooth delay of sound, or reverb, which can last up to five seconds. Underground isolation is necessary to establish purity of the sound.

“Loud noises are our enemy, that’s just the nature of the business,” Parkin said. “When you’re doing a very delicate string date, any interference can be a problem.”

He added that the chambers have never been replicated digitally and that’s why artists still travel to Capitol from around the world.

A Los Angeles City Council committee recently denied an appeal by Capitol parent EMI Music North America and recommended approval of the condo/office project, contingent on a series of additional measures, including construction walls and a foam barrier, to mitigate potential sound issues. Capitol had worked out the measures with developer Second Street Ventures as a backup plan, though it still opposes the project.

“Capitol Records’ executives are reluctant to keep open the recording studios and echo chambers if they run the risk of lawsuits from recording artists and their record labels,” EMI’s attorney John Whitaker said at the hearing.

David Jordon, co-owner of Second Street Ventures, said he felt confident that the measures would protect Capitol Studios’ signature sound.

“We have no desire to create any negativity toward Capitol Records,” he said. “Our design is to enhance and protect this iconic building and the area around it. From a personal standpoint, we wouldn’t want that kind of liability.”

Jordon maintains that his company is only looking to do loud excavation and demolition from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. He also says there would be an emphasis on “open and constant communication” with Capitol, including an onsite attendant every day. Discussions continue regarding compensation to Capitol if recording sessions are affected, he said.

The full council is set to give a final vote on the proposal today in a session that could attract the many music industry insiders who oppose the project, from engineers to The Recording Academy.

Associated Press

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