Studio time isn’t cheap and, when you’re spending so much time in there, you want it to be a comfortable space. So, for some bands like The John Steel Singers, it made more sense for them to build their own home studio entirely from scratch.
Impressively, the band gradually transformed the desolate concrete box you see below into the magnificent space recording space they dubbed ‘The Plutonium’. The studio has since recorded the likes of Tame Impala, Blank Realm and, of course, the The John Steel Singers themselves – they even recorded their new album there, naming it Midnight At The Plutonium in celebration.
It might seem like a daunting prospect to bolt together your own creative hideout, but the guys have a few tips to set you off in the right direction. In this case, the end result was definitely worth the effort.
Before – A concrete warehouse, inconveniently located under some heavy duty embroidery machines, which resulted in some complicated construction.
Ahh… the construction of the all important basketball backboard. Remember kids always be properly rested and plan ahead so you don’t have to fix mistakes.
Luke helping out with the control room build. Framing is done, ceiling joists are sorted, battens are up and I’m guessing we’re about to put up the insulation in the ceiling. Remember always wear eye protection.
This was probably taken an hour and a half after the last pic. I’m still working on the back board and Tim seems to be doin a half assed robot. More to the point look at that cute air compressor. I’ve still got him and he’s still buildin’ stuff.
Our lil’ alley, but that’s our landlord’s four wheel drive, not ours. Tim hand painted that 5 on the wall. There’s like 40 sheets of 13mm gyprock under that tarp, and we used 70x35mm MGP 12 for the framing.
You learn pretty quickly that fibre glass insulation can fuck off. That’s why we used polyester for the control room. Costs a bit more but your entire body will thank you!
What the folks can’t see don’t need to be pretty. The basketball key is regulation size. Scott broke that light next to the hoop on opening night and we still haven’t fixed it.
Fish eye lenses are not the best when you’re skinny as fuck from the stress and the workin’. But your finger toes will look fantastic.
AYYYY!!! It’s worksite dog! Zac worked hard, chased a basketball and then slept in the way a lot. First layer of ceiling sheets going up. Ventilation box in place cause we gotta breath baby. Remember kids, always use a mechanical lifter when you can. Your entire body will thank you.
Now it’s all taking shape, a nice coat of paint on floor, wall and ceiling. We have some doors and something on the floor that I cannot for the life of me remember what it is – I’m guessing acoustic foam. If you ever need acoustic foam or advice you can’t go past Ultrafonic. They are the real MVP’s of this studio.
We chose to go the ‘paint the shitty concrete and then cover it with rugs’ approach. When you have to walk on touch dry paint, always wear rubber gloves on your feet to confuse archeologists from the future.
Ahh a room with a view. This is looking from the control room through to the live room. It’s almost done, just needs some ceiling diffusers to make that shit sound real good… It’s science.
After – A place where dreams are recorded.