Kore Studios

Why your band could benefit from a producer

When a new band is getting to grips with the music industry it can be tempting to go it alone, recording and releasing all of their music without the involvement of producers and labels. Without the equipment and facilities needed to give your music the professional treatment, many artists are happy to express themselves using a small and inexpensive recording setup and then release their home recordings through streaming sites. That’s the “indie” way!

Studio Recording vs Live Performance: The Key Differences

As a musician, the chances are you already have a few gigs under your belt. You may have adapted to the pressures of performing on stage. You might be able to power through a setlist without even flinching, just trusting your abilities to guide you through the whole performance. And that’s great – playing music live is hard work and you should always look to develop this aspect of your music career. However, when it comes down to recording music in the studio, artists and bands need to adopt an approach distinct from that adopted on-stage. In this post, we’ll be looking at the main differences between these two approaches to music.

How to promote music the old fashioned way

As a musician, having a sizeable fanbase often makes the difference between music as a hobby and music as a living. People who buy your albums, stream your tracks, go to your shows – they will help you continue making music and grow as an artist. But this doesn’t come so easy. Truthfully, it’s quite rare for bands and artists to make a sustainable living out of their music, even if they do have a fairly large audience. Good promotion is now more necessary than ever.

Getting your band ready for festival season

You’ve been blowing up in clubs and pubs around your local area and even throughout the country, but now you’ve secured your first festival slot. This time, you’re not opening for yet another Libertines sound-a-like in the student union. Instead, you’ll be coming face-to-face with a crowd of thousands looking forward to the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses or Liam Gallagher.

Preparing for Your First Studio Recording Session

That first ever studio experience is a definitive moment in the career of any artist or band, bringing their music from small live performances and home recordings into the realm of professional and marketable pieces of work. There’s just one catch: artists need to duly prepare! The studio environment takes some getting used to and the recording process can be difficult, so it’s crucial for musicians to make the very most out of each and every session.

Studio Shopping 101: what to look out for in a recording studio

Consider the following scenarios. A full swing band dressed up in classic Rat Pack regalia, crammed into a recording booth the size of a bus stop, with the drummer getting smacked in the face with every pump of the trombone and a huge double bass pinning the singer to a wall. How about this: an experienced vocalist struggling through the 43rd take of their song after the red-faced producer once again “forgot to hit record”. And finally, picture an up-and-coming band struggling to drum up the funds necessary to go on tour because they rinsed their entire budget on a studio with plush velvet seating and a chocolate fountain. What’s the common denominator in all of these situations? Well, namely, it’s that each of these musicians could have probably done better research when deciding on a recording studio.

Win a day’s recording at London’s famous Kore Studios

Kore Studios are offering up and coming artists the opportunity to win a free days recording. This famous west London studios, home to artists such as Florence & the machine, Razorlight, Plan B and Laura Marling, is one of London’s premier tracking and mixing spaces. Featuring Pro Tools HD, a gorgeous Api console, and an incredible mic collection, Kore provides everything you need to complete a truly professional recording.

API console install

There has been an extraordinary change at the Kore Studios in the last month and we are hugely excited to share it with you. As we approached our ten-year anniversary we decided it was time to upgrade our console.The desk we have chosen is a beautiful 32 channel Api 1608.

Drum recording at Kore Studios

A lot of the work we do at Kore revolves around drum recording sessions. On this basis we thought it would be useful to provide visitors with a few samples to showcase the variety of sounds and set-ups that can be achieved. Our live room provides enormous flexibility, with the possibility of using the main space for an open sound, the booth for a tighter feel, or adding in the adjoining corridor for big ambience.

Ribbon microphones

This week’s blog post is about Ribbon microphones. We will be discussing both their merits and uses in the studio, and concluding with a selection of audio files of some of the models we offer.