Associated Independent Recording

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Associated Independent Recording

Associated Independent Recording (AIR), an independent recording company, was founded in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
in 1965 by Beatles producer George Martin

George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom record producer, arrangement and composer. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"?a title that he owes to his work as producer or co-producer of all of The Beatles' original records as well as playing piano on some of The Beatles tracks?and is considered one o...
and his partner John Burgess after their departure from EMI

EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
.

Since 1969 AIR has operated its own professional audio recording facilities.

s first facility was on the fourth floor of 214 Oxford Street

Oxford Street

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Encyclopedia

Associated Independent Recording (AIR), an independent recording company, was founded in London

London

George Martin

EMI

Oxford Street

AIR's first facility was on the fourth floor of 214 Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in London, England in the City of Westminster. With over 300 shops, it is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as the most dense....
, containing four studios and a MIDI programming room. The facility included two large studios (one 58×32 feet, the other 30×28 feet) and two small ones. The studios contained two Bösendorfer

Bösendorfer

B?sendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. B?sendorfer pianos are noted for their dark, full-bodied sound compared with other top models....
pianos, many soundproof booths, and a 56-channel mixing console

Mixing console

In professional Sound reproduction, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board or soundboard, is an Electronics device for combining , routing, and changing the level, Timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals....
, custom-designed by Neve

Neve

AMS-Neve is a manufacturer of music recording and broadcast consoles and hardware. It was originally founded as Neve Electronics in 1961 by Rupert Neve, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console....
to AIR's specification.

AIR Montserrat

The company built another recording studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea....
in the 1970s. In 1986 the facility was described as:

"Recently refurbished control room now featuring 60 channels by SSL with automation and TR and 12 fully integrated channels by Rupert Neve of Focusrite, two 32track Mitsubishi X850 digital machines and 24track Studer A800. Digital mixing on two Mitsubishi X86. Very comprehensive ancillary equipment list." Elton John recorded three albums there during the 80's

The Montserrat facility was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo was a destructive Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale hurricane that struck Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, South Carolina and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing 56 people and leaving 56,000 homeless....
in 1989.

AIR Lyndhurst Hall

In 1991, AIR Studios took over Lyndhurst Hall, a Grade II listed building

Listed building

A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance....
designed by Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse was an England architect, particularly associated with the Victorian era Gothic revival. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the country....
, located in the Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is situated within Inner London....
suburb of northern London. The space was revamped as a recording facility and opened for business in December 1992. AIR Lyndhurst is now a key London facility for classical and popular recordings, as well as film scores

Score (film)

Score is the name of a sexploitation film directed by Radley Metzger that was one of the first films to explore bi-sexual relationships. It was part of the brief porn chic fad in the early 1970s that also included The Devil in Miss Jones and Deep Throat ....
, television post-production

Post-production

Post-production occurs in the making of film, television program, radio programs, videos, sound recording and reproduction, photography and digital art....
, and dialogue, sound effects and music for video games.