Well, Since We Don’t Yet Have a Molecular Transporter…

We Can’t Beam You Across the Atlantic Yet, But We Can Beam Your Guitar Solo… As You’re Playing It

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Making my album Ownership back in 2007 meant gathering my musos one plane ticket or toll road at a time. I had to fly my drummer in from San Francisco. One bass player drove up from Bethlehem, PA, another from Brooklyn. I constantly had to arrange transport for my percussionist in Harlem and pay gas and tolls for many other musos coming from either the outer boroughs or places up and down the Atlantic coast. And that was just the New Jersey end of things.

For the South African sessions, I flew across the Atlantic, set up a studio in Johannesburg, and worked to bring in the singers, horn players, and percussionists I needed, some of them making their own journeys from Durban and Cape Town just to be in the room. That’s what it took to make the record I heard in my head. That world still exists, but it’s no longer the only world.

Technology has fundamentally changed what “being in the studio” means. Cloud-based DAW sessions, ultra-low-latency audio streaming, and high-resolution file transfer have made it possible to work in real time with a guitarist in LA, a tabla player in Durban, singers and horn players in Joburg, an mbira player in Harare, and a mastering engineer in Portland, Maine, all while sitting in front of the console in Asbury Park.

Our work with The Headroom Studio in Durban, South Africa is a perfect example. Projects that once would have required expensive international travel and costly shipping, or gear rental, now happen through carefully coordinated sessions using platforms like Sessionwire and Steinberg’s VST Connect, allowing audio signals and files to transfer seamlessly back and forth across the Atlantic. You may not all be physically in the same space, but when the technology works, you can sure make it feel that way.

So what this means is, you’re no longer limited to talent in close proximity. NOW you can bring in the cats you REALLY want for the project, not just who’s geographically convenient, and save some serious ducats in the process.

But here’s the thing technology can’t do: it can’t tell you who the right people are. It can’t tell you who can play a better feel for a particular track. It can’t replace the judgment that comes from decades of listening, from knowing whether a vocal crack is a mistake or a magical moment, from understanding how the drums should sit in the sonic landscape, from knowing what a mix needs before you can articulate it. That part is still human. That part is still ears.

The recording studio of today has expanded way beyond its physical limitations. Technology now allows multiple creative orbits from around the world to align in a shared virtual space that exists wherever the music needs it to. BTW, Ikhaya Studios has firmly established itself as a portal in that space. So, you ready to beam your project up?

OK, SO, We've been BUSY whaddaya want?!

Just a quick note here to tell you all that we did have a weekend long GRAND OPENING OPEN HOUSE back in June! Wait WHAT?!…I know I know… We’ll post more shortly and share all of the festivities and of course all the info about our NEW HOME in ASBURY PARK, NJ!!! But we hit the ground running with projects that were booked right away. As soo as we can come up for a little air, we’ll share everything with you guys.

Until then:

ROCK FREELY!!!

*Second* Sony DMX R100 "Baby Oxford" Added to the "Mix"!!!

Ever since Sony discontinued support for the DMX R100 console back in 2014, we’ve been on the lookout for a second one to have as a “parts” unit to cannibalize as needed. This one came to our attention just before Christmas. It is in pristine condition, fully functional with the penultimate software version and 4 expansion cards, housed about an hour (!) from us and for an insanely (almost criminal) low price.

Needless to say, we jumped on it. It is currently, lovingly packed away and sitting in storage right next to the other one while we continue the new construction. Once the new studio build is finished, we intend to incorporate it into the control room configuration, connecting it to the first one, giving us a dual “Baby Oxford” setup running up to 96 channels with individual “Oxford” EQs/Dynamics on every channel!

Of course this means we still don’t have a “parts” unit, so we will continue to monitor the market for another “parts carcass”!

Stay tuned…

Ikhaya Studios v4.0 (Asbury Park) - Construction has begun!

A GROUND BREAKING FADER FRIDAY!!!

Happy Fader Friday!

For those who don’t know, we shut down the studio in 2019 to move to a new location. Then the pandemic hit. Yadda yadda yadda, it’s 2022 and we thought a Fader Friday would be an appropriate day to announce that ground will (literally) be broken to begin building the new studio next week.

It’s going to be a long arduous process, but we can finally start looking forward to when all the faders on our beautiful Sony DMX R100 “Baby Oxford” are flying in the sonic ether once again.

Now where’s that Jack-hammer…

OK so we got a little sidetracked...

So we started planning the studio relocation down to Asbury Park, NJ back in 2019. Not gonna use the “C” word here because it’s not the sole cause and well, you know, the ebbing tide lowers all boats too. But suffice it to say, the recording gods saw to it that the relocation plans would be “a bit” delayed. At this time, we’re still not ready to make any big fanfare announcement, but we are in the new location and are in the early planning phase to start the new construction. So I thought I’d share the unceremonious equivalent of “breaking ground” (or “wall” as it were). The tide’s turning. Check back soon!

Rockin Dynaudio in 2018!

Out with the old; in with the new. We just finished "burning in" these babyies and well, OMG!!! The clarity, depth of imagery and *width of stereo field* are just stunning. Come book with us and hear for yourself!

GRAND REOPENING - SPECIAL SINGER/SONGWRITER PACKAGE RATE!

As we promised last spring, we have launched the new, roomier and more powerful Ikhaya Studios 3.0 All the jewel lights, vacuum tubes and lava lamps are aglow and we are operating at FULL VIBE CAPACITY!

To celebrate the rejuvenated digs, we're offering a special SINGER/SONGWRITER Package Rate for those of you who are looking to come in and do some simple live recording either for a demo or to bang out an EP!

The rate is $100 a song which is all inclusive - recording, mixing and mastering.

This special is for a limited time only, but if you're not quite ready, you can still contact us and lock it in for a later date pending schedule availability (ours).

Contact us now for more info and let's get you creating!

IKHAYA STUDIOS 3.0

We have been "dark" for several months now upgrading and reconfiguring the control room. All of the major work including a whole new (physical) workstation, new audio cable runs, ultra-powerful audio computer, DAW and software upgrades (see list), and more is complete. We're just putting the finishing touches on but we should be in full operation by the end of April. So as soon as all the jewel lights, vacuum tubes and lava lamps are aglow...

CH-CH-CH-CH Changes!

• Brand New Console Workstation w/ Ultra Wide 34" Curved Monitor
• Audio Computer ADK Extreme WS Custom DAW System
• DAWS - Nuendo 7 and Samplitude Pro X3 Suite
• Complete Steven Slate, Sound Toys and Metric Halo Plug-in Bundles
• Antelope Audio OCX-V Atomic Clock and DA

Book your project with us now!

PROJECT PARTNERING WITH BROADWAY SOUTH RECORDING

We have been informally collaborating with producer/engineer Joel Katz at Broadway South Recording here in North Jersey with some pretty amazing outcomes. We've discovered that each studio (and tech staff) has it's symbiotic benefit to the other. So we're making the "marriage" official: Ikhaya Studios and Broadway South are now sister studios. With this cooperative atmosphere, you can expect expanded project capabilities in the digital, analog and post realms from both!

The first project will be the *analog* remastering of the seminal Afro-Jazz fusion album Ancestral Healing from South African jazz composer/traditionalist Pops Mohamed and American Safro-Rock singer/songwriter guitarist, Ema.

We'll keep you posted!