By Christopher Walsh
Shokan, NY (March 21, 2008)–Allaire Studios, a two-room “destination” facility situated in a 1920s-era mansion in New York’s rural Catskill Mountains region, has dismissed the staff and ceased music production projects.
Studio manager Mark McKenna, chief technical engineer Ken McKim, assistant engineer Stephanie DuFresne, office manager Susan Perrin and a part-time assistant engineer have all left the studio, according to McKenna. Presently, property manager Colby Reynolds is Allaire Studios’ sole remaining staffer.
In the fall of 2007, Allaire installed the famed Neve Air Montserrat console, one of only three produced and the only one in the U.S., to replace the SSL 9000 originally housed in the studio’s Great Hall. That console and Allaire’s additional equipment, which includes a Neve 8068 in the second studio, remains onsite.
“The backbone of the studio, which is myself, Ken McKim, the two assistant engineers and the office manager, were let go,” McKenna tells Pro Sound News.
“We had a bad winter,” McKenna explains. “We didn’t have a productive winter, and Randall [Wallace, owner] basically just didn’t want to fund the studio any further, to see us through to where the bookings picked up again. Basically, we ran out of time and money. We did have bookings on the calendar for spring–big projects–which had to be let go.
Presently, Allaire is booked for a number of upcoming photo shoots, according to a person who answered a call to the studio. Wallace, who was not available at press time, is a professional photographer.
Although budgets have fallen sharply as the music industry consolidates amid a long and steep decline in sales, McKenna feels another evolution in the industry is more to blame for Allaire’s slow winter. “That doesn’t help,” he allows, but “I think it’s less attributable to the budgets than to [Allaire’s] remoteness. It’s really hard to get producers, in this day and age, to leave their homes, and increasingly, their home studios. So many producers are based out of either Los Angeles, Nashville, New York or London, [and] to get them to commit to going to a remote location for two weeks, or more, is difficult. I think that might have had more to do with our problems that with the actual budgets. We were very reasonably priced–I don’t think our pricing was a problem.
- Allaire Studios. 1,786 likes 33 talking about this 108 were here. Created in 1998 by NYC photographer/musician Randall Wallace, Allaire Studios was named.
- Allaire may refer to: Allaire (surname). Allaire Village, living history museum in Allaire State Park; Allaire Studios, a former recording studio located near Shokan, New York. Tiempo de festival Playing with TOONTRACK SUPERIOR DRUMMER 2.0 AND ALLAIRE LEGACY STUDIOS NEW YORK AND ROLAND TDW-20. New Rush Album Recorded in Catskills at Allaire.
In its short history–the studio opened in 2001–Allaire attracted a large number of high-profile artists and projects. David Bowie, Tim McGraw, Norah Jones, Rob Thomas, Joan Baez, Ryan Adams, Roseanne Cash, Gipsy Kings, Guster and Cassandra Wilson are among the artists who have recorded at Allaire, along with producers including Tony Visconti, John Leventhal, Craig Street, David Kahne, Matt Serletic, Steve Lillywhite and the late Arif Mardin. Last summer, the Black Crowes recorded their first new studio album in seven years, Warpaint, at Allaire with producer Paul Stacey.
Allaire Studios Woodstock New York
“Snakes & Arrows” was recorded at the residential Allaire Studios, where drummer Neal Neil Peart, bassist-keyboardist-vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson set up housekeeping for six weeks back in November-December 2006. “It’s just outside of Woodstock, New York,” Lifeson said in a phone interview from his Toronto home.
Allaire Studios
www.allairestudios.com
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Mixmag and AKG have teamed up to curate a creative-focused experience, taking a roster of talented artists to Allaire Studios in upstate New York, recognized as one of the world's greatest studios, for a three-day escape from the hustle and bustle to allow them full relaxation and focus with other like-minded creatives. From the studio weekend, Mixmag and AKG will be capturing exclusive content and spotlighting the stories and creative processes of Kidnap, Dena Amy, Moon Boots, Little Boots, Bright Lights and Kaleena Zanders.
Allaire Studios New York
MOON BOOTS
Brooklyn native Moon Boots first developed his love of music as a musician, which he first found in piano and later in synthesizers. He followed his intuition, which took him to the birthplace of house music, Chicago where he began to flourish as a house producer with an addicting take on uplifting sounds. He’s since returned back to Brooklyn to hone his sound, with his debut album ‘First Landing’ and new releases out on Anjunadeep.
DENA AMY
Dena Amy is the ultimate multi-hyphenate: an accomplished actress, dancer, singer, DJ and most recently, a producer as well. No doubt a creative mind through and through, Dena is a chameleon of the arts and is now zeroing in on her musical abilities, taking her love of DJing and translating it to the studio for her newest original, ‘Jol’.
KIDNAP
Formerly known as Kidnap Kid, Kidnap is an uniquely talented London producer who masters blending powerful, somber emotions with melodic house music. Constantly on tour, somehow, Kidnap finds time to helm his Birds That Fly imprint which launched in 2016 and has become a home for a growing discography of electronic sounds from rising stars inspired by Kidnap’s own meticulous production abilities.
LITTLE BOOTS
Singer, producer, musician and DJ Little Boots sits on over a decade of experience pioneering a path through electro pop music. She has worked with Joe Goddard, Simian Mobile Disco, Maya Jane Coles and has toured the world as both a DJ and live act. Her latest EP ‘Burn’ brought together a powerful class of female talent and debuted at No. 1 in the UK, US and Canada.
BRIGHT LIGHTS
Even if you don’t know Bright Lights’ name, you know her work. Starting off as a songwriter for massive pop acts like Justin Bieber (credits for ‘Somebody to Love’), Britney Spears, Usher, The Wanted, Ashley Tisdale and more, she is also a prominently featured vocalist across many electronic works like Porter Robinson’s ‘Language’, Hardwell’s ‘Never Say Goodbye’ and across ZEDD’s ‘Clarity’ album.
KALEENA ZANDERS
Los Angeles-based Kaleena Zanders is a force of nature and a voice you can’t help but gravitate towards. She has been a go-to voice for electronic acts like AC Slater, SNBRN, Morgan Page, Vindata and more on tracks that regularly break the million mark on streaming platforms around the world. Her tracks have been featured in the popular video game NBA 2K17 and in a Super Bowl commercial for Toyota.
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