BOP Studios (originally Bophuthatswana Recording Studios and also referred to as BOP or BRS) is a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

located in the outskirts of

Mahikeng Mahikeng ( Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It was established in 1991 by the Sefalana Employee Benefits Organization, a government pension fund in the Republic of Bophuthatswana. Artists who have recorded there include

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking a ...

for her album ''Over My Heart'',

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fas ...

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and ''mbube (genre), mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Grace ...

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

Stimela Stimela, is a South African band which emerged as an afrofusion ensemble in the 1980s under the leadership of guitarist Ray Phiri best known for his collaboration on Paul Simon's ''Graceland (album), Graceland'' and ''The Rhythm of the Saints'', ...

, and the Soweto String Quartet. The ''Lion King'' soundtrack was also recorded and produced at the studio.

History

When BOP Studios first opened, there was a lack of Western artists visiting because the

South African apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

referendum was underway. Because BOP Studios was located in a

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu peoples, Bantu homeland, a Black people, black homeland, a Khoisan, black state or simply known as a homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party (South Africa), National Party administration of the ...

amidst a politically charged climate and funded by private investments, most musicians in Africa would not use it out of political conviction and most could not afford the recording costs necessary to ensure investor profit. The studios were then taken over by the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

, which ended in 2003. The studios were reopened in 2006 after being purchased by a consortium based in the North West Province.

Facilities and layout

BOP Studios was the first recording facility to be equipped with infrasonic monitoring designed by Kinoshita. The acoustic design and building construction were specially made to produce infrasonic energy across a wide frequency spectrum, giving the space an unmatched sound.

Tom Hidley Tom Hidley (27 May 1931 - May 2025) has been an American recording studio designer and audio engineer whose companies have been responsible for the design of hundreds of professional studios worldwide since 1965. He coined the term "bass trap" ...

and Tom Rast were responsible for the architecture of the studios, which are equipped with custom-made monitors. The consoles in each of the three control rooms are custom built, including a Neve, SSL, and Focusrite.

Phil Dudderidge Philip Stephen Dudderidge (born 6 February 1949 in Radlett, England) is a British sound engineering entrepreneur. He is a notable figure in the professional audio industry, having worked as Led Zeppelin's concert sound mixer, and later co-foundin ...

, Chairman of Focusrite Audio Engineering, sold BOP one of ten

Focusrite Focusrite PLC is an English music and audio products group based in High Wycombe, England (with its history in Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.). The Focusrite Group trades under eight brands: Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, ADAM Audio ...

consoles. From an aerial view, BOP's layout follows that of a rhinoceros with Studio 3 being the head, and Studios 1 and 2 being the legs.

Current status

Saj Chaudry is the managing director and sole shareholder of BOP Studios.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 25, 49, 0, S, 25, 38, 17, E, display=title Bophuthatswana Recording studios in South Africa 1991 establishments in South Africa Mahikeng Economy of North West (South African province)

History

Facilities and layout

Current status

See also

References

External links