Roundhead Studios is an

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

-based sound recording studio owned by singer-songwriter

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz and for being the lead singer of Crowded House. He was also a member of Fleetwood Mac from 2018 ...

. It was officially opened in June 2007, however by the time of its opening, several international artists had already used it whilst the studio was either in construction or receiving finishing touches. Artists who have used the facility include Australian band

Augie March Augie March are an Australian Pop music, pop and indie rock band formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria. Since 2001 the group consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bass guitarist Edmondo Ammen ...

, US rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, British Indie Rock band

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

, and a range of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

–based artists, including Finn's son

Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon (Johnson) and Neil Finn. In 2020, he joined his father's band ...

, Herriot Row,

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent ten years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, the Makers, The Angels in 1986-1987 ...

, Goldenhorse,

Jan Hellriegel Jan Hellriegel is a singer/songwriter based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her first recorded appearances were with Dunedin band Working With Walt in the mid-1980s when she studied at the University of Otago in Dunedin. She then formed all-woman b ...

, the

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They ofte ...

and

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...

. On 13 July 2007, Neil Finn brought his band

Crowded House Crowded House are an Australian-New Zealand rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Paul Hester (drums), who were both for ...

in and performed a set of songs live to New Zealand radio.Neil Finn, 3 July 2007 Radio New Zealandinterview with Neil Finn, recorded 13 July 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007. Roundhead was also the recording location for 2009

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

charity album '' The Sun Came Out'', featuring members of

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and h ...

Phil Selway Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the rock band Radiohead. He combines rock drumming with electronic percussion. Selway was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead in ...

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter, and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he formed Radiohead ...

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American double bass, bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 200 ...

and local artists

Don McGlashan Don McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cin ...

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga ...

and

. After recording for ''The Sun Came Out'', members of

took up residency at Roundhead to record the foundation tracks for their seventh studio album, '' Wilco (The Album)''. Roundhead has two main studio spaces. Studio A features a Neve console which was originally built for

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

. This console was previously located at

Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was an independent residential recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in the Bearsville, New York, Bearsville section of Woodstock, New York. From the late 1960s through the early 2000s, the studios were the site of n ...

in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Both vintage analogue equipment and modern

digital recording In digital recording, an audio signal, audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or Color, chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is s ...

equipment is available. Between Studio A and the Brick Room studio below, in order to fully isolate the two studios, there is a 100mm thick concrete pad floating on rubber mounts. Studio A features sealed exterior window frames and panes and interior panes of heavy acoustic glass with a large air gap between them. These provide natural light, while keeping out the noise and vibration from the road outside. Roundhead was also the name given to Neil Finn's previous home studio in Parnell, utilised by New Zealand bands including Garageland and The Stereo Bus in the late 1990s. The name and logo for Roundhead Studios refer to the Round Head period of prehistoric art.

References

External links

Roundhead Studios website
{{Coord, -36.86385, 174.760194, format=dms, display=title 2007 establishments in New Zealand Recording studios in New Zealand Recording studios in Auckland, New Zealand Buildings and structures in Auckland Culture in Auckland Economy of Auckland 2000s architecture in New Zealand