Southern Studios is a recording studio in the Wood Green area of London. It was founded in 1974 by John Loder, and came to be the recording studio of choice for Crass and their record label Crass Records. Southern Studios Ltd. continues to grow its label and provide label management and distribution services throughout Europe.

Background

In the 1980s and 90s, Southern Studios Ltd. (SSL) started a record label and a distribution company. The label used the name Southern Records. The distributor uses the name Southern Record Distributors Ltd. (SRD) and took over UK distribution. The distributor is now independently owned. SSL continued to serve the needs of Europe, as well as signing and supporting artists on the Southern Records. During the massive growth of the independent music industry in the mid-1990s, Loder decided to establish Southern Records Inc. (SRI) in Chicago, which added artists to the roster and operates a distribution business for labels in the US and elsewhere.

Technical details

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, a long-time friend and associate of John Loder, has described the set up at Southern Studios as being completely analog.Fremer, Michael
''The "Dean" of Alternative Rock Engineers Steve Albini—Way Back in 1993—Part II''
1 September 2005. Although not entirely analogue, the vintage Raindirk Series III 24-channel desk dominates the studio control room. The studio retained two key time-based signal processors: an EMT 140 plate reverb and an AMS RSX-16 digital reverb. The studio today is owned by Southern Records and continues to operate under the guidance of sound engineer Harvey Birrell.

Artists

The following is an incomplete list of artists who have recorded at Southern Studios: * And Also The Trees * The Jesus and Mary Chain * Carter USM *

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work blends elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music, folk. Growing up in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began ...

* Crass * Therapy? * My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult *

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

* Neil Leyton * Mark Stewart & The Maffia * African Head Charge * Big Black * Lee Perry *

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and s ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

* Grails * Shit and Shine * Lungleg * Danielle Howle * Babes in Toyland *

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

* The Fall * Ministry * No Age * Dananananaykroyd * Pulp *

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

Distribution

The following is an incomplete list of record labels that have been manufactured & distributed or distributed by Southern Studios in Europe between 1978 and the present. *Adult Swim Records *Bluurg Records * Constellation Records * Coptic Cat * Corpus Christi Records * Crass Records *

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release '' Minor Disturbance'' by their band the Teen Id ...

* Durtro Jnana * Ipecac Records * Kranky * Neurot *Outer Himalayan Records * Southern Lord *

Spiderleg Records Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by United Kingdom, UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981 in music, 1981. The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which taught the ...

* Touch & Go Records * Trance Syndicate Records * Upset the Rhythm *Wrong Records

References

External links