Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, John Burgess, Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan. In 1970 the company established its own professional audio recording facilities, AIR Studios.

History

In 1965,

producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...

, Ron Richards, and John Burgess of

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

and Peter Sullivan of

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

founded the company in order to produce music independently and license the final masters to the record companies, creating the opportunity for producers to earn bonuses and royalty payments. In 1970 AIR opened its first recording studio complex in London.

AIR Studios

Oxford Street, London (1970–1991)

AIR's first recording facility was meant to be suitable for both dubbing films and making records, so the company sought a central location with easy distance from the

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotels, 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street, London, Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. History Founding Claridge's traces its origins to ...

and

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

hotels to appeal to producers from around the world. Eventually a site in

Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nash ( ...

on the fourth floor of 214

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

, atop the Peter Robinson department store was secured, and in 1969 the company began a year of construction costing £136,000. The studios were outfitted with £200,000 worth of equipment, opening with a high-profile launch party in October 1970. The Oxford Circus facility included two large studios (one 58×32 feet, the other 30×28 feet) and two small ones. The studios contained two

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pianos, many soundproof booths, and a 56-channel

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...

, custom-designed by

Neve Electronics Neve Electronics ( ) was a manufacturer of music recording and broadcast mixing consoles and hardware. It was founded in 1961 by Rupert Neve, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console.

to AIR's specification. AIR London became popular in the 1970s for

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

recordings. It also became one of the most in-demand music studios in London by 1973.

AIR Lyndhurst Hall, Hampstead (1991–present)

In 1991, with the lease on the Oxford Street premises coming to an end, AIR Studios relocated to a building that was formerly the

Lyndhurst Road Lyndhurst Road is a residential street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead. Located in the London Borough of Camden it runs west to east, linking Fitzjohns Avenue to Rosslyn Hill. Until the nineteenth century it was a rural area on the outsk ...

Congregational Church, a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

designed in 1880 by Victorian architect

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

and located in the Hampstead suburb of north London. The space was revamped as a recording facility and opened for business in December 1992. The Lyndhurst Hall location features a hexagonal room large enough to record both a full orchestra and a chorus at the same time, making it a key London facility for film scores and classical recordings, as well popular music, television post-production, and dialogue, sound effects and music for video games. Spitfire Audio has recorded many of its digital audio samples here. Employees include Olga Fitzroy.

AIR Montserrat (1979–1989)

In 1975, AIR was sold to the Chrysalis Group, and Martin used the infusion of cash to build a residential studio on the island of Montserrat, a British colony in the Caribbean where the producer had a residence at Olveston House in Salem, Montserrat, Salem. The studio was built near Martin's home, situated on a hilltop overlooking the sea within a 26-acre farm and surrounded by mango, citrus, and coconut groves. After two years of construction, AIR Montserrat () opened in July 1979, complete with several surrounding villas where clients could stay while working at the studio. The first band to record there was the Climax Blues Band who were recording their album ''Real to Reel''. As of 1979 the studio consisted of a 46-channel Neve Electronics, Neve

, a pair of Music Center Incorporated, MCI 24-track recorders, three Ampex ATR-102 Multitrack recording, 2-track tape recorders and an MCI synchronizer (for any 46-track work), with JBL and Tannoy monitors. Jimmy Buffett recorded ''Volcano (Jimmy Buffett album), Volcano'' at the Montserrat studio in May 1979, naming the album and its Volcano (Jimmy Buffett song), title song for the then dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island. Elton John recorded three albums at the Montserrat studio in the 1980s. Dire Straits recorded their hugely successful ''Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits album), Brothers in Arms'' album at the studio between 1984 and 1985. Other well-known studio clients at AIR Montserrat included the Police (''Ghost in the Machine (The Police album), Ghost in the Machine'' and ''Synchronicity (The Police album), Synchronicity''), Earth, Wind & Fire, Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (pre-recorded ''Junk Culture''), Paul McCartney, Gerry Rafferty, Rush (band), Rush, the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Midge Ure, Little River Band, Duran Duran, Sheena Easton and Luther Vandross. By 1986, the studio equipment list read, in part: In 1989, shortly after the Rolling Stones had recorded their ''Steel Wheels'' album there, Hurricane Hugo devastated the island. While the Montserrat studio facility sustained only minor damage, it was never reopened, mainly due to changes in the recording industry. According to George Martin, The abandoned studio buildings were still standing as of 2021, but have been long neglected and have fallen into dereliction; their roofs are failing, leading to extensive damage to the floors of the accommodation area and the inner part of the studio complex, making them unsafe to walk on. The facility is now a modern ruin and is closed to the public. Olveston House operates as a guest house. The 2021 Australian documentary film ''Under the Volcano (2021 film) , Under the Volcano'' interviews more than a dozen major artists and technicians who worked in the studio during the 1980s, and also includes archival narration and commentary by George Martin.

References

External links

AIR Studios website

Video tour and producer interviews shot at Air Studios
Recording studios in London George Martin Mass media companies established in 1965 Music production companies