Whilst it’s largely unknown to anyone outside of the music industry, if you take a look through your record collection, you will almost certainly see the words ‘Recorded at Studios 301, Sydney’ on quite a few of your favourite albums.
From local legends like INXS and Silverchair, to international superstars like Kanye West and U2, Sydney’s Studios 301 is the city’s secret studio to the stars, tucked away in a refurbished warehouse in the inner-east suburb of Alexandria.
As Australia’s largest and oldest recording studio, it boasts an incredible discography and its engineers have been involved in some legendary productions. As News Corp notes, sound engineer Simon Todkill has alone worked with U2, Coldplay, and Lady Gaga.
One of Todkill’s fondest memories is of a 36-hour marathon recording session in 2010 with Kanye West. “We were working with two other studios on the other side of the world including Electric Ladyland in New York,” Todkill tells News Corp.
Apparently, Yeezy was looking to make some last-minute changes to his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and decided the 90-year-old studio was the only place in Australia that could handle what he was looking to do.
“It was like an intense 36-hour session where we were sending tracks back and forth making last minute tweaks before the release date,” Todkill says. A year later, West returned with Jay-Z in tow to work on their Watch The Throne album.
The duo were on tour Down Under and West was interested in flying some of his gear down to 301. “And we were like, ‘Yeah sure, send some gear’, and then these two huge truckloads of equipment turn up from the US with his own personal mics, synths, keys, everything,” Todkill recounts.
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If the walls of 301, which include a spray paint tag courtesy of Justin Bieber who recorded his hit ‘Love Yourself’ inside 301’s vocal booth, could talk, they would spin yarns about David Bowie, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Snoop Dogg, and more.
The studio is beloved by contemporary stars, too, having served a the launch pad for massive hits by the likes of Flume, Vance Joy, and others. With that roster, it’s little wonder 301 is partnered with the Abbey Road Institute, who acquired it last year.
“We are the largest and longest running studio in Australia and have pretty much been involved in every iconic Australian album in one way or another,” operations manager Ron Haryanto tells News Corp.
