How many hours do I need to record?
This question comes frequently to my email…where bands ask how much time they need to record. That totally depends on the artist and what they want to do. It depends on how fast they want to go and most importantly, their budget and their ability to play good. If these factors are clear to the musicians or bands, the next factor to think about is how many songs, how many instruments, how long they want to spend on physically recording as opposed to mixing/mastering, etc. It is much easier for us to give an actual estimate of the time involved when the artists and managers have approximations to these enquires first. Then, we can help the musicians better estimate time.
Bands have been able to come in and do 3 Songs in a day, depending on how well and quickly they get the tracking down.
Payment at a later date?
This is sort of a simple area to understand. Sessions must be paid for the day of recording or beforehand. No recordings are given in advance.
Can we take a recorded copy via cd or usb?
Groups that want to walk out with a CD of each session definitely can get a copy. CD’s are 2chf each and the engineer(s) and/or producer(s) must be given a “heads up” beforehand so that there is time to wait around for any rough bounces/mixes, etc.
What happens I need an extra instrument?
There is a Slingerland Artists Series drum kit in the performance room and I normally play out of a Fender 4×10 Deville that musicians can use. Both sound fantastic! I don’t mind if musicians want to use any of my guitars or pedals to capture their sound. No eating potato chips and greasing up the back of the neck, that’s kind of weird when people do that. Also any drinks should be capped with a lid or placed aways from pedals for obvious reasons. Besides the common sense details, the point is to enjoy, rock, blaze, bop, swing….whatever need be to take it easy and create good music.
What if I need musicians to play in my recording?
If bands, artists, or musicians need extra musicians, let me know in advance. Depending on the music and idea, I can play some drums, bass, guitars, synth sounds, and effects if the recording artist(s) require. In addition to the studio rate, I charge between 30-40chf more during any time playing while engineering the record. If you have something that needs more in-depth composition or recorded parts, no worries, send the studio an email along with some sort of sample idea or explanation that gives me an idea what you’re looking for.
What should the artist expect from the studio?
We like to have everything clear, cohesive and smooth for people who want to record at Spaceland. Our main objective is to capture great sound from everyone who records here. At the same time, whereas many studios oftentimes focus on getting bands in and generating business, that is only a part of what we are about. We encourage all artists, labels, bands, and companies who consider contacting us to really see if we are what they are looking for. For example, our mojo is not manufacturing a super commercial pop product for the interest of selling yesterdays next hit today. This doesn’t mean we won’t record anything that has pop elements. However, we do realize that there are hundreds of studios in the Madrid area with engineers and producers who are more passionate about commercial pop than we are and these studios will most likely do more justice to that style of artist than we would.
Stylistically, Spaceland focuses on finding and capturing original, high quality alternative rock music and sub genres of this style. Some of these sub genres may include New Wave, Darkwave, Post Punk, Ambient, Space Rock, Shoegaze, Experimental, Ethereal, Darker Alternative Country, Gothic, Electronic, Surf Rock, Britpop, etc. Various jazz, beat generation-era, 60’s/70’s folk rock, orchestral, baroque, classical, romantic, 20th century avant garde, and practically anything that carries influences from these textures is totally welcome and I am always interested in hearing from you.
Naturally, the Spaceland has recorded bands in the past that may not, even in their own words, fall into a category mentioned above. We will try bands that feel like this studio could be their best option of a sanctuary to create their music, and as a result, will occasionally record projects that may be more pop, The best idea if you’re not certain is to send us an email.
What do we expect from the artist?
Good musicians and artists with good attitudes and a personality to want to make something original and great-sounding for a decent price.