WHO: Jason Sadlowski (left), record producer; Dean Marino, record producer, and guitarist for Tin Star Orphans (www.tinstarorphans.com) and Ex~Po (www.ex-pomusic.com).
WHAT: Chemical Sound (www.chemicalsound.com), a recording studio at Broadview and Eastern.
1. Marino remembers that when Russian band Everything Is Made in China (www.eimicmusic.com) recorded at Chemical Sound, they “did their favourite promo shots standing up there in the skylight, silhouetted against the sky.” A small ledge leads onto the roof (“almost every band that records with us wants to go up there,” Marino says) but Marino and Sadlowski are picky about who gets to enjoy the view.
2. “It’s my spy mirror,” says Marino. The control room is located at the other end of the studio, and during sessions the mirror allows the producers to keep an eye on all of the musicians at once.
3. Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club (www.tokyopoliceclub.com), who often records at Chemical Sound, left this keyboard behind because he finds its modified tuning — one semitone lower than normal — to be too confusing. “I think it’s one of the most interesting instruments to use,” says Marino. “Wright had a guy modify this cheap ’80s keyboard into a wicked synthesizer.”
4. “All those amps are tube amps,” Marino says. “They’re at least 30 years old and they all run great.” The amp with the blueish controls was passed down to Marino from his grandfather, a jazz musician in the ’40s and ’50s. “I’ve used it my entire life, and now I share it with anyone who records at the studio,” he says.
5. The wall was transplanted from the original Chemical Sound studio at King and Portland, which was demolished for condo development in 2006. Sadlowski and Marino strove to recreate the previous location’s warm, earthy ambiance in the new space.
“People are blown away,” Marino says. “The control room essentially hasn’t changed at all.”
6. Marino maintains that the umbrella actually makes the drums sound better. “It’s a bit of an acoustic experiment,” he explains. Apparently, the umbrella’s circular shape causes sound to reflect in unusual ways.
7. The pink squares are noise baffles designed to absorb sound. “Jay and I spent some time tuning the room,” Marino explains. The studio also has several movable, standing baffles. “Depending on the session and what we’re trying to achieve, we can set up little isolation areas around certain instruments,” he says.
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