5 Bands That Created Their Own Recording Studios

Where you create music can be a sacred thing. Setting can be just as influential on the sound of a record as anything else. California has bred many blithe pop tunes while New York has inspired the grittier sides of rock through the years. Once an artist finds that special connection to a place, why would they ever leave? For these bands, they avoided that at all costs by creating their own studios.

From Jimi Hendrix to ABBA, find five artists that commissioned their own studios, below.

1. ABBA – Polar Studios

ABBA formed Polar Studios in 1978. The studio was helmed by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and the band’s manager Stig Anderson. The studio was used to record several ABBA albums including Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper and The Visitors.

On top of ABBA’s work, the studio has been home to a number of classic recordings, including Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door and Genesis’ Duke.

2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Lady Studios

By the 1960s, Greenwich Village had become the heart of the bohemian counterculture. Although Jimi Hendrix had been living in Harlem, he knew that “The Village” was quickly becoming the place to be, prompting him to commission Electric Lady Studios.

Though Hendrix only spent ten weeks recording in the studio before his death in 1970, it quickly became familiar stomping grounds for a number of the era’s biggest rockstars, including Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.

3. The Band – Shangri-La

Though famed producer Rick Rubin now operates out of Shangri-La, it was first converted into a studio space by The Band, with help from Bob Dylan, in the ’70s. The interview sequences of The Last Waltz were filmed at Shangri-La. The list of artists that have graced the halls of Shanrgi-La span far and wide. Among the pack are Adele, Eric Clapton, Ed Sheeran, Neil Young, Metallica, Harry Styles, and more.

4. The Beach Boys—Brothers Studios

It’s hard to imagine The Beach Boys anywhere but in California. The group seemed to think so as well, as they set up a permanent shop in Santa Monica in 1974 with Brothers Studios. Soon after the space opened up for public use, it started to draw in some massive names, notably Elton John. The rock icon recorded his albums Caribou and Blue Moves in the space. The studio was later sold to engineer Hank Cicalo and Jazz musician Tom Scott, who subsequently renamed it Crimson Sound.

5. The Beatles—Abby Road

Of course, the most obvious choice on this list, The Beatles have become synonymous with Abbey Road. Though the four-piece didn’t start the studio, their work there launched it to worldwide fame and gave it its enduring name (the space was formerly known as EMI Studios before the band recorded their album Abbey Road.) The number of artists who have created magic in the space include Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, Radiohead, Oasis, and more.

Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns