Studio Profile: The Mill

Located in the fringes of the Peak District in the North of England, The Mill offers a serene escape for artists and musicians seeking a peaceful and inspiring environment to unleash their creativity. As part of our studio profile series, we speak to them about the studio, their set up and more.

How long have you been running and why was your space set up?

So we’ve been up and running for just shy of a month now and the motivation for creating this space was to have a base for northern artists.

Who helped you build, tune or upgrade your space?

So the construction was lead by an amazing contractor local to us James Cross but for the room acoustics we felt it was best opting for a DIY approach as we could then tune the rooms according to how they sound and feel to us rather than being stuck in a set plan. Our ethos was that if we’re going to be siting creating music in these rooms all day first and foremost they have to feel comfortable and relaxing to work in.

What artists, producers or other creators pass through your doors?

So since we’ve been open we’ve hosted artists and producers from all of the world. We are currently about to undertake an album with the amazing Jeremy Loops from South Africa alongside some amazing UK artists Sofy, Tayo sound to name a few as well as procures from Germany and Austria dropping in for in house writing residencies.

What’s your USP as a studio based on feedback from artists and completed sessions?

A lot of people that walk through the doors say being situated outside of the hustle and bustle of Manchester City life allows for a calmer more relaxed experience when writing or creating music.

Who’s on the team?
In house writer producers are Rob Ellis and Jacob Leff.

In house engineer is Mark Winterburn.

On management side we have:
Tabeah Berler head of bookings and publishing arm.
Milloco studios as a studio agent.

Studios have experienced massive change in the last few years and there’s many different types – where do you fit in?

Well with having access to extensive list of the highest tier of both hardware and mics we can cater for any large scale recording task and deliver the best quality results but what I think is the best aspect of the space is is having 4 control rooms tied into one big live room, making it possible to turn a wiring session into a full blown recording session in an instant. We feel there are benefits and drawbacks to both large and small scale studio setups and we sit somewhere in between the two which we feel is the best place to be for the modern way of recording nowadays.

How do you feel about remote collaboration in your studio with apps such as Audiomovers, do you embrace it or does it change the magic in the room?

Remote collaboration can definitely work, I think having to do more remote sessions over Covid got us a lot more used to how they can be a cool way of creating! That being said we do tend to prefer to work with an artist in the room together, I believe you can get to know someone in a deeper way when you’re with them in person and it definitely allows for more spontaneity when being creative! If that’s not possible however we’re always open to anything!

Can artists stay at the studio?

There are many local hotels and B&Bs nearby of varying price ranges, some within walking distance of the studio. We also soon will have a studio apartment where artists can be self sufficient and stay during their time recording with us. That is only a 5 minute walk along the canal!

Talk us through your rooms and why they are designed in the way they are.