Another day interning with us, here at Corduroy Media, we were able to take Jahi over to our friends at Fantasy Studios for a special tour. We are so blessed to be a part of the Bay Area creative community... Many thanks to Alison Gomer and Fantasy! Here is Jahi's report... Carl D. Brown
When Uncle Carl and I walked into Fantasy Studios, previously named #1 recording studio by Billboard magazine, Allison Gomer and Jesse Nichols were kicking it in the lobby. Uncle Carl said hello to both of them, Jesse and he immediately started cracking jokes. I introduced myself and thanked them for the opportunity. In the hallways, i could see platinum and gold records that were produced there hanging on the walls. Some of my favorite artists had come here to lay down tracks, such as Chuck D, Lauryn Hill, Too Short, Big Boi and the 2 Live Crew.
Allison gave us a tour of the building. She explained some of the history behind the record label and the building of the studios as well as showing us each individual studio. Studio A and D were both big rooms, B was small. All of them had baffles in them to cancel sound. Studio D was built in a huge floating concrete box to shut out outside noises and vibrations. Allison told us a sign of a good studio is one with no flat surfaces or parallel walls; so sound doesn't reverberate. Other signs of a good studio are experienced, full time engineers and good equipment.
I got to see behind the scenes from each side of the glass, and talked with Jesse in the engineering booth. He spoke to me a little about the industry and also mentioned artists he'd worked with like Lil Wayne and Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) . It was unreal to me how casual he was about it. When I asked what Mos Def was like, he said, "He was a good guy, real talented and down to earth. Also, he didn't bring a huge entourage, which made it easier to actually get work done."
The last thing Allison showed us was Fantasy's natural echo chambers. Fantasy Studios is the only studio with natural echo chambers in Northern California, and one of the only studios with them in the entire country. Allison explained how they worked; The walls, ceilings, and floors are all at different angles and emit different types of echos. There is a speaker in the center of each room that pumps sound from the engineer, while 2 mics are close by to capture the sound, sending it back to the engineer. Each door to an echo chamber is covered in a sound blocking wall of glass you can take off to get in and out.
For someone interested in making music,the music business, and how it works,this was a great opportunity for me. I learned a lot from the experience and i want to thank my uncle and Fantasy Studios for it.
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