fbpx
Wikipedia

Power Station (recording studio)

January 01, 1970

"Avatar Studios" redirects here. For the division of Nickelodeon, see Avatar: The Last Airbender § Avatar Studios.

Power Station at BerkleeNYC is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It was originally founded in 1977 as Power Station and known as Avatar Studios from 1996 to 2017. Renowned for its exceptional acoustics, the studio has been the site of hundreds of gold, platinum, and Grammy Award-winning recordings.[1][2]

Power Station
Company typeRecording studio
IndustryMusic
Founded1977
Headquarters441 West 53rd Street,
New York City
,
U.S.
Websitepowerstation.nyc

History edit

Background edit

See also: Tony Bongiovi

Producer Tony Bongiovi and former Mediasound Studios co-worker engineer Bob Walters partnered to open the recording studio, putting together a team of people that included engineer Ed Stasium, Ed Evans, and Bob Clearmountain.[3] They located an abandoned building at 441 West 53rd Street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues, in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, which Bongiovi purchased from New York City for $360,000 as part of a building rehabilitation program.[4] Bongiovi, Walters, and their team worked with Stephen B. Jacobs Associates to design a studio that would apply Bongiovi's ideas regarding acoustics, naming the new studio Power Station in acknowledgment of the building's origins as a former Consolidated Edison power station.[5][6]

Power Station (1977-1996) edit

Power Station opened in 1977,[7][8] The studio's largest room, Studio A, is a pine-paneled 52 x 48 foot space with 35-foot ceilings and several isolation booths and a control room equipped with a 40-channel Neve 8068 mixing console.[9][10]

The new studio became a favorite for the Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards project Chic, which recorded several hit albums with Clearmountain at Power Station in the late 1970s. Chic's production team also collaborated on Sister Sledge's hit album We Are Family and Diana Ross' best-selling album Diana at the studios.[11] In 1979, Ian Hunter recorded his album You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic at the studio with members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as the backing band.[12] In 1979 Springsteen himself came to the Power Station to work on what would become his only double-album, The River. Other albums recorded at the studio in 1980 included David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), Carly Simon's Come Upstairs, Suicide's Ric Ocasek-produced sophomore album, and Dire Straits' Making Movies, co-produced by a young Jimmy Iovine.

Choosing Nile Rodgers to produce his next album, David Bowie returned to Power Station to record his massively successful album Let's Dance, which featured players from Chic and then-unknown Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.[13] Dire Straits returned to the studio for Love over Gold (1982), and John Waite recorded his debut solo album there the same year. Roxy Music recorded Avalon at Power Station with Clearmountain, and Pat Metheny Group recorded the first of many albums they would record at the studios. In 1982, Jim Steinman produced two songs at Power Station that would simultaneously top the Billboard charts the following year: Bonnie Tyler's biggest career hit, "Total Eclipse of the Heart"[14] and Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All".

Mark Knopfler returned to the studio to record his award-winning soundtrack album, Local Hero, and Bob Dylan recorded Infidels at Power Station in 1983. 1984 marked the recording of Bon Jovi's debut studio album, the band's frontman no other than studio co-founder Bongiovi's cousin Jon Bon Jovi, who had been working at the studio since 1980. The same year, Bruce Springsteen recorded much of his hit album Born in the U.S.A. at Power Station, and Madonna chose to record Like a Virgin with Nile Rodgers at the studio.[15] In 1984, a supergroup composed of Robert Palmer, Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Andy and John Taylor of Duran Duran came to the studio to record a one-off album, subsequently naming both the group and its debut album The Power Station after the studio where it was recorded.[4] In 1986, Cyndi Lauper recorded True Colors and Peter Gabriel recorded So at Power Station. Other artists recording at the studio in the 1980s included Keith Jarrett, Bill Frisell, Grace Jones, Lou Reed, James Taylor, Bobby McFerrin, and Eurythmics.

In the 1990s, Jim Steinman returned to Power Station with Meat Loaf for the recording of Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and the studio became popular with jazz musicians, including John Scofield, Joshua Redman, and Diana Krall. By 1995, over 400 gold and platinum records had been recorded at Power Station, and that year, 9 of the 13 major Grammy award winners were recorded and/or mixed at Power Station.[10]

Avatar Studios (1996-2016) edit

In May 1996, Chieko and Kirk Imamura bought the entire building from Bongiovi in a bankruptcy auction for $5.4 million,[1] and continued to run the business as Avatar Studios (under the Avatar Entertainment Corporation).[7]

In 2015, the studio was up for sale again, but the owners would only consider offers from buyers who want to keep it as a recording studio.[1]

Power Station at BerkleeNYC (2017-present) edit

In September 2017, with the support of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and the Economic Development Corporation, Pete Muller with Berklee College of Music acquired the studios[16] and renamed them back to Power Station at BerkleeNYC.[17] The studio reopened in 2020 after a full renovation, while maintaining the studio spaces.

Power Station New England edit

In 1995, Sonalysts, which had begun as an underwater acoustics research company, licensed the Power Station's design and naming rights from Bongiovi and Walters. The company built a perfect replica of the original Studio A in Waterford, Connecticut, as a part of the new Power Station New England.[18]

Selected list of albums recorded at Power Station/Avatar (by year) edit

Producers and engineers associated with Power Station/Avatar edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Noto, Anthony (October 14, 2015). "What will become of this legendary Manhattan music studio?". New York Business Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Slotnick, Stacy (October 24, 2017). "Staying Power: Music Innovator Tony Bongiovi Receives American Master Award". huffpost.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Crane, Larry (October 31, 2023). "The Record Straight: Tony Bongiovi's Interview in Tape Op #127". Tape Op. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Crane, Larry (September 2018). "Tony Bongiovi: Back to Power Station". tapeop.com. Tape Op. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Bieger, Hannes (April 2012). "Avatar, New York". Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Light, Alan (September 5, 2017). "Power Station, Storied Manhattan Recording Studio, to Be Revived". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Halperin, Shirley (August 29, 2017). "Power Station, One of New York's Last Iconic Recording Studios, Closes Its Doors; Will Berklee Re-Open Them? (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Jennings, Steve (October 1, 2022). "New York '77". MIX. Future plc. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Weiss, David (August 30, 2017). "Avatar Studios Closes". sonicscoop.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Braund, Simon (February 1995). "Down home mixdown: Power Station, NYC - Tony Bongiovi". The Mix. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Buskin, Richard (April 2005). "Classic Tracks: Chic 'Le Freak'". Sound On Sound. Future plc. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic - Ian Hunter - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Patterson, Rob (January 1984). "Bob Clearmountain" (PDF). Modern Recording & Music. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Flans, Robyn (September 16, 2019). "Classic Tracks: "Total Eclipse of the Heart"". Mix. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  15. ^ Buskin, Richard (September 2007). "Classic Tracks: Madonna 'Like A Virgin'". Sound On Sound. Future plc. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Daley, Dan (October 2017). "Off The Record: Music & Recording Industry News". Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Light, Alan (September 5, 2017). "Power Station, Storied Manhattan Recording Studio, to Be Revived". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  18. ^ Kenny, Tom (February 27, 2018). "Power Station New England". Mixonline. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avatar Studios.

40°45′59″N 73°59′22″W / 40.76639°N 73.98944°W / 40.76639; -73.98944

January 01, 1970
power, station, recording, studio, avatar, studios, redirects, here, division, nickelodeon, avatar, last, airbender, avatar, studios, power, station, berkleenyc, recording, studio, west, 53rd, street, hell, kitchen, neighborhood, midtown, manhattan, york, city. Avatar Studios redirects here For the division of Nickelodeon see Avatar The Last Airbender Avatar Studios Power Station at BerkleeNYC is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in the Hell s Kitchen neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City It was originally founded in 1977 as Power Station and known as Avatar Studios from 1996 to 2017 Renowned for its exceptional acoustics the studio has been the site of hundreds of gold platinum and Grammy Award winning recordings 1 2 Power StationCompany typeRecording studioIndustryMusicFounded1977Headquarters441 West 53rd Street New York City U S Websitepowerstation wbr nyc Contents 1 History 1 1 Background 1 2 Power Station 1977 1996 1 3 Avatar Studios 1996 2016 1 4 Power Station at BerkleeNYC 2017 present 2 Power Station New England 3 Selected list of albums recorded at Power Station Avatar by year 4 Producers and engineers associated with Power Station Avatar 5 References 6 External linksHistory editBackground edit See also Tony Bongiovi Producer Tony Bongiovi and former Mediasound Studios co worker engineer Bob Walters partnered to open the recording studio putting together a team of people that included engineer Ed Stasium Ed Evans and Bob Clearmountain 3 They located an abandoned building at 441 West 53rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in New York City s Hell s Kitchen neighborhood which Bongiovi purchased from New York City for 360 000 as part of a building rehabilitation program 4 Bongiovi Walters and their team worked with Stephen B Jacobs Associates to design a studio that would apply Bongiovi s ideas regarding acoustics naming the new studio Power Station in acknowledgment of the building s origins as a former Consolidated Edison power station 5 6 Power Station 1977 1996 edit Power Station opened in 1977 7 8 The studio s largest room Studio A is a pine paneled 52 x 48 foot space with 35 foot ceilings and several isolation booths and a control room equipped with a 40 channel Neve 8068 mixing console 9 10 The new studio became a favorite for the Nile Rodgers Bernard Edwards project Chic which recorded several hit albums with Clearmountain at Power Station in the late 1970s Chic s production team also collaborated on Sister Sledge s hit album We Are Family and Diana Ross best selling album Diana at the studios 11 In 1979 Ian Hunter recorded his album You re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic at the studio with members of Bruce Springsteen s E Street Band as the backing band 12 In 1979 Springsteen himself came to the Power Station to work on what would become his only double album The River Other albums recorded at the studio in 1980 included David Bowie s Scary Monsters and Super Creeps Carly Simon s Come Upstairs Suicide s Ric Ocasek produced sophomore album and Dire Straits Making Movies co produced by a young Jimmy Iovine Choosing Nile Rodgers to produce his next album David Bowie returned to Power Station to record his massively successful album Let s Dance which featured players from Chic and then unknown Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan 13 Dire Straits returned to the studio for Love over Gold 1982 and John Waite recorded his debut solo album there the same year Roxy Music recorded Avalon at Power Station with Clearmountain and Pat Metheny Group recorded the first of many albums they would record at the studios In 1982 Jim Steinman produced two songs at Power Station that would simultaneously top the Billboard charts the following year Bonnie Tyler s biggest career hit Total Eclipse of the Heart 14 and Air Supply s Making Love Out of Nothing at All Mark Knopfler returned to the studio to record his award winning soundtrack album Local Hero and Bob Dylan recorded Infidels at Power Station in 1983 1984 marked the recording of Bon Jovi s debut studio album the band s frontman no other than studio co founder Bongiovi s cousin Jon Bon Jovi who had been working at the studio since 1980 The same year Bruce Springsteen recorded much of his hit album Born in the U S A at Power Station and Madonna chose to record Like a Virgin with Nile Rodgers at the studio 15 In 1984 a supergroup composed of Robert Palmer Chic drummer Tony Thompson and Andy and John Taylor of Duran Duran came to the studio to record a one off album subsequently naming both the group and its debut album The Power Station after the studio where it was recorded 4 In 1986 Cyndi Lauper recorded True Colors and Peter Gabriel recorded So at Power Station Other artists recording at the studio in the 1980s included Keith Jarrett Bill Frisell Grace Jones Lou Reed James Taylor Bobby McFerrin and Eurythmics In the 1990s Jim Steinman returned to Power Station with Meat Loaf for the recording of Bat Out of Hell II Back into Hell and the studio became popular with jazz musicians including John Scofield Joshua Redman and Diana Krall By 1995 over 400 gold and platinum records had been recorded at Power Station and that year 9 of the 13 major Grammy award winners were recorded and or mixed at Power Station 10 Avatar Studios 1996 2016 edit In May 1996 Chieko and Kirk Imamura bought the entire building from Bongiovi in a bankruptcy auction for 5 4 million 1 and continued to run the business as Avatar Studios under the Avatar Entertainment Corporation 7 In 2015 the studio was up for sale again but the owners would only consider offers from buyers who want to keep it as a recording studio 1 Power Station at BerkleeNYC 2017 present edit In September 2017 with the support of the New York City Mayor s Office of Media and Entertainment and the Economic Development Corporation Pete Muller with Berklee College of Music acquired the studios 16 and renamed them back to Power Station at BerkleeNYC 17 The studio reopened in 2020 after a full renovation while maintaining the studio spaces Power Station New England editIn 1995 Sonalysts which had begun as an underwater acoustics research company licensed the Power Station s design and naming rights from Bongiovi and Walters The company built a perfect replica of the original Studio A in Waterford Connecticut as a part of the new Power Station New England 18 Selected list of albums recorded at Power Station Avatar by year editChic Chic 1977 Chic C est Chic 1978 Chic Risque 1979 11 Ian Hunter You re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic 1979 Sister Sledge We Are Family 1979 11 Bruce Springsteen The River 1980 Carly Simon Come Upstairs 1980 David Bowie Scary Monsters and Super Creeps 1980 Diana Ross Diana 1980 11 Dire Straits Making Movies 1980 Suicide Suicide Alan Vega and Martin Rev 1980 Diana Ross Why Do Fools Fall in Love 1981 Aerosmith Rock in a Hard Place 1982 David Bowie Let s Dance 1982 13 Dire Straits Love over Gold 1982 John Waite Ignition 1982 Pat Metheny Group Offramp album 1982 Roxy Music Avalon 1982 Bob Dylan Infidels 1983 Bonnie Tyler Faster Than the Speed of Night 1983 14 Keith Jarrett Standards Vol 1 1983 Keith Jarrett Changes 1983 Keith Jarrett Standards Vol 2 1983 Mark Knopfler Local Hero soundtrack 1983 Bon Jovi Bon Jovi 1984 Bruce Springsteen Born in the U S A 1984 Madonna Like a Virgin 1984 Pat Metheny Group First Circle 1984 The Power Station The Power Station 1984 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Couldn t Stand the Weather 1984 Bill Frisell Rambler 1985 Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm 1985 Cyndi Lauper True Colors 1986 Lou Reed Mistrial 1986 Peter Gabriel So 1986 Bill Frisell Lookout for Hope 1988 James Taylor Never Die Young 1987 Pat Metheny Group Still Life Talking 1987 Bobby McFerrin Simple Pleasures 1988 Eurythmics We Too Are One 1989 Pat Metheny Group Letter from Home 1989 Carly Simon My Romance 1990 John Scofield Time on My Hands 1990 John Scofield Meant to Be 1991 Keith Jarrett Bye Bye Blackbird 1991 Pat Metheny Group Secret Story 1992 John Scofield Quartet What We Do 1993 Joshua Redman Joshua Redman 1993 Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell II Back into Hell 1993 Joshua Redman Quartet MoodSwing 1994 Diana Krall Only Trust Your Heart 1995 Joshua Redman Freedom in the Groove 1996 Michael Brecker Tales from the Hudson 1996 2 Grammys Gary Burton with Chick Corea Pat Metheny Roy Haynes Dave Holland Like Minds 1998 Michael Brecker Two Blocks from the Edge 1998 The Black Crowes By Your Side 1999 Joe Jackson Symphony No 1 1999 Michael Brecker Time Is of the Essence 1999 Little Steven Born Again Savage 1999 Journey Arrival 2001 Bjork Vespertine 2001 Natalie Cole Ask a Woman Who Knows 2002 Hiromi Another Mind 2002 Norah Jones Feels like Home 2004 John Mayer Continuum 2006 John Patitucci Line by Line 2006 Deborah Cox Destination Moon album 2007 Dream Theater Systematic Chaos 2007 Herbie Hancock River The Joni Letters 2007Producers and engineers associated with Power Station Avatar editTony Bongiovi co founder producer and engineer Bob Clearmountain engineer 7 Nile Rodgers Jim Steinman producer and songwriter Jimmy Iovine producer 7 Jeff Bova Neil Dorfsman engineer Scott Litt engineer 7 Dave O Donnell engineer Jason Cosaro engineer Larry Alexander engineer References edit a b c Noto Anthony October 14 2015 What will become of this legendary Manhattan music studio New York Business Journal Retrieved October 23 2017 Slotnick Stacy October 24 2017 Staying Power Music Innovator Tony Bongiovi Receives American Master Award huffpost com Retrieved January 5 2024 Crane Larry October 31 2023 The Record Straight Tony Bongiovi s Interview in Tape Op 127 Tape Op Retrieved January 11 2024 a b Crane Larry September 2018 Tony Bongiovi Back to Power Station tapeop com Tape Op Retrieved December 26 2023 Bieger Hannes April 2012 Avatar New York Sound On Sound SOS Publications Group Retrieved January 17 2024 Light Alan September 5 2017 Power Station Storied Manhattan Recording Studio to Be Revived The New York Times Retrieved August 21 2023 a b c d e Halperin Shirley August 29 2017 Power Station One of New York s Last Iconic Recording Studios Closes Its Doors Will Berklee Re Open Them Exclusive Variety Retrieved August 21 2023 Jennings Steve October 1 2022 New York 77 MIX Future plc Retrieved June 30 2022 Weiss David August 30 2017 Avatar Studios Closes sonicscoop com Retrieved January 12 2023 a b Braund Simon February 1995 Down home mixdown Power Station NYC Tony Bongiovi The Mix Retrieved January 12 2024 a b c d Buskin Richard April 2005 Classic Tracks Chic Le Freak Sound On Sound Future plc Retrieved January 9 2024 You re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic Ian Hunter Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved June 5 2018 a b Patterson Rob January 1984 Bob Clearmountain PDF Modern Recording amp Music Retrieved January 9 2024 a b Flans Robyn September 16 2019 Classic Tracks Total Eclipse of the Heart Mix Retrieved January 31 2020 Buskin Richard September 2007 Classic Tracks Madonna Like A Virgin Sound On Sound Future plc Retrieved January 9 2024 Daley Dan October 2017 Off The Record Music amp Recording Industry News Sound On Sound SOS Publications Group Retrieved January 18 2024 Light Alan September 5 2017 Power Station Storied Manhattan Recording Studio to Be Revived The New York Times Retrieved October 23 2017 Kenny Tom February 27 2018 Power Station New England Mixonline Retrieved August 8 2021 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avatar Studios Power Station website Avatar website Archived 2014 01 11 at the Wayback Machine Avatar Studios 30 Year Anniversary Party 40 45 59 N 73 59 22 W 40 76639 N 73 98944 W 40 76639 73 98944 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Power Station recording studio amp oldid 1221145298, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.