Galaxy Studios

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The Galaxy Studios are a leader in Europe Belgian recording studio company , whose origin dates back to the year 1980th In the meantime, companies expanding the core business have been added.

history

At the age of 18 and 15, respectively, the brothers Wilfried and Guy Van Baelen founded their first music studio in their parents' backyard in Mol in 1980. The “Studio Galaxy” was not officially registered as a registered business until 1982 when it had moved to a more suitable location. By the late 1980s, it had become one of the most popular and highly regarded recording studios in Belgium. Because it was not spacious enough for orchestral recordings, such recordings were made in London . Wilfried Van Baelen made the experience that there was often interference from neighboring studios and air conditioning systems . In addition, the room acoustics were not always optimal. He also found it impractical that the studios were often only geared towards a very specific musical style . When the costs for travel, accommodation and studio rental exploded, the brothers decided to expand after ten years of experience . Your ideal studio complex should have the best equipment , the latest technical achievements, perfect sound insulation , an expensive set of instruments as well as cozy comfort zones and a round-the-clock maintenance service . The ambitious project was implemented with scientific advisors, highly qualified engineers and experienced skilled workers.

construction

Construction began in 1992 and after three years of work that cost $ 15 million, the new Galaxy Studios was completed. But it wasn't until 1999 that the multifunctional building was in full bloom. One of the extraordinary features of this tailor-made, fully air-conditioned facility with adjoining living quarters is the fact that the building, which consists of concrete bunker units, rests on specially developed metal springs in order to guarantee an almost total acoustic barrier between the various rooms. The bottom line is that the resonance frequency is less than three Hertz . The acoustics of all reception areas and control rooms are also unique. The core arrangement consists of a 330 square meter live recording room, which is surrounded by five control rooms, each of which is assigned a 100 square meter separate recording room and vocal booth. Four of the room groups benefit from daylight, which filters in through eleven centimeter thick glass partition walls - as they had never been made before. The digital and analog multi-track recorders are housed in a central equipment room; thus you can couple any combination of devices to each of the control stations. The noise attenuation of the Galaxy control rooms and studios is 100.7 decibels . In order to achieve this previously unsurpassed value despite a distance of only 60 centimeters between the walls of each room unit, in addition to the extremely thick glass panes, at least three noise-absorbing passage doors were required instead of a connecting door. The air conditioning is inaudible, thanks to the use of extremely large air ducts and a “labyrinth silencer”. As a result, there is an atmosphere in which one could actually catch the falling of a pin.

Furnishing

Galaxy was the first recording studio in Europe that (in control room 3) was using the "SSL 9080 J" mixer developed by Solid State Logic with an 8-track monitor panel, Ultimation, Total Recall (80 channels), Genelec sound and subwoofer decreed. Thus it was possible to exclusively record on DVD or Super Audio CD . The divergent initial equipment in the other control rooms was hardly less modern. The artists also had (and still are) numerous electronic sound generating devices and a Steinway grand piano at their disposal.

expansion

In 2005, Wilfried Van Baelen developed the Auro-3D process, which works on the basis of the well-known 5.1 surround format, but is perceived as a 3D listening experience due to four additional speakers above the front and surround speakers . For this purpose he founded the company Auro Technologies, which is also located on the Galaxy site, which required further construction work. They started in 2012, but have not yet been completed with the completion of the “AuroTorium” screening room, as other facilities, such as a recording studio, will follow.

The Auro-3D process is used in both film and music. Mando Diao , the Swedish rock band that had a hit with Dance with Somebody in 2009, brought out Ælita, the first pop production using the Auro 3D process , in 2014 .

Artist

Artists who recorded at Galaxy include Rammstein , K's Choice , dEUS , David Garrett , Patricia Kaas , James Last , The Kelly Family , Lauryn Hill and Joni Mitchell . Several albums by Peter Maffay and Manowar have been mixed or remastered here. Otherwise, Die Ärzte , die Scorpions , a-ha , Primal Fear and In Flames have already made use of the studio's sound technology services.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d About Us. In: galaxystudios.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Mike Hennessey: Galaxy. High tech on a foundation made of springs . In: MusikWoche . The news magazine for the music industry. No. 29/1999 , July 19, 1999, Studio Special, pp. IV .
  3. ^ Galaxy Hall. In: galaxystudios.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b Alec Wren: Interview - Wilfried Van Baelen and Auro Technologies (Part 1). In: alecwren.com. June 2, 2014, accessed January 17, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Alec Wren: Interview - Wilfried Van Baelen and Auro Technologies (Part 2). In: alecwren.com. July 27, 2014, accessed January 17, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Mando Diao release the world's first pop album with Auro-3D® Immersive Sound. In: schattenblick.de. Polydor / Iceland and Vertigo / Capitol press newsletters, August 6, 2014, accessed January 17, 2016 .

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