Into The Cauldron

Despite only having come into the studio arena late last year, Cauldron Studios in Dublin’s Blessington Street has already made quite a name for itself among musicians and industry insiders alike. Part of that success can be attributed to the unique partnership forged between the joint owners Bill Shanley, a renowned guitarist who has played, recorded and toured with Mary Black among others, and Ciaran Byrne, a studio engineer with years of experience in Windmill Lane where he breathed the same air as Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor and other top acts.

That blend of experienced musician and technical head seems to be a winning formula. But, ironically, Cauldron emerged on the scene when many doom-mongers were predicting that the glory days of studios as we know them had passed, with the increased use of computerisation and recording artists increasingly opting to record at home.

Not quite so, according to Shanley. “I believe there will always be a market for studios like Cauldron where musicians can feel at home in an environment in which they can relax comfortably and interact with other musicians. But there’s room for both approaches. We have some clients who might record some of their stuff here with us, then take it away to work on at home and they may then come back to add more to it in Cauldron.”

Cauldron seems to have struck the right note with musicians themselves, a factor Shanley happily acknowledges. “When you create a situation where you avoid unnecessary tension it tends to make for more productive sessions. But there’s never going to be a formula for setting up the perfect studio. The personalities involved bring their own contributions to the set-up and that can be just as important, maybe more so, as having the latest state-of-the-art equipment or other facilities. The studio should be set up so as to get the best out of the players and singers,” he reckons.

He also believes that record companies need studios which they can regard as “neutral territory” for demoing and experimenting with possible signees rather than have them working on their home patch, as it were, and that’s another key to Cauldron’s success.

Although the studio can handle layering and overdubbing as required it also provides a simple, basic set-up, with lots of valve gear, valve compressors and the like which caters particularly well for those who like a live feel to their recordings.

Cauldron benefits form a city centre location with no parking or loading problems, and in its short life to date has built up an impressive visitors’ book. Clients have included Mary Black, Donal Lunny, Martin O’Connor, Sean Devitt, Ash, who have recorded some acoustic tracks for b-sides and radio specials, and the new single by Mayo-based Dennis McCalmont which Shanley graced with his own trademark guitar style. Bacardi Plugged winners Woodstar are also in recording their prize-winning single, and the English singer Mandy Durante is recording an album.

Not that Shanley wants to give up his night job as a working musician. “It’s important to me that I get the balance right. I think the live work is incredibly important to me as it keeps me in touch with the needs and concerns of musicians and the audience and I don’t ever want to lose that.”

When asked about the common mistakes that new artists tend to make when they go to a studio for the first time he doesn’t hesitate before saying that a lack of preparation is the most common problem. “Bands should work out the arrangement and all the other details before they get to the studio. There’s also this assumption that all problems can be solved by the producer or the engineer, and while in a lot of cases that’s true, sometimes an artist finds that being in a studio is like going under a microscope and it simply magnifies problems rather than solving them. The instruments that might sound great in a sweaty pub may not be right for recording. A guitar might need new strings or a drumkit new skins or whatever. There’s only so much you can cover up at the best of times!”

As to who and what Shanley himself listens to at home for enjoyment and inspiration he lists the following:

Sarah McLachlan, Daniel Lanois, (especially his work with Emmylou Harris on Wrecking Ball), American acoustic based acts like James Taylor and Alison Krauss, the Frames new album (“amazing”, he says), Groove Armada’s Vertigo and Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life (“a magnificent double-album”).

As for future ambitions, Shanley hesitates. “One of the great things about the music thing is that it’s like an adventure and you never know where different things will lead to. And that’s probably one of the aspects of the business that most appeals to me”.

Somehow you can’t help but suspect that the Cauldron Studios adventure is only just beginning. Meanwhile, if you need further information on the studio’s facilities etc., check out the Cauldron Studios web-site <www.cauldronstudios.com> or call 01-8603633.