Studios 301, Australia’s oldest recording studios, relaunches

Australia’s largest and oldest recording studio Studios 301 has relaunched, as its legacy pushes towards a century.

The longest running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere welcomed industry guests last night with a cocktail function before the official unveiling of the revamped studio complex took place.

The new design of the studio was a collaboration between industry icon, audio education pioneer and Studios 301 owner Dr Tom Misner, and legendary acoustician Jochen Veith.

Upon opening the new studio - or "Studios 301 4.0" as he coined it - Misner joked that the endeavour was not for financial reasons.

"The idea for the studio is my first and most philanthropic thing I’ve done. I’ve built something I can’t make money out of, but it’s been great fun."

General manager Ron Haryanto reiterated that the studio was designed to be enjoyed be "head and shoulders acoustically" above others nationally, but to also launch Studios 301 into the Top 10 tier of studios globally. He also wants to foster a sense of community, with the re-opened studio now offering access points for those with smaller budgets to come and use the space.

The primary colours of the studio’s logo are reflected in the building’s colour scheme, and the new space features 11 studios filled with world-leading technology, as well as the iconic Studios 301 piano in Studio 1.

The night saw a stack of industry guests attend, including international producer Steve Lillywhite, Isabella Manfredi from The Preatures, singer & songwriter Rai Thistlethwayte, Jakob Delgado from instereo, recording artists Olivia Haidenbauer and Michelle Martinez, rapper Manu Crooks, Aaron Costello of Regionals, musical artist Adam Bozzetto, rapper BLESSED aka Miracle, DJ/Producer Chris Frazer, rocker Matthew Copley, Actress Kirby Burgess, Erica Mallett & Sally Coleman of Coda Conduct, musician Dave Hudson, Hip Hop artist Dizar Lee, vocalist Emma Pask, Music artist Felix Lush, model Alys Hale, performer Lily Vamos, musical artist Luke Boerdam, Musician Mario Millo, singer Matt Black, musician Michael Chislett, Australian musician Phil Stack, DJ Simon Lewicki, music artist Steve Spacek, Industry executives including Peter Karpin,  Sony Music Head of A&R Paul Harris, Managing Director of Universal Music Australia Michael Taylor, APRA’s Milly Petriella, Talent Manager Lizzi Morrissey, record producers Tushar Apte, Mark Opitz, Adam Riley, Tom Diesel, Jhay C and Zig Parker.

Studios 301 was established in 1926 as The Columbia Graphophone Company, and later EMI - Studios 301, and has undergone a multi-million dollar upgrade.

Misner acquired and rebuilt the studios in the late 90s. He then divested his business interests in 2011, before requiring the studio in 2016 when it was set to be knocked down for apartment development.

The studio unveiled yesterday is the result of 16 months of time and 134,000 hours of labour, 39,000 bricks and almost 40km of electrical cable.

Access to the Studios 301 roster of Grammy-nominated and ARIA award-winning production talent will be available via the new online mixing and mastering service.