In 1968, Jimi Hendrix and his manager Michael Jeffery bought a defunct nightclub called The Generation located at 52 W 8th Street in New York’s Greenwich Village – a venue that Hendrix had frequented for impromptu performances and late-night jam sessions. The Generation had been known for live acts as diverse and legendary as Big Brother & the Holding Company, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Dave Van Ronk, and Sly & the Family Stone.
Instead of renaming the club and continuing with the live venue business model (Jimi’s original vision for the project), advisors Eddie Kramer and Jim Marron convinced Hendrix to convert the space into a professional recording studio. Architect, John Storyk, designed each structural detail, and from there the origins of New York’s famed Electric Lady was born. It would be the only artist-owned recording studio in existence at the time.
On August 26th, 1970, Hendrix hosted the grand opening of his psychedelic studio lair to fellow musicians and friends. Guests included Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, and Patti Smith.
Today, Electric Lady Studios is made famous by Jimi Hendrix and classic 70s sessions with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Patti Smith, among others, and maintains its reputation as the most hallowed grounds for recorded music. Electric Lady Studios is the oldest working and thriving recording studio in New York City.
Recent projects at Electric Lady Studios include: The Arcs, Lana Del Rey, The Kills, Daft Punk, Beck, Ryan Adams, Adele and David Bowie.
Studio A Besides its capacity for large orchestras and live-band set-ups, Electric Lady Studio A has witnessed origins of the most acclaimed recordings in rock and roll history, making it Electric Lady Studios most famed and sought after room.
Studio A is home to a fully restored Neve 8078 – a hand-wired analogue console that as recently as 2011 absorbed 2500 hours of highly skilled labour, utilising only the highest-end components. The console was later outfitted with Martin Sound Flying Faders II.
The studio’s live room boasts an impressive collection of vintage microphones, instruments, and amps, as well as an almost palpable history. It is Electric Lady Studios largest and most versatile space. Here is but a sample of the effects on offer in Studio A.
