In December of 2008 I had the opportunity to visit a recording studio in the hills of Ocho Rios. Unfortunately at that time it wasn’t in operation yet, it was just being put together. But this was great and exciting to me since I have a background in recording studio operations.
Fire Traille Recording Studio - Ocho Rios
We found this place because of a few local dancers we met who live up in these hills. This studio is right by one of their houses and we happened to be driving up to the house that night. So the dancer asked if we’d like to see the studio and it just happened that the owners were there so we got to go inside.
It was interesting to me….the sound booth was just made of board walls. No sound proofing whatsoever. And not nearly as much gear as a typical North American studio would have but whatever! These guys were just starting out I’m sure. In all honesty, you don’t need that much gear to make a quality recording if you have the talent and skills to make it happen.
In all my subsequent trips I’ve found there seems to be as many studios in Jamaica as there are churches! Okay so I’m exaggerating but I see them on every other street. That just speaks to the music culture in Jamaica, it’s in their blood.
