The studio building is located close to Wembley Stadium and was due to be redeveloped as part of the overall stadium rebuild. However, when plans for a new stadium fell through, Fielder acquired the lease from Wembley plc with a view to securing the site’s future as a recording studio.
Fielder, a respected engineer and APRS board member who has extensive experience of the studio industry, told L&SI: "This is a large site that is already very popular with musicians and has plenty of potential as a studio complex. Although we are re-equipping from scratch, the actual studios and control rooms are already in place and will simply be re-decorated and acoustically treated. We have now opened Studio One and by the end of 2002, we aim to have the rest of the complex in use as a recording, rehearsal and post production facility."
Included in the equipment on Fielder’s shopping list is an AMS Neve Capricorn, which will be installed in Studio Two once it has been remodelled by Recording Architecture. Fielder is hoping to transform Studio Three into a post-production room for ADR and Foley work, while the other 12 rooms could be let for smaller projects.
Phoenix Sound is already generating interest within the recording world. The BBC Concert Orchestra is currently using Studio One as a temporary home following the collapse of a ceiling at the Hippodrome, which left the orchestra without a base. Other clients include Rick Wakeman, who was the first to book Phoenix Sound. He recorded various tracks for a DVD and a forthcoming album project.
