Safehouse Studio

22/08/2023

Well, that was summer and frankly, phew, what a scorcher, eh? But now September is upon us so it's back down the local gig mines to unearth our future stars, so where better to plan your travels than in the new Nightshift, what's online now athttp://nightshiftmag.co.uk/2023/sep.pdf

Premium Leisure are our cover stars as Chris Barker builds up to the release of his debut album later in the year.

We Introduce the apostrophely deficient but otherwise bloody marvellous He Didnt; we're at work with Dave Gilyeat from BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire & Berkshire as it's now called; there are extensive reviews of Truck and Wilderness, two pages of new local releases, and four and a bit pages of gigs for the month ahead. So pick your gigs and have fun, fun, fun.

21/07/2023

Cascade by Sebastian Reynolds. Taken from the album Canary, due out 29th September 2023 - https://orcd.co/sebreynoldscascadeVideo credits:Director - Simon Bl...

24/06/2023

For only $95, Mike_bannard will mix your music and audio to a high professional standard. | Hi. I've been helping artists make records, doing sound for video, and live sound for over a decade. Let me know your audio needs and | Fiverr

16/06/2023

Present Tense might be my fave song on Motion Sick by Civil Villains. Great job on this vid. Really captures it's essence. Happy to see some shots from the wonderous Shaken Oak Studios and the old Safehouse building! ;( RIP x

Coming live to a town near you!

The third single from Civil Villains' debut album, "Motion Sick".Produced, mixed and mastered by Mike Bannard.Written and performed by Civil Villains.℗ Thund...

01/06/2023

01/06/2023

FINALLY catching up with some socials since our move! Some pics of the new & improved Kate Garrett studio space at . Bigger, lighter live room & improved spec control room. Even a shared garden and café on site ! Come record with us ! Safe x

30/05/2023

30/05/2023

Canary will be my debut album, I'm looking for your help to support its release! | Check out 'Canary album launch' on Indiegogo.

22/05/2023

RELEASE DAY. Our new single Cornerstore is out TODAY, go listen at your usual listening hole, available now on all streaming and visual platforms. https://linktr.ee/civilvillains

02/05/2023

NEW MUSIC: Yo, we hope you’ve all been enjoying ‘Mortuary Blue’. We can’t wait to share our next single ‘Cornerstore’ with you - releasing May 19th - check back soon for a cheeky tease!

28/02/2023

Civil Villains Motion Sick is due for release on May 26th. Very proud of this one. Pre-order links below in the original post! x

17/04/2022

6 track album

26/01/2022

Belated-own-trumpet-blowing time. Great to see the wealth of talents and efforts from Nightshift Magazine's top tracks of 2021. We have the pleasure of helping produce some of them, inc Tamara T-Bone Parsons-Baker Jody And The Jerms Sebastian Reynolds and Julia Meijer, and hosting rehearsals, doing live sound and mixing other tracks for others. Grateful for the scene and all of y'all! x

20/01/2022

The studio clear out continues:

Carlsbro (alpha) EM10 10” passive monitor wedges
Both tested fully working. Can be chained together. Been sat in storage since we replaced our old powered PA mixer at the studio. Some nuts missing on the jack inputs / outputs but connections are solid.

Combined with a power amp these would suit open mics and small gigs. Not sure how well they’d compete with a loud band!

100W RMS, 8 Ohm
£60 for the pair

13/01/2022

Thanks for all the positive feedback re: the studio building closure and redevelopment. Another heart-warming reminder that the people and music scene are strong, despite losing venues, studios etc. We've had a couple of promising leads in the last week and hopefully some more positive news soon!

Safe x
Mike

07/01/2022

Happy new year all! Here's to a healthier 2022.

BIG NEWS - our building is finally being redeveloped this spring. So it's with a heavy heart we annouce that we'll be going. Hopefully just moving to another location, but things aren't looking promising so far. Lots of redevelopment and demolition happening across the city around the same time it seems, so there doesn't seem to be much affordable space left, and lots of dead ends with various enquiries and potential spaces. Other venues and studios are facing the same thing, as I'm sure you've heard!

We're trying to stay optimistic, however! We're having various conversations and haven't exhausted all options yet. We only need one suitable space! Safehouse has been integral to the Oxford music scene and community for the last 10 years, providing an affordable, high quality recording and rehearsal space and helping launch some massively successful music careers!!

If anyone has any useful info or can point us down a new path we haven't explored yet, please get in touch. We're grateful for the people and music that have kept this studio going strong. The scene is there, just need to find the right space again.

Safe.
Mike & team Safehouse! x

10/09/2021

Altered Myths selected for the Vans Musicians Wanted finals! Woop! Currently mixing EP #2 🤘🤘

11/08/2021

Setting up in the booth working on new vocals...
With Kit Monteith Foals
RME Klark Teknik

20/07/2021

30/06/2021

Preamps. Altered Myths recording EP no. II! Chandler Limited

22/06/2021

Recording again with Jody And The Jerms! Woop! How many guitars is too many guitars??

15/06/2021

Recorded 9th June 2021. In discussion about the inspiration behind Mahajanaka Dance Drama - https://www.sebastianreynolds.co.uk/mahajanaka

11/05/2021

Minimal mic stand set up for the win! Just had our Fender Hot Rod Deluxe serviced and sounding sweeet. Recording Tele with Stam Audio 47 Fet and Shure 315 ribbon, via the Rupert Neve designs 5012 pres! Tone for days.

06/05/2021

New After The Thought! At last! Go get your ambient drone fix.

After The Thought is Matt Chapman JonesFilm by David Ralf. This album is the result of new exploration into process and generative sound. Each track is made ...

16/04/2021

We're open for small recording sessions and music lessons again! Woohoo.

12/04/2021

09/03/2021

Please sign and share if you want to keep the Wheatsheaf! We must show that Oxford's musical and cultural experience is more valuable than a couple of student flats!!

02/02/2021

Snapshot of when we used to make records. And we will again! Hang in there good people!

02/02/2021

Was great to hear from Nightshift Magazine again at the end of last year. Sharing people's stories from the scene, that's currently on pause. Answered a few questions about the studio, if you're interested... Bring on Spring! Looking forward to a noisy studio and busy gigs again!

It's been a tough old year, but I thought I'd make it a tiny bit tougher for you all.

Against all odds, there's a new Nightshift up online. Not a normal issue of course - no gig guide or gig reviews - but there are eight pages* of local music people talking about their 2020 and how Covid had affected their lives - from venues, studios and shops, to musicians and more. You are not alone - and there is, hopefully, light on the horizon.

And because it's December, there's the traditional Nightshift end of year Best Of, featuring Nightshift writers and photographers' favourite Oxford tracks of 2020. So, that's almost 'old normal'.

Read it here:http://nightshiftmag.co.uk/2020/dec.pdf

(* - if you no longer have the attention span to read eight pages of words, there are some pretty pictures in there to look at)