Layout includes separate control room, vocal booth, tracking area and a lounge that doubles as a press room. IN THE BEGINNING
It all started with the idea for a Mixtape…
During the 2009 A3C Hip-Hop Festival, Amond Jackson “AJ” with the help of Jay Force, a native Atlanta Radio Host, coordinated the A3C Mixtape: Beatz and Lyrics. Part of the process of creating the mixtape was recording on the da
ys of the event. All the artists recorded vocals in the Salem Psalms Studio nearby the site of the event to pre-recorded beats. In the months leading up to the 2010 A3C Festival, AJ wanted to improve upon the previous year. By utilizing his already established contacts in the Hip-Hop community along with UniqueSquared’s contacts in the professional audio industry he was able to do just that. Aided by Ariff Glick, the Marketing Manager at UniqueSquared, and Jay Force, they planned to coordinate the mixtape again. One of the issues of the previous year was the off-site recording and a way to improve on that was to do the live recording on-site at the A3C venue, the Masquerade. The idea was to bring an RV “decked out” in recording gear so that the vocals could be recorded live at the event. With the backing from a number of manufacturers, UniqueSquared was able to show up at A3C with a RV suited for recording live vocals for 3 straight days. Pre-recorded beats were submitted to an online beat competition held at the respected Hip Hop blog KevinNottingham.com. The winner won a custom UniqueSquared Native Instruments Maschine, and also had their beat paired with 4-IZE. The result, The A3C Mixtape: Beatz and Lyrics 2 Go, one of 2010’s most publicized mixtapes and successful sponsorship. UNIQUESQUARED MOBILE STUDIO
With the A3C complete, the idea had blossomed into a full-blown vision. Fueled by the ideal that music can be created anywhere, UniqueSquared started the campaign to fund a permanent mobile studio to tour nationally. The plan is to use the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio to travel to the largest music conventions, festivals, and tours and record artists on the road at the venues. The inaugural UniqueSquared Mobile Studio is a tour bus that was purchased from Atlanta Custom Coach on January 1st, 2011. After the interior design of the studio was finalized and agreed upon, construction began immediately. The interior of the tour bus was completely gutted to provide enough room for a full band including drummers, keyboardist, guitars and vocalists. Going further, in the spirit of the original “on site” recording, there is also a control room where tracks can be cut, edited and mastered on the spot. For the exterior design, UniqueSquared planned to capture a few main elements revolving around music, Atlanta, and provide credit to the Manufacturers who helped accomplish the physical spectacle that is the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio. The final draft details the Atlanta skyline, a conceptual equalizer, the UniqueSquared Logo, and all of the sponsors. The unveiling event for the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio was held on March 3, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. After the kick off event, the team headed out to Winter Music Conference (WMC) in Miami and then off to one of the largest music events of the year, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. With experience under our belt, the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio is off on the road again. With a new exterior design and new sponsors, the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio plans to capture even more artist recordings while traveling. The first main event of the year, SXSW 2012, will mark the first time the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio follows an artist as they travel to multiple cities. As the program has matured and expanded, the Mobile Studio team anticipates another great year ahead of them. Armed with the slogan “mobile. music.” the UniqueSquared Mobile Studio will be traveling across the country to a city near you. Be sure to stop by and check in with the team if you see the big “U” on the side of the bus.
