Headliner visited Miloco’s Angelic Studio with chief engineer Luke Gibbs, Enter Shikari’s Rob Rolfe, and The Hoosiers frontman Irwin Sparkes to find out more about working in what is without question one of the finest residential recording spaces in the UK today.
Hidden away in the heart of rural England, Miloco’s Angelic Studio provides artists with a completely exclusive and idyllic setting to record in. Based within two beautiful farm buildings, it has been converted and refurbished to perfection, offering an exquisite residential recording environment.
Angelic was built by the late producer and former-Jamiroquai keyboardist and songwriter,Toby Smith - and it’s a formidable recording and mix environment with a kit list that’s nothing short of jaw dropping: an SSL console as its centrepiece; a great-sounding live room complete with Yamaha grand piano; every guitar amp you could wish for; racks of incredible outboard; synths you might not even know exist; and the most extraordinary collection of vintage microphones.
Chief engineer, Luke Gibbs, lives onsite in one of the barns. He reflects on the time that English band, The 1975, spent at Angelic for almost seven months straight.
“Half the day was spent recording – the first half of the day they’d have personal trainers. They would enjoy the countryside space because they knew they’d be here for such a long time, so they weren’t going to do too much every day,” he says. “They would relax and have the time to be creative. They were set up in the accommodation building, so they had their own area, and they were sat up there writing. They’d come [to the studio] for a few hours of the day at first to get the initial bits of recording done. That scale changed as time went on where they spent less time writing, and a lot of time in here recording.”
Gibbs says that the control room is especially comfortable and ‘sounds perfect’: “It’s got the most up to date, perfect equipment and live room to be able to work in. It really is the ultimate studio,” he insists. “It’s just pure escapism – getting away from it all. It’s such a creative headspace. It is really relaxing, and there’s such a special vibe here that I think Toby created intentionally. Everything has fallen into place perfectly, and this is exactly what he wanted.”
Jon Gilmore, producer for The 1975 is also full of praise for the space: “Angelic’s main room is a truly beautiful-sounding space; a wonderful, relaxed rural atmosphere has meant every session there has been an an absolute pleasure.”