Solid State Logic ORIGIN Mixer Enables ‘Amazing’ Recording at Miami’s Art House Studios
ORIGIN mic preamps and bus compressors set Art House recording engineer Natalia Schlesinger apart.
Art House was founded in Miami by prolific Colombian music producer, pianist, arranger and composer Julio Reyes Copello. With the introduction of the new Studio B, which features a Solid State Logic ORIGIN analog mixer, its series of stellar achievements has reached a new level. Over the past 12 months, Art House and Reyes Copello have worked on four of six just-nominated Grammy Awards in the Best Latin Pop Album category, including Pablo Alborán’s “Vértigo” and Camilo’s “Mis Manos” , both albums have also been nominated and won at multiple Latin Grammy Awards this year.
Reyes Copello has collaborated with many top Latin artists over the years including Alejandro Sanz, Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin. She founded the Art House Records label and music production agency with the aim of discovering and nurturing new musical talent. The Art House recording studio building is also home to the Art House Academy and Abbey Road Institute Miami’s music and audio production education programs, where Reyes Copello and her team train and mentor young artists, Songwriter and Audio Engineer.
Art House’s Studio B was built in 2020, and the adjacent recording space can comfortably accommodate some entertainers.“We do a lot of recordings in this room.” Studio Recorder Natalia Schlesinger says: “Sometimes it’s just vocals or simple instruments, but we’ve also done big recordings like whole bands.”
ORIGIN’s PureDrive™ mic preamps: a world like no other
When Schlesinger started working in the studio, the 32-channel ORIGIN had just been delivered and installed in the new control room. She really appreciates the mic preamps of the SSL mixer, especially the coherence it brings to the recording when recording for groups of musicians.“The talk is very good.” she says: “Especially when we’re doing orchestra recordings, since all the tracks are playing at the same time. We also use other mic preamps, so it feels great to use the console. But we found that when using ORIGIN PureDrive™ mic preamps for Everything is warm and clean when playing in a big orchestra. Plus, it’s EQ has a unique SSL tone that everyone really likes.”
Reyes Copello explains how ORIGIN’s PureDrive™ mic preamps introduced new sounds and character to his work at Art House, a studio outfitted with a variety of preamps. SSL mixer mic preamps are known for their clarity and purity, and the new PureDrive™ design adds warmth and rich harmonic character to this.“In many recording situations, SSL PureDrive™ stands out.” Reyes Copello said.
Since installation, Schlesinger has used ORIGIN for many project mixes. Reyes Copello says: “I love bus compressors, I use them every time. I mainly use stems in stereo groups, where I do balance and use bus compressors. It gives a kind of The different sound – warmer – everything just magically hits the spot. I love the tone it brings to the mix.”
Solid State Logic ORIGIN has a strong tradition of mixing flexibility
ORIGIN also fits into Art House’s mixing workflow.“I think it’s amazing to be able to work in Pro Tools and do something on the console.” she says: “It’s very important to me that these two ways of working are interoperable. I can rely on the analog sound of the console, and then I can easily work in the DAW and then go back to mixing and Summing.”
While the studio sometimes takes on external recording projects, most of the studio’s work is in-house.“A lot of times, artists come here to collaborate.” Schlesinger says: “They’ll be writing here, and Julio makes a lot of music. There are some projects we’ll only do part of it. There are other songs that we write, produce, record and mix. So there’s a little bit of that in every way.”
Schlesinger, also a musician, completed her undergraduate studies in Bogota, Colombia, using an SSL Duality console. She started working at Art House in 2020 after earning a master’s degree from the University of Miami.“It’s been amazing to be part of all these projects and to work with the people who create this great music.” she says: “Having the opportunity to learn from Julio and Robin (Reumers, Latin Grammy nominated mixing and mastering engineers and educators) was really great. Just watching them and working with them has grown me up many.”
In early 2021, Schlesinger and Reumers joined forces to remix an all-star rendition of Himno de la alegría at Studio B’s SSL ORIGIN. The song was originally a rock version of “Ode to Joy”, the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, released in 1970 by Spanish singer and actor Miguel Ríos. The new 5-minute version is designed to pay tribute to the heroes on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic, produced by Reyes Copello of Art House. Nearly 50 major Latino entertainers, actors and athletes sang and nearly half of them recorded their vocals at Art House, including Queen Brian May’s guitar solo.
Art House Gains Professional and Industry Recognition
Reyes Copello and the Art House team, including Schlesinger, were nominated for multiple Latin Grammys this year. Produced by Reyes Copello and Nicolás de La Espriella and performed by Pablo Alborán, “Si Hubieras Querido” was recognized in both Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories. The album Vértigo featuring the song was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Along with the rest of the Art House team, Schlesinger provided engineering assistance for Marc Anthony’s “Un Amor Eterno (Versión Balada),” nominated for the Latin Grammy Record of the Year Award. Reyes Copello played the keyboard and piano, and was also the song’s arranger, mix engineer, performance arranger, producer, sound engineer, and vocal engineer.
The Art House team was also recognized for their role in the writing, recording, mixing and production of Paula Arenas’ “Mis Amores,” which also won a Latin Grammy for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category nomination. “A Tu Lado” from the album was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
All the songs on Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo’s new album “Mis Manos” were written in Studio B at Art House. Christina Aguilera’s latest single, “Pa Mis Muchachas,” released in October, was also written here. Camilo, the artist with the most Latin Grammy nominations this year, took home four awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Song, at the awards show, which aired in November, along with producer Edgar Barrera. Best Pop Song for “Vida de Rico”.
