Dmitry Wild, a New York-based rock artist, released his newest track, “Rock N Roll Is My Business.” Following up to his 2022 album, Electric Souls, his newest track comes alongside a few recent singles.
Inspired by an experience at a business convention, Dmitry Wild penned “Rock N Roll Is My Business” in response to a question posed to the audience, “What is your business?”. Finding himself at odds with the businesspeople and conventiongoers, he was inspired by his own answer, “Rock N Roll Is My Business.”
Wild’s newest track exudes confidence, accompanied by ever-present horns and funky, layered vocals. He latches onto the classic rock-n-roll figurehead frame, and creates a Halloween-esque sound that solidifies his place in the rock-n-roll business.
“Rock N Roll Is My Business” released following Wild’s single, “Son of a Gun,” another funky rock track with a bright, eclectic music video alongside. In addition, he released “New York Stones” in July, a rock ballad dedicated to the city of New York. Wild sings, “No matter where we go, no matter what we do, New York is in our soul, the city that gave us rock and roll.”
Catch Dmitry Wild at his upcoming shows in New York. He will play Woodstock’s The Colony on October 28, as well as Freddy’s Bar in Brooklyn on November 5. Finally, he will make a stop at No Fun in Albany on December 21 to close out the year.
New York City’s East River ferry route has introduced a new Back To The Future: The Musical themed ferry experience. Beginning on October 20, select NYC Ferry departures will give riders a taste of Broadway’s latest hit show, as well as surprises throughout the month.
The ferry rides will feature a ticket giveaway, trivia, and cast appearances. In addition, travelers will be able to board the special Back To The Future: The Musical vessel on other NYC ferry routes through November 17.
Back To The Future: The Musical is a multi-award-winning Broadway musical based on the classic 1985 film. The show won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, as well as four WhatsOnStage Awards. It is officially open at New York City’s Winter Garden Theatre.
The NYC Ferry is a reliable, convenient public transit option for New Yorkers, offering service through all five boroughs. Tickets are $4.00 per one-way ticket, and are also available in discounted ticket packages. To plan your travel on the ferry, and view schedules and service alerts, visit ferry.nyc.
Back To The Future: The Musical is now showing at the Winter Garden Theatre. To purchase tickets, visit www.BackToTheFutureMusical.com, purchase via Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or Telecharge.com, or at the Winter Garden Theatre box office at 1634 Broadway.
NYC-based singer-songwriter Steve Conte released a new official music video for his latest single, “Girl With No Name.” The video was filmed on the streets of New York, and shows iconic locations such as Times Square and the famous Flatiron Building.
Conte wrote “Girl With No Name” based on ideas of missed opportunity and attraction. He began writing it in 1984 and finished the track for his upcoming album. He cited influences such as The Beatles, XTC, and Diana Ross and the Supremes.
This is a song of regret…about missed opportunity and lack of skills in meeting someone you’re attracted to. When putting my new album together, I was looking for songs that would fit nicely alongside the songs that Andy Partridge and I had written for it and I kept thinking of this one. I wrote it back in 1984 and never forgot it – which was a good sign.
Steve Conte
Photo Credit: Anja Van Ast, 2020
Steve Conte is known as a longtime member of the rock group New York Dolls, as well as working alongside Paul Simon, Billy Squier, and Peter Wolf. Conte expanded internationally in recent years, working alongside Japanese composer Yoko Kanno to write soundtracks for anime series’.
Nicolas McCoppin, the NYC-based alt-pop artist released a brand new single, “more like u,” a synth-pop track that delves into body acceptance and rebirth. The single is part of the rollout for McCoppin’s sophomore album mind motel, to be released November 10.
“more like u” is a catchy alt-pop track full of synth and fun rhythm, but the lyrics delve into meaningful topics. McCoppin sings about bodily acceptance as a gay man, referencing pressures and insecurities that led him to a new feeling of rebirth and acceptance.
‘more like u’ is by far one of the most vulnerable tracks on the record. it was a very intentional contrast to have the production feel so big against the intimate details of the relationship I had with my body at the time. I think everybody can relate to a breakup driving you a little crazy. however, as a gay man, there is an added layer of social pressure in terms of my body image. ‘more like u’ is the story of my destruction and rebirth into the person i am today – which is someone i’ve finally grown to love. I hope this song can first and foremost be a banger, but second something that offers a little comfort to people that don’t feel at home in their body. this song allowed me to reckon with myself and my image of my body and come out the other side as a more whole person.
Nicolas McCoppin
“more like u” follows McCoppin’s previous single, “L.E.S. boy,” marking a new era for the up-and-coming artist. He made an official US radio debut in 2021 with his single “Heaven,” and has since skyrocketed with billboards in Times Square, becoming an Instagram Official Pride Creator, and creative collaborations with the likes of Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”).
Nicolas McCoppin’s new album mind motel will be released worldwide on November 10th. Album release shows in NYC, LA and Boston will be announced soon, along with vinyl and merch pre-orders. You can stream “more like u” and keep up with Nicolas on social media here.
On the picturesque summer night of August 31st, Quinn XCII (pronounced Quinn ninety-two) shifted the EDM narrative of Brooklyn Mirage to experimental hip-hop pop. While the Mirage wouldn’t be the typical host for Quinn’s self-established genre of music, the wrap-around screens and pristine sound system served his performance well. Michael Temrowski, stage name Quinn XCII, has been making music since 2011 when he was a student at Michigan State. From college house parties to venues like Red Rocks and the Brooklyn Mirage, Quinn XCII has established a loyal fanbase.
Openers Stay Over and Skizzy Mars, a New York City native, revved up the crowd. It seemed that Quinn wanted to uphold the experimental artists, to pay tribute to their creativity and brave approach to navigating the music industry. Stay Over put on a show blended with rock and hip-hop, two very loud and vocal genres. Skizzy Mars also dabbled in hip-hop with a more indie flair. Both of their sounds were celebrated by the audience.
Photograph by Shauna Hilferty
When 10:30 PM rolled around, the lights dimmed and the bass amplified. As soon as Quinn XCII stepped foot on stage, confetti cannons showered the fans in an endless spill of rainbows. People cheered and through their hands up, letting the paper wash over their faces. His most recent hit single, “Georgia Peach,” got the crowd grooving.
The setlist was a culmination of old and new music, sort of a “best of Quinn XCII” kind of performance. The audience welcomed each phase on stage with nostalgia induced excitement. Songs dating back to 2015 got the audience just as loud as his latest releases. As notes from the past wove through his set, Quinn’s personal sound was never lost. From “Kings Of Summer” by aokay featuring Quinn XCII to “The Lows,” featuring Big Sean, his reggae influenced and rap driven style remained.
Before his song, “My Wife & 2 Dogs,” Quinn stopped the show to give respect to his beloved french bulldog, Nelson, who had to be put to rest that day. Emotions were heavy on stage and respected in the audience. Each word to the song was sung from Quinn’s heart and from the chest of everyone in the audience. Behind him on stage, was a video montage of Nelson and his other pup.
Photograph by Shauna Hilferty
For one of Quinn’s newer releases, “The Lows,” New York City artist Blu DeTiger joined him on stage to play bass. With her blue sparkly bass guitar, mini-skirt, and stomper boots, Blu added a whole other energy to the song. She tossed her lengthy blonde hair back as she headbanged to Quinn’s catchy beat. The crowd received her rock addition with vim.
Quinn XCII has been around for a lot of listeners since their grade school days. To grow up with an artist is a very intimate experience. To listen to Quinn as an adult is like getting a second chance at growing up again in your twenties. His music normalizes the wide spectrum of human emotions felt while in serious relationships, during inevitable change and stagnancy, and even while getting high in the back of your high school girlfriend’s car. The show at Brooklyn Mirage was a celebration of being alive and figuring it out.
Photograph by Shauna Hilferty
As the show came to a close, the audience chanted for an encore before Quinn was able to leave the stage. He exited the stage, but the lights darkened to a deep blue. Before everyone knew it, Quinn was back singing his first encore song, “Always Been You.” The next song, “Another Day In Paradise,” was another crowd favorite from one of Quinn’s most esteemed records, “Change Of Scenery.” Before he started to sing, he spoke sentimentally to the crowd about being present: “The good shit, the bad shit – nothing is permanent, let it pass…”
Photograph by Shauna Hilferty
Quinn XCII wrapped his show with one of his youngest songs, “Candle.” His original fans bounced on their feet and swayed their arms the entire song, almost as a wave goodbye. The confetti went off once more before the show wrapped. Quinn XCII at the mirage was the perfect summer send off. As the confetti settled and Quinn and his band took a bow, the night ended on a good note.
New York City is the epicenter of music-making and recording studios in the Empire State, and the Big Apple has over 200 studios spread across the five boroughs. In doing so, New York City surpasses the rest of the state by having the most recording studios in a single region.
Numerous prominent names in the music business have recorded in New York City, including New York natives Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Lana Del Ray, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez, as well as non-natives like Britney Spears, Beyonce, Destiny’s Child, Kanye West, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Sia, Taylor Swift, and Gwen Stefani. For the first time, we are doing what no major outlet has done before, listing all the recording studios in New York State and the prominent singers who have made music there.
Radio City Music Hall is one of the top music and entertainment venues in New York State, where several of the industry’s top performers have had shows.
Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village has been the go-to studio for several recording artists and originally came to be in 1968 after Jimi Hendrix and his manager Michael Jeffery bought a newly defunct nightclub called The Generation. On August 26, 1970, Hendrix hosted the grand opening of his psychedelic studio lair to fellow musicians and friends. Guests included Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, and Patti Smith. Today, Electric Lady Studios is made famous by Jimi Hendrix and classic 70s sessions with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Patti Smith, among others, and maintains its reputation as the most hallowed grounds for recorded music. It is the oldest working and thriving recording studio in New York City.
“I put on my straw hat and walked downtown, but when I got there, I couldn’t bring myself to go in,” recalls Patti Smith in her award-winning memoir, Just Kids. “By chance, Jimi Hendrix came up the stairs and found me sitting there like some hick wallflower and grinned.”
Electric Lady has four studios available for artists’ use, A, B, C, and D.
Studio “A” is home to a fully restored Neve 8078 – a hand-wired analog console that as recently as 2011 absorbed 2500 hours of highly skilled labor, utilizing only the highest-end components. The console was later outfitted with Martin Sound Flying Faders II. The studio’s 35′ x 38′ live room boasts an impressive collection of vintage microphones, instruments, and amps, as well as an almost palpable history. It is Electric Lady’s largest and most versatile space.
Studio A of Electric Lady Studios in New York City.Studio B of Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
For ten years, Studio C has been home to mix engineer Tom Elmhirst. Elmhirst has worked with artists like Adele, Frank Ocean, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, and more, including 16 Grammy wins. He currently holds the record for most Grammys won by an engineer in a single year. Recent projects at Electric Lady include Adele’s “30,” James Blake’s “Friends That Break Your Heart,” and YEBBA’s “Dawn.”
Tom Elmhirst, mix engineer at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Studio D at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Significant Artists who have recorded at Electric Lady include Beyonce (I am… Sasha Fierce,) Britney Spears (Oops I Did It Again,) Carly Rae Jepsen (Dedicated Side B,) Christina Aguilera (Stripped,) Destiny’s Child (The Writing’s on the Wall,) Gwen Stefani (The Sweet Escape,) J. Cole (For Your Eyez Only,) Kanye West (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,) Kid Cudi (Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager and Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon,) Lady Gaga (Joanne, A Star is Born, and Chromatica,) Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett (Love for Sale,) Lorde, (Melodrama and Solar Power) Lana Del Rey, (Born to Die, Ultraviolence, Honeymoon, Lust for Life, Norman Fucking Rockwell, and Chemtrails over the Country Club)Mariah Carey, (Caution,) Maroon 5, (Red Pill Blues,) Sia, (Music – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture,) and Taylor Swift, (Lover, Folklore, Fearless (Taylor’s version) Red (Taylor’s version) and Midnighs.)
Premier Recording Studio has been graced by musicians such as Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Wiz Khalifa, Aaliyah, Usher, Justin Bieber, and DMX. J. Cole recorded his second studio album, Born Sinner (2013); Nicki Minaj recorded her fourth studio album, Queen (2018); and Travis Scott recorded his debut studio album, Rodeo (2015) at Premier. The facility has four studios at artists’ disposal, A, B, E, and F.
Studio A is made up of a 9′ x 15′ Lounge, an 18′ x 21′ Control Room, a 21′ 24′ Live Room, and a 9′ x 14′ Iso Booth. Studio B is made up of a 15′ x 18′ Lounge, a 20′ x 20′ Control Room, a 9′ x 14′ Iso Booth, and a 20′ x 21′ live room. Studio E comprises a 10 x 13′ Lounge, an 8 x 16′ Iso Booth, and a 16′ x 23′ Control Room. Studio F comprises a 10′ x 13′ Lounge, an 8′ x 13′ Iso Booth, and an 11 x 23 Control Room.
The Control Room in Studio A of Premier Recording Studio in New York City.The Live Room in Studio A of Premier Recording Studio in New York City.The Iso Booth in Studio A of Premier Recording Studios in New York City. The Control Room in Studio B of Premier Recording Studios.The Lounge in Studio B of Premier Recording Studios in New York City.The Iso Booth in Studio B of Premier Recording Studios in New York City. The Control Room in Studio E of Premier Recording Studios in New York City.The Vocal Booth in Studio E of Premier Recording Studio in New York City.The Lounge in Studio E of Premier Recording Studios in New York City.
Random Chance Records in New York City was built by Farida Sheralam, and the studio’s website was created with NationBuilder. Sheralam was working on a book about the life of blues mandolinist James “Yank” Rachell (Blues Mandolin Man, University Press of Mississippi, 2001.) She thought about all of Rachell’s LPs that were out of date by that point, and in the process of obtaining the rights to Rachell’s music, Sheralam inadvertently created a record label. Sheralam obtained a bar code, website, advertising in blues magazines, etc. Then she started getting sent demos from artists, and the rest is history. Since then, Sheralam has kept the label going and has released some really good blues, jazz, Latin, world, and whatever CDs.
The Hit Factory Recording Studio on Broadway in New York City, owned and operated by Troy Germano and also known as Germano Studios, first opened in 1969. In 1975, when Troy was first beginning his career in the music industry, his father, singer, and record producer Ed Germano purchased The Hit Factory, incorporated it into a business, redesigned its studios, and created the logo it uses today, bringing his son along for the journey. Troy experienced the company from the ground up, starting in the tape library and eventually becoming Executive Vice President in 1984. Before opening its current location in the Noho District in 2008 and becoming known as Germano Studios | The Hit Factory, the studio moved around multiple times throughout New York City. Additionally, The Hit Factory has locations in other big cities like Los Angeles and Miami.
The Hit Factory/Germano Studios has produced music for Q-Tip (Amplified) Alicia Keys (Songs in a Mirror, Diary of Alicia Keys, and The Elements of Freedom) Beyonce (Dangerously in Love,) Britney Spears (Britney,) Celine Dion (The Color of My Love, Falling into You, and Let’s Talk About Love,) Christina Aguilera (Stripped,) Coldplay (X&Y,) Destiny’s Child (The Writing’s on the Wall and Survivor,) Jay-Z (The Life and Times of St. Carter,) Mariah Carey (Merry Christmas, and Butterfly,) TLC (Crazysexycool,) Ariana Grande (Sweetener,) Christina Aguilera (Liberation,) Nicki Minaj (Queen,) Kanye West (Yeezus and The Life of Pablo, Kid Cudi, (Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager) Lady Gaga (Born This Way) Lil Uzi Vert (Luv is Rage 2,) Mariah Carey (Merry Christmas II You,) Meghan Trainor (Title,) One Republic (Native,) Post Malone (Stoney, Hollywood’s Bleeding, and Twelve Carat Toothache,) andRihanna, Rated R.)
The Hit Factory has two studios available for use by musicians. Studio 1 is the ideal recording studio for cutting basic tracks as well as mixing for your latest album or single. The live room recently added a C. Bechstein Concert L167 baby grand acoustic piano. The control room has the deepest array of analog outboard gear paired with an endless list of plugins unrivaled by any other U.S. music studio. This studio has become one of the top vocal recording environments in New York City, and what separates Studio 1 from any other recording environment is the complete privacy matched with the constant updating of its equipment and plugins.
Studio 2 is perfectly situated for those mixing projects that are geared toward the mix engineer and producer. The live room recently added a Bechstein A2 upright acoustic piano. The live room is predominantly utilized for lead & background vocals, key drum or guitar overdubs, or any writing session required. A 5-piece group of background vocalists, a string quartet, or a 6-piece horn section can be accommodated by the live recording space. The selection of analog outboard gear and near-field/mid-field monitoring is extensive and the main monitoring is the same Exigy S412G system with custom dual 18” subwoofers featured in Studio 1.
The C. Bechstein Concert L167 baby grand acoustic piano in Studio A of The Hit Factory in New York City.Studio 2 of The Hit Factory in New York City.
Battery Studios is Sony Music Entertainment’s New York City-based music production facility. Battery houses the technology to playback almost all existing audio formats and is capable of stereo and surround mastering, audio restoration and digitization, file verification, and immersive audio mixing. The studio has produced music for A Tribe Called Quest (People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders, Beats, Rhymes, and Life, and The Love Movement) Alicia Keys, Britney Spears (Baby One More Time, Oops I Did It Again, Britney, In The Zone, and Greatest Hits: My Peragotive,) JoJo (JoJo and The High Road,) and Nysnc (No Strings Attached and Celebrity.)
Some of the equipment at Battery Studios in New York City.
Threshold Recording Studio in Manhattan’s Midtown Westneighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen has been in operation since 1997, offering award-winning recording studios, music production, artist development, and commercial project management. Threshold Studios is a hands-on, owner-operated facility with an unparalleled client list from the best and brightest of Broadway to some of the biggest pop stars of the 20th century- and every major broadcast media outlet in between. The studio features top-of-the-line vintage analog and digital gear including Protools HD, logic pro x, and more.
Threshold Recording Studios NYC Vocal Booth Mic Facing Piano.Piano in Live room rear perspective Threshold Recording Studios NYC.The Console at Threshold Recording Studio in New York City.The live room at Threshold Recording Studio in New York City.The Baldwin 7′ Acoustic Grand Piano at Threshold Recording Studio in New York City.The vocal booth at Threshold Recording Studio in New York City.
Quad Recording Studios in New York City has produced music for Alicia Keys (Diary of Alicia Keys,) Chris Brown (Heartbreak on a Full Moon,)Goo Goo Dolls, (Magnetic,)Jay-Z, Volume 2…Hard Knock Life and Vol. 3…The Life and Times of St. Carter,) Jessie J (Who You Are,) Kanye West (The College Dropout,) Mariah Carey (Rainbow and Charmbracelet,)Pop Smoke (Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon,) Post Malone (Beerbongs and Bentleys, and Hollywood’s Bleeding,) Selena Gomez and the Scene, (When the Sun Goes Down,)and Taylor Swift, (Taylor Swift, and Fearless.) Quad is equipped with five studios for use by artists, Q1-5, and the event space Club Quad.
Q1, known as the best-sounding room in the city, can handle all your recording needs. Q1 offers an array of outboard gear and a 64 Channel Neve Genesys Black. The room uses the latest Augspurger technology making it one of the loudest and cleanest sounding rooms in the city. When not in the studio you can relax in the only private studio lounge with panoramic views of Times Square. Studio Q1 also offers a large live room capable of handling extensive tracking sessions.
The Control Room in Studio Q1 at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.The Live Room in Studio Q1 at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.The Lounge at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.
Q2 is known as the medium format studio, with a built-in vocal booth making it ideal for vocal tracking and all sorts of production. Q2 uses a Dual 12” Augspurger system with 18” subs. Numerous hits such as Trains “Soul Sister“ have been recorded in Q2. The room comes with a private lounge and a small balcony overlooking Times Square.
Studio Q2 at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.
Q3 is our most affordable room and uses one of Augspurgers newest products, the Duo 8 system. Equipped with a 35 sq/ft isolation booth, Q3 is perfect for in-the-box production and vocal tracking.
Studio Q3 at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.
Q4is Quad’s latest room and is located on the 12th floor. Built on the success of Quad’s infamous Studio Q1, Studio Q4 offers the same technology and vibe experience found throughout our legendary facility. With a dual 15’“ Augspurgers system accompanied by dual 18” subs, this system will shake you to the core.
Studio Q4 at Quad Recording Studios in New York City.
Q5 is Quad’s largest room and houses the largest Augspurger sound system in the city. Frequented by mainly major labels, Q5 is also available for bookings by an independent artist. With a large live room and high-end preamps like Neve, SSL, and API, this room is ideal for large tracking sessions.
The Control Room in Studio Q5 of Quad Recording Studios in New York City.The Live Room in Studio Q5 of Quad Recording Studios in New York City.The Private Lounge in Studio Q5 of Quad Recording Studios in New York City.
The Cutting Room Studios has two locations in New York City, located in the heart of Manhattan in Greenwich Village and Chelsea. The studio offers a variety of recording/mixing, music production, mastering, and more services. The Cutting Room has produced music for Cardi B (An Invasion of Privacy,) Lana Del Ray (Born to Die,) and Post Malone (Stoney.)
The Cutting Room offers two studios, A and B, and a control room for use by clients. Studio A is the main tracking and mixing room and features a 48 Channel Solid State Logic Duality Console, as well as a Yamaha C5 grand piano. Additionally, a large selection of vintage outboard gear is available in Studio A. The bright and spacious room with urban views along Lafayette and 4th Street provides clients with a relaxed creative environment while remaining in the heart of the city. For late-night sessions, rooms are equipped with Philips Hue lighting, so you can get the color and vibe just right.
Jungle City Studios in Chelsea, the art capital of New York, strives to bring back the golden age of New York City recording studios with an awe-inspiring artistic space never seen before. Founded by Rocco Berardi, Rosemary Spallina, Ann Mincieli, and Robert Baccigalupi and managed by Phil Spallina this three-room creative space fosters an intimate atmosphere while providing inspiring wide skyline views. Mincieli, longtime engineer and studio coordinator for Alicia Keys, has channeled her talents into making Jungle a technical prowess featuring the very best in vintage and modern technology. With over twenty years of experience in the music business, Mincieli has traveled the world engineering for some of the industry’s most renowned artists: Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Drake, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, and Whitney Houston, to name a few. Jungle City has been designed to please the most demanding and diversified lover of sound and music.
Additionally, Jungle City has recorded music for Alicia Keys (Girl on Fire, Here, and Alicia, Keys,) Ariana Grande (Sweetener, Thank u next and Positions,)Beyonce (4, Beyonce, and Lemonade,)Chris Brown (Heartbreak on a Full Moon,) Demi Lovato (Tell Me You Love Me,) Drake (Nothing Was the Same,) J. Cole (2014 Forest Hills Drive,) Jay-Z (Magna Carta Holy Grail,)Nicki Minaj, (Queen,)Justin Timberlake (The 20/20 Experience 1 & 2 and Man of the Woods,) Kanye West (The Life of Pablo,)Katy Perry (Prism)Lorde (Melodrama) Post Malone(Twelve Carat Toothache,) Rihanna (Anti,) Taylor Swift (1989,) The Weekend (Beauty Behind the Madness and After Hours,) and Zendaya, (Zendaya.)
Jungle City is equipped with four studios, East, West, North, and South, and Rooftop Lounge for recording artists. Jungle City Studios Penthouse Studio East features a retro-futuristic design which includes a cutting-edge 48-input SSL Duality Console and a vintage EMI TGI12345 Mark III Console. With the perfect blend of analog and digital gear, Jungle City’s Penthouse Studio East can accommodate any project. Whether it’s recording or mixing an album project, 5.1 surround mixing, video shoots, hosting a listening session or just having an event, the 2400 sq foot space is completely private and is well-fitted with all the latest technologies. The Dual 15″ Augspurger monitors were explicitly built for the dimensions of the room and are beautifully set in the control room glass.
The Penthouse East Studio at Jungle City Studios in New York City.
The Penthouse West Studio is one of Jungle City’s two larger studio accommodations. Mirroring Penthouse East, it features a retro-futuristic design that includes a cutting-edge 48-input SSL Duality Console and a vintage EMI TGI12345 Mark III Console. With the perfect blend of analog and digital gear, Jungle City’s Penthouse can accommodate any project, whether it’s recording or mixing an album project, 5.1 surround mixing, video shoots, hosting a listening session or just having an event, the 2400 sq foot space is completely private and is well fitted with all the latest technologies.
The Penthouse West Studio at Jungle City Studios in New York City.
One of two mix/overdub/production suites on Jungle City’s 10th floor, the North Studio is outfitted with a 32-input Avid D-Control and Pro Tools HD4 with Expansion Chassis. Centered around Digidesign’s Icon D-Control, Studio North is the perfect room for working in the box. The 32-input Icon is the ideal control surface for both Stereo and 5.1 Surround mix sessions. The room is perfectly complemented by a 16-channel EMI Chandler Limited Mini Rack Mixer for summing as well a 2-Channel Lavry Blue converter. Studio North also is equipped with the Antelope Isochrone OCX-V and Isochrone 10M Rubidium Atomic Clock for a tighter, more focused sound that will translate flawlessly in your final mix through our custom 15″ Augspurger Main Monitors and 18″ Pioneer Subwoofers.
The Penthouse North Studio at Jungle City Studios in New York City.
The Penthouse South Studio, lushly appointed with custom work counters, innovative, perforated absorbing diffusers, and acoustically-tuned walls, is one the most versatile rooms in New York City. At the core of the room is the dual-functional Euphonix S5 Fusion console with the ability to become a 64-channel digital desk at the touch of a button. The Euphonix S5 Fusion is one of the most cutting-edge digital consoles using Avid’s latest Madi Converters which allows you to mix utilizing Euphonix’s 40-bit floating point processing.
The Penthouse South Studio at Jungle City Studios in New York City.The Rooftop Lounge at Jungle City Studios in New York City.The VIew of the Manhattan skyline from the Rooftop Lounge at Jungle City Studios in New York City.
The Smooth Spot Recording Studio in Midtown Manhattan is owned by Michael Kevin Walsh, offers a wide array of video and editing services, and is the ideal place for opera, jazz, R&B, rock, pop, voice-over, and musical theater artists in New York City. At the heart of this New York City studio is a whisper-quiet isolation booth where artists can record vocals using the highest-quality microphones available. Whether this is your first time in a recording studio or you are an accomplished professional, The Smooth Spot Recording Studio is the perfect place to record any track.
Flux Studios is a six-room, 10,000 sq. ft. cutting-edge recording, mixing, and mastering music studio located in the East Village of New York City.
Featuring acoustics by Fran Manzella, the Dangerous Room offers a 36-channel 1974 custom Neve console, a Pro Tools HDX system with 32 channels of Avid HD I/O, Focal and ProAc monitors, and the best selection of vintage and modern outboard gear as well as full assortment of up to date plugins, including the complete UAD collection, Waves Horizon bundle and all Avid, Sonnox, Soundtoys, and Flux plugins among others. The Dangerous room, like all Flux Studios’ rooms, is 100% Thunderbolt compatible, allowing visiting producers and engineers to use their personal computers to drive the room’s infrastructure if they desire to do so. It’s the fastest and easiest way to convert a home studio project into a professional project without export and plugin hassles.
The Dangerous Room at Flux Studios in New York City.
Dangerous’ 486 sq ft live room has two separate isolation rooms and a vocal booth with a full line of sight into the live room and the control room. The live room is modular and can be separated into two sonically isolated 200 sq ft rooms with a line of sight. The live room also features a collection of high-end instruments and amps, including a Yamaha C6 Grand Piano with Disklavier system, late 70s Yamaha Recording Custom drums, a 70s Fender Rhodes, a 70s Wurlitzer electric piano, and a 60s Hammond C3 organ with matching Leslie.
The Dungeon room, acoustically tuned by Vicoustics and powered by Focal Trio11 Be + dual Sub6 speaker system, provides an impeccable listening environment for modern music production. Outfitted with a 9.1.4 DOLBY ATMOS setup powered by Focal speakers and managed by a Trinnov room correction system, this room is ideal for mixing in both stereo and spacial audio formats, as well as providing an inviting atmosphere for producing, writing, and recording. The full Pro Tools HDX system, featuring 24 I/O via an Avid HD IO along with a Universal Audio Apollo x8, is readily accessible via Thunderbolt for producers who want to work on their computer and still have access to the room’s gear. The built-in computer features Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, and Ableton Live 9, as well as an up-to-date series of UAD Complete, Sonnox, Soundtoys, FabFilter, NI Komplete plugins, and the Waves Horizon Bundle.
The 208sq ft control room is designed to accommodate writing sessions with easy access to keyboards and instruments. It boasts an assortment of preamps and compressors by brands such as Avalon, dbx, Shadow Hills, Universal Audio, and CAPI among others. The center of the studio is a 24-channel Digidesign D-Command digital console. The accompanying 250sq ft live room has concrete floors and a 12ft ceiling height with a separate vocal booth and an amp iso. Flux Studios has a long list of instruments including a collection of analog synths perfect for writing and tracking sessions.
The Dungeon Room at Flux Studios in New York City.
The Transporter Room is Flux Studios’ all-in-one creative room, designed to allow producers and musicians to quickly go from writing to recording instruments and vocals, and from creating beats to mixing. Powered by Barefoot Master Stack speakers, an SSL Matrix board, and a selection of vintage Neve preamps and various analog compressors, Transporter is the premier writing room in the building. Over the years it has been the launching pad for major artists like The Strokes, The Rapture, Mark Ronson, John Hill, ASAP Ferg, and many others. The large 282 sq ft control room has a vocal tracking area surrounded by TubeTrap treatment, a customized upright piano, analog synths, Fender electric guitar and bass guitar, and midi keyboards.
The Transporter Room at Flux Studios in New York City.
The Fabulous Room is a mixing and mastering studio featuring the highest quality analog and digital gear for a super clean signal flow. It boasts a full assortment of outboards by Dangerous, Neumann, GML, Mercury, API, and many others. Ample space and a flawless listening environment via Focal monitors make it a premier mixing and mastering facility. The Fabulous room also houses an arsenal of vintage analog and hard-to-find synths making it a perfect space for writing and producing. Inspiration comes rapidly when sitting in front of a real CS80 or a perfect Prophet V, Octave Cat, or MS20 among others.
The Fabulous Room at Flux Studios in New York City.
The inspiration room is a writing and production room with perfect integration of a range of digital and analog instruments via a Universal Audio Apollo extended system. The real-time processing power of the UAD hardware and software enables the producer to focus on writing music rather than patching cables.
The Inspiration Room at Flux Studios in New York City.
Home to legendary producer David Kahne, the Revolution room is an ideal production room with a 205 sq ft control room and an adjacent vocal booth that enables tracking of vocals and instruments. The 12ft ceilings make it a pleasant listening environment while two large windows provide natural light during the day.
The Revolution Room at Flux Studios in New York City.Flux Studios in New York City.
Mirrortone Studios is one of the premier recording studios in New York City, with over a decade of producing music for Grammy-winning artists, major labels, and indie musicians alike. In addition to being one of the most sought-after artist-run recording studios, Mirrortone has composed music and provided audio-post services for agencies, brands, commercials, television, feature films, apps, branded content, and videos of all types. Mirrortone offers several services including mixing/mastering, artist/album recording, original music production, track production, professional score recording, and more.
Mirrortone Studios was founded by Jay Rothman and Roman Molino Dunn, who also serve as composers and producers. Rothman is an award-winning New York-based Composer, Producer, and Sound Designer scoring films, and commercials, producing bands, and creating sound design for people and companies of all sizes around the globe. Dunn is an award-winning composer, Billboard-charting music producer (a.k.a Electropoint), and co-owner of Mirrortone Studios in New York City. He has composed and produced music for advertising agencies, corporations, television commercials, TV shows, feature films, radio, and internet campaigns, and his productions have climbed the top 20 Billboard and iTunes charts.
James Quesada serves as a recording and mixing engineer at Mirrortone Studios. Quesada’s engineering style is equal parts industry polish and indie grit. He’s known for being easy to work with, creating an artistic environment, and having fun while getting the important work done. Having worked on countless albums, EPs, singles, and post-productions, he finds inspiration in every genre from garage rock to future trap, radio drama to film score. More than working in any genre, Quesade loves working with people.
The milestone anniversary of one of the most influential and diverse music genres in history is here, as August 11th marked Hip Hop 50. In light of the anniversary, legends ranging back from the ’70s until now have been resurfacing to pay tribute, revisit the past, as well as stake their claim as hip hop luminaries. Today we lay out the history of a hip hop icon who helped shape the genre as one of the first ever female MC’s, the Queen of Queens: Roxanne Shanté.
Lolita Shante Gooden, better known to the world as Roxanne Shanté, was born and raised on the streets of New York City, just like hip hop itself. Coming out of Queens, the spit-fire herself was introduced to the rising genre at an early age and possibly more lucrative was the genre being introduced to her. At eight years old, Shanté discovered her love and talent for spitting rhymes whilst watching the witty celebrity wordsmith Nipsey Russel on TV. What’s more, is that the streets called to her as rhyme was just a sign of the times and battles were the name of the game. After her substantial discovery, the little girl would rhyme all day every day, and by the age of ten years old, Shanté won her first battle, securing a cash prize of $50. From there on, Roxanne battled her way to the top beating out her competition one by one leaving a clearer path for those brave enough to follow. Her confidence, fearlessness, and pure talent all came together, leading her to become one of the most popular and sought after female rappers of her time.
Roxanne’s popularity, however, truly began at 14 with a passing interaction with long time acquaintance Marley Marl – American DJ, record producer, rapper, and so much more. Soon after getting out of her two year stretch at multiple girl’s homes and returning to her mother and sisters, Roxanne was walking up the street in the midst of doing her mother’s laundry when Marley called to her. Hearing that she was the best around, the DJ asked Shanté to rap over a track he was working on. Shanté told him she could only give him seven minutes of her time – the time remaining on her laundry.
Marly Marl, Mr. Magic, and Tyrone Williams, all members of the soon to be hip hop collective, the Juice Crew, had been working on a special track using the original beats from group U.T.F.O.’s hit song “Roxanne, Roxanne,” which tells the story of a woman who rejected the group’s advances time and time again. Marl’s track was always meant to be an answer record as U.T.F.O. backed out of a concert promoted by Mr. Magic and lost him a substantial amount of expected income. As Marl laid down the track, Shanté was free to do her thing, taking on the persona of “Roxanne” and putting every member of U.T.F.O. in their place one after another saying, “He ain’t really cute, he ain’t really great, He don’t even know how to operate.” Every second, every word, and every rhyme was free-styled by that 14 year old talent in seven minutes, making history as one of the first moments a female took to hip hop and forced the male dominated genre as a whole to sit down, listen, and show some respect.
The song was officially named “Roxanne’s Revenge” and became a massive hit selling over a quarter of a million copies in the New York area alone. Not only that, but the track spawned a series of answer-back records, possibly the most in history, numbering well over a hundred as artists and fans received Shanté’s free-style as a challenge, including U.T.F.O. who produced another track along with a law suit. This time, the trio’s response highlighted the female rapper Elease Jack who they deemed “The Real Roxanne.” This third track on the same woman took hip hop into uncharted waters, as in that day in age most answer records ended with a second recording. The controversy and attention was quickly named the “Roxanne Wars” resulting in perhaps the first ever ‘rap beef’ between two artists in hip hop history.
With the song’s success, Lolita was fittingly Roxanne and became an official member of the Juice Crew. Throughout her stretch of tours and live performances with the collective, Roxanne’s battle image and mindset never faded, as Shanté came out with numerous recorded battle tracks including “Round One: Roxanne Shanté vs Sparky Dee” alongside rapper Sparky Dee who not long before released a diss-track about Roxanne herself.
“Even after I started making records, I still had such a battle mentality,” says Shanté. “I didn’t want to be second best, I didn’t want to be the best girl — I wanted to be the best.”
Unfortunately, time and time again the artist faced challenges due to her age and role as a woman in a male dominated career and world. In 1985, Shanté battled it out with Busy Bee Starski for the title of “Best Freestyle Rapper” but lost to Kurtis Blow’s bias admitting his vote went to Starski since Roxanne was a girl.
By the age of 25, with two completed studio albums Bad Sisters and The Bitch Is Back along with over 18 critically acclaimed singles, Shanté had taken a huge step back from the music scene and largely retired from recording. The MC faced physical and sexual abuse on many accounts resulting in hospital visits and the birth of her first son by the time she was sixteen years old. Not only that, but Shanté had been cheated out of money by managers and various others who she believed she could trust the most. These challenges along with the evolving scene of the hip hop industry all led to her hiatus.
Today, Roxanne is still doing her thing, staying busy, and most importantly staying connected to her roots. Shanté, who now lives in New Jersey, co-leads an education nonprofit, is known to occasionally perform, and has done a series of press events where she comments on hip hop and rap artists of today. Additionally, she hosts Sirius XM’s Have A Nice Day on Rock The Bells Radio along with DJ Cool V where the pair sit down together, crack jokes, and play the music that they love. The rapper also continues to make impressive live appearances as just on July 21st of this summer she participated in DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! at the one and only Radio City Music Hall.
For years, Roxanne has gone on to be an unsung hero when it comes to the history of hip hop and its evolution, yet the artist refuses to live in spite, saying, “I’m not the female Hip Hop artist people talk about. I’m not invited to the awards. I’m the person who people would assume would be angry at home. And I’m the total opposite of that. I love life so much. I’m a breast cancer survivor. I know what it’s like to go through lumpectomies, through everything. Life is amazing to me. I enjoy every minute of it.”
Even though the rapper may not take her lack of recognition to heart, the world of music and the world of hip hop have begun to right its wrongs and give Roxanne the attention she truly deserves. In 2017, Netflix released a biopic named “Roxanne Roxanne” which tells the story of her beginnings in the genre along with the struggles she faced as a woman of color in NYC. The movie not only highlights the hurdles she jumped through and her immense talent but also displays her impact on the genre itself and rappers that have gone on to find their own success because of her. One of these artists is the Grammy Award-winning rapper Nas who credits Roxanne with being the person to first get him to take rap seriously.
“Roxanne Shanté was a young teenage girl who had heart ’cause she would just be out in the projects, hanging, and I would see her,” he explains. “We heard about her and she was a hood star at first. She heard me doing some little rhymes and she was interested, and she was like, ‘Yo, I want you to participate in something. I want you to do some stuff. I want you to work on your craft and when I see you again, have it together.’”
Roxanne’s story, influence on others, and connections with the hip hop world are impossible to write on one page as the artist has history with legends such as Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, and Queen Latifah; however, as Roxanne has shown time and time again, she can prove herself to anybody, anyplace, anytime with a beat and a microphone.
Roxanne is a hip hop icon and deserves to go down in music history appreciated as a true luminary. Not only did she defy odds as a young woman of color on the streets of Queens, the splash Shanté made with her immense talent, street cred, and her seven minutes helped push the entire genre into the mainstream. Hip hop artists today can’t ever fully comprehend their complete history unless they recognize the Queen of Queens: Roxanne Shanté, the blueprint for hip hop MC’s.
NYC electronic act MIDNIGHTCHOIR has just released the single “Lovecrimes,” along with this, a music video to accompany it. Along with this, they have also confirmed the forthcoming release of their second album, Loverboy Molotov, to be released July 14th.
New York-born and raised electronic producer Patrick Bobilin has been producing music as MIDNIGHTCHOIR since 2014. Bobilin’s love for 80s goth rock and pounding electronic beats combined with his political experiences color the tone and tenor of his music.
Speaking on this new single, Bobilin wrote, “After 7 years of being in the public eye, the only times I felt I could be myself were at NYC dance bars like Pyramid Club or Saint Vitus. I started traveling to Austin, TX more often to visit a group of friends, free from the political infamy I’d become ensnared in.”
“I recorded it quickly in one night, with the urgency of having to get out of town and shake loose of those tangles. ‘Lovecrimes’ was inspired by late nights in NYC and dancing at Barbarella in Austin, where they always play INXS on 80’s Night. The cover of ‘Need You Tonight’ was also inspired by those late nights and features guitar from David Simutis who I met at an office job and who I learned was a seasoned indie rock vet, having engineered and played on some of the coolest records of the last 20 years.”
The combinations of sex, politics, and gothic imagery explain the lyrical content and the inclusion of three covers: Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” and “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode.
Since then, Bobilin ran for public office, led community action organizations during the 2020 social justice uprisings, and has been an active community organizer. He was even arrested twice during the 2020 movement for black lives while organizing protests. That social justice work, which had Bobilin arguing with former-mayor de Blasio about policing on live radio, has found its way into the lyrics of the punk-infused new darkwave album he recorded in the first few weeks of 2023.
The new album was made with much of Bobilin’s urgency and energy of his political campaigns in 2017, 2020, and 2022. Having firmly decided to leave politics behind, Bobilin was compelled to write about many of the frustrations that inspired his far-left politics.
While Bobilin may lean on 80’s new wave and goth influences, the autobiographical elements of the album reflect his experiences in politics and protest. The politics of the album are far left, with emotional, social, religious, and political concerns peppered throughout.
Listen to “Lovecrimes” by clicking the link here. Loverboy Molotov will be available on all streaming services this July.
NYC-based alt pop singer/songwriter Stalking Gia has just released her newest hit single titled “Euphoria.” The song materializes aspects of art between online fantasy and Manhattan’s real-life nocturnal glow.
Gia writes, the song is “about the desire to find a deeper connection with someone and the fear of losing them. The lyrics describe the struggle to break free from the monotony of everyday life and the search for something more…. A longing to escape the mundanity of their current situation and reach a new level of intimacy.”
At age 5, Gia had her first dose of the limelight when she starred as the child lead in one of Cheerios most globally successful commercials. She was a professional Broadway actor (alongside her friend, Nick Jonas) and Top 5 Disney Radio artist with songs featured in the movie “Another Cinderella Story” starring Selena Gomez. She then lent her voice to Popstar Barbie in the 2012 animated movie Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar, which was produced by Universal Studios and premiered on Nickelodeon.
As an independent artist in 2016, she released her debut single “Second Nature,” kickstarting her viral fame and gaining her over 13.2 million streams on Spotify. It was later sampled on the single “Wish U The Best” by Blackbear, an A-List Top 40 recording artist with 20 million Spotify monthly listeners. The two artists would later tour together and collaborate for their track “Miracles” which has earned over 4.9 million streams.
Last summer, she teased a demo on TikTok using the famous nursery rhyme “Oh My Darling Clementine.” It gained traction and after getting a positive response she went on to release a full version titled “saddest happy girl.”
From co-writing with other artists for their projects to creating her own “no rules” music, Stalking Gia is a sought-after name in the game; bicoastal between New York City and the music scene of Los Angeles. Since then, she has returned to releasing music independently and continues to gain a loyal fan base.
NYC‘s indie band Rebounder just released their newest lush single “Disco Ball Soul,” the first song off of their upcoming EP Sundress Songs, out August 25th. They have also announced a run of East Coast tour dates including stops in New York, DC, Philadelphia and Toronto.
The single is a widescreen, lush track that frontman Dylan Chenfeld explains was “initially about the frustrations of being a Knicks fan. Funny enough, the evening we shot the video, we were watching the Knicks lose in the playoffs. The song wound up being about the anxieties of living in a city at night, though the anxiety of being a Knicks fan casts a long shadow.”
Over the last few years, Rebounder has quietly become one of New York’s most successful young indie exports, supporting everyone from MUNA to Twin Shadow to the How Long Gone podcast. Their 2020 debut “Japanese Posters” has racked up over 14 million streams alone, a testament to the band’s work ethic and crisply-realized, overwhelmingly hooky indie-rock.
A winsome, wistful portrait of modern millennial life, their forthcoming EP Sundress Songs resembles a lot of classic 2000s indie-pop. Yet, the album feels like it exists miles away from the current of revivalism that’s in the air right now.
Led by stalwart songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dylan Chenfeld, Rebounder makes crisply-realized, overwhelmingly hooky indie-rock, sharpened to a fine point by years of touring. Sundress Songs is a set of preened, poised pop songs that speak volumes of Dylan and his bandmates’ stadium-level ambitions and enviable taste.
“This project is the culmination of a lot of the hard work we’ve done in the past year, in the studio and on the road,” says Dylan. “It feels overdue – but we wanted to make something that sounds really exciting and unique, because we’ve been writing songs and making demos our whole lives.”
Rebounder started as a high school band. Dylan, his brother Noah, and a handful of their friends were often recruited as hired gun musicians for small projects looking to tour locally. Being genuinely skilled musicians has been key to Rebounder’s success; they play with the tautness and tension of a rubber band pulled to its limits, despite the (on its surface) breeziness of their songwriting.
Dylan has omnivorous tastes and pays sharp attention-to-detail: Sundress dips into rakish funk (“Disco Ball Soul”), bedroom pop (“Second Serve Ace”) and skittish dance-rock (“Dreamland”). Produced entirely by Dylan, Sundress Songs is rich with production quirks and asides that speak to his years spent going on YouTube rabbit holes and tinkering in ProTools.
“There’s a lot of people who are doing, like, Greta Van Fleet for the 2000s,” says Dylan. “What’s the point of that? I’m not gonna do it better than those guys. But maybe we can do something new.”
Listen to “Disco Ball Soul” by clicking the link here.
Tickets for the upcoming tour are available for purchase here.
