London, U.K. (July 5, 2023)—World Heart Beat Music Academy has opened a second location in southwest London that features a recording studio. The new commercial production facility, designed by U.K. architectural acoustics and studio firm Munro Acoustics, will serve as an economic engine for the charitable organization, which was founded by artistic director Sahana Gero, a musician and music teacher, in 2009.
Her brother, James Gero, the organization’s CEO, spearheaded the new 8,100-sq.-ft. facility buildout, which includes a 200-capacity concert hall that doubles as a recording live room and houses a Steinway D concert grand piano, a broadcasting suite and a café. The new studio centers around a Solid State Logic Origin 32-channel analog mixing console.
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The London Borough of Wandsworth and developers Eco-World Ballymore selected World Heart Beat from a field of more than 42 organizations as a “cultural anchor” for the Embassy Gardens residential and business development in Nine Elms, the largest regeneration zone in Europe, which surrounds the United States Embassy on the south bank of the River Thames. World Heart Beat helps young people aged five to 25 realize their musical potential without financial constraints.
James Gero comments, “When you spend so much on building a venue — and my vision was to build the best boutique venue in the country that was about young people levelling up — then every minute detail is so important to that vision. Personally, I couldn’t be happier with our choice of desk. The SSL, with its custom-made furniture, looks so beautiful and it works terrifically well, too.”
Nick Cohen, who has been directing World Heart Beat’s Digital Production and Young Artist Development program, recommended an SSL console for the facility. He is also a professional freelance bass player who has toured with Eurythmics, Roy Ayers, Massive Attack and M People. “A lot of the music that we do is from the acoustic world, so we’re dealing with classical piano recitals and a lot of jazz; Origin fits in with that more organic workflow and really works well with the whole ethos of what we’re trying to do here,” Cohen says.
Jim Sorenson, lead studio and live engineer and AV production assistant at World Heart Beat since early 2021, comments, “I can’t speak highly enough of the Origin EQs. I’m more into feeling and sweeping, and the response is nice and intuitive to that hands-on approach. You can use quite fine and delicate movements in the EQ section to be really crafty with the way you’re pulling stuff into Pro Tools. I often commit to printing straight from the EQs on the desk. I don’t know why I would load up an SSL emulation on the DAW when I’ve got 32 of the E series EQs right in front of me.”
