Nashville, TN (December 17, 2025)—As the 50th anniversary of the release of Frampton Comes Alive! rolls around, Peter Frampton and his longtime collaborator, Chuck Ainlay are making the most of their SSL U Series controllers on a new project.
Frampton is finishing up a new full-length album of original material to mark the momentous occasion. The album, to be called Carry the Light, will be released on April 10, 2026, the 50th anniversary of Frampton Comes Alive! reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Similar to several of Frampton’s recent releases, the new project was produced using Solid State Logic equipment, from the 64-channel SSL 4000G at The Studio Phenix, his personal facility, to the U Series DAW controllers favored by producer, engineer and mixer Chuck Ainlay at his own studio and at Frampton’s home studio.
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Frampton acquired three SSL U Series controllers—a UC1 plug-in controller and a pair of UF8 eight-channel advanced DAW controllers—several years ago. Around the same time, Ainlay was outfitting his home facility for Dolby Atmos mixing, saw how Frampton was creating a virtual SSL console, and decided to incorporate a UC1 into his setup. Ainlay subsequently used the UC1, multiple UF8 eight-fader controllers and SSL’s 360° software to create, in collaboration with Frampton, the immersive mix of the classic 1976 live double album Frampton Comes Alive!, sourced from the original stereo production master recorded in December 1975 by Doug Sax and released in March 2024.
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Since his diagnosis in 2019 of inclusion body myositis (IBM), a degenerative muscle disease that can affect his dexterity, Frampton will often work at home to craft guitar and piano parts using his UF8 controllers. He doesn’t do as much mixing as Ainlay, he says, “but I will send a rough mix to Chuck to give him an idea of what I’m hearing. He’s got those magical ears and is just phenomenal. He’s my favorite, and so great to work with. I have done a lot of the pre-mixing on this album, and he’s included me as an engineer and a mixer in the credits on this album—I was blown away!”
