Miloco

Welcome to Miloco's July news bulletin. With London having one of the driest summers in years, we thought there'd be no better place to launch a brand new recording studio than down by the banks of the Thames!! We have joined forces with engineer Ben Phillips to launch the very special Lightship95, a recording studio on a ship permanently moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf, East London.

The studio has been built in the hull of the boat, which used to house a huge diesel engine. The 300sq ft purpose built daylit control room is based around a fantastic sounding Calrec console and ProTools HD rig. There is direct line of sight from the control room through to the 520sq ft live room, which is also naturally lit. It boasts a retro 80's finish and sounds amazing. The room can accommodate a whole band for live tracking and contains a good collection of microphones and a great choice of backline including Fender and Gibson guitars, a great selection of amps and an inhouse drum kit. Add to this some unique reverb chambers and you have a fantastic tracking space from as little as £ 300 / day.

On land across the drawbridge, there is free parking and a popular American Diner. You'll also have panoramic views of the famous Thames docklands... here is a special studio in a special location...

www.miloco.co.uk/lightship95

Lightship95 is located in Trinity Buoy Wharf to the North East of the Isle of Dogs. With the O2 Dome directly opposite the ship, and the towering financial district of Canary Wharf to the West, this is one of the most iconic stretches of the Thames. Lightship95 boasts great panoramic views of the river and the redeveloped London docklands.

The ship is reached via a drawbridge. It is split between two levels: the recreational and living areas on the upper deck, and the recording studio on the lower deck. In the centre of the lower deck is the live room. It is naturally lit through a skylight above the drum riser. Ben has designed a fantastic sounding space which includes a large collection of acoustic panels to vary the acoustics, some unique reverb chambers and an isolation booth in one corner. There is also a great choice of backline: guitars and bass guitars by Fender and Gibson, some fantastic amps and pedals, and a Pearl Masters Birch drumkit; plus a good choice of microphones including AKG, Beyer Dynamic, Coles, Sennheiser, Neumann and DPA.

Next to the live space is the control room, which occupies the space where the ship's huge fuel tank used to be. The vintage Calrec console takes centre stage. It is a fantastic-sounding desk, and is accompanied by a monitor setup made up of Quested VS3208s and Yamaha NS10s, powered by Hafler amps. There is a Protools HD2 rig with a Lynx Aurora Convertor providing 16 ins and 16 outs, and a selection of outboard. At the back of the control room is a large and comfortable leather sofa, and on the right side of the room is a glass divide providing a clear line of visibility between the control and live rooms.

At the top of the staircase is a saloon / rec room with TV, as well as a galley / kitchen. The upper deck's living spaces are flooded with natural light on two sides. There is also access to the lighthouse which provides a breathtaking view of the London skyline. Outside on the deck, there is a huge amount of space for clients to use on a sunny day... catch the rays, light a barbecue and enjoy the amazing river views...

As part of the launch of Lightship95, the studio's owner and creator, Ben Phillips, wrote a piece on the history of the ship and the intense building process which went into transforming it into a floating recording studio. Ben discusses finding the ship on the river Medway in Kent, the vision he had to make it into a recording studio, the method he went about realising his aims, all the way upto finding a home for it in the London Docklands.

The feature is live on the Miloco website. Click here to read.

Lightship95 is now officially open for business. For more information and to make a booking enquiry call Julia at the Miloco office on 020-7232-0008 or email info@miloco.co.uk.

Visit the Lightship95 pages on the Miloco site: www.miloco.co.uk/lightship95.