Recording the sound

As I moved from school bands to gigging line-ups, the local scene became more important to me than the wider world of music. Many of Bradford’s luminaries, from Baby Tuckoo to Vex, inspired me and my bandmates to take Bradford’s sounds to a national audience.

As we were forming our miniature ‘stadium-rock’ outfit Harlequyn, a major music industry event was taking place in an unassuming building in Little Germany.

The year was 1984, Flexible Response Studios had appeared in Chapel Street, and it proved to be a pivotal moment in Bradford’s music history.

The brainchild of local musician Philip Edwards, ‘Flexi’ had originally been a collaboration with members of Southern Death Cult (later The Cult) and had very humble beginnings above Roots Records on Lumb Lane.

Philip developed the vision of a studio of national quality, never before seen in our home town, and its legacy is still apparent today. Almost immediately there was increased optimism in the local music scene.

It was a time when big marketing budgets, huge recording advances and real career prospects were still prevalent, and a London-style studio up north drew them in from far and wide.

Although Philip admits to not being publicity-conscious, the music industry sought him out and his top-quality facility soon became populated with many of the stars of the day. Helped out by the reputations of respected audio engineers like Mike Banks, Nick Goss and Scott Peters, mainstream producers and artists were suddenly making noises in Bradford.

The Christians were remixing hits, Yazz often recorded, Don Was (of Was Not Was) and Martin Hannett (Joy Division) were producing, NWOBHM legend Paul Samson recorded, The Jam’s Bruce Foxton rehearsed and the likes of Unique 3 and Nightmares On Wax made dancefloor hits.

The boost to local bands was obvious. Philip touted the talents of Original Sin, Happiness Ad and Edward’s Voice, as The Psycho Surgeons and Western Dance released their own vinyl.

Harlequyn’s aspirations developed in tandem with Flexi, and in August 1988 we built a tiny eight-track studio in one of the rehearsal rooms and set up the label, Voltage Records.

Our manager Andy Farrow started his company, Northern Music, in Flexi’s basement office and now looks after worldwide successes such as Opeth and Paradise Lost.

Bit by bit we honed our recording skills in our baby studio, while still learning from the big boys downstairs.

Our first effort was a T-Rex cover song for a compilation album on Barracuda Blue Records and we were soon recording for Das Tor, Silence, This Ritual, Fallacy and many more, all part of Bradford’s buzzing Eighties scene.

Harlequyn’s debut album The Order Of The Golden Dawn, was the first release on Voltage Records in January 1989. We secured worldwide distribution with PHD, received great reviews in the national music press and Bradford’s music scene really seemed to have come of age.

However, the music industry is a fickle beast, and by 1990 the Flexi dream, and indeed the era of the big showcase studio, was over.

Apparently a victim of its own ambition, Flexi failed to sustain the level of output it needed to survive. Attracting major artists away from New York and Barbados to record in Bradford is no easy task, even if you do have all the gear.

As Flexi closed its doors and as the Eightiess gave way to the Nineties, a new creative mentality was dawning. Just as DIY labels had shaken up the industry with punk and ska in the late Seventies, DIY studios were beginning to make waves.

Sequencing and sampling meant dance and orchestral music could be created in a bedroom, and porta studios became ever more affordable to musicians. Nowadays anyone can record on a PC or even an iPad, but back then, Atari computers and multi-track cassette recorders were big news, without the prohibitive costs of booking into an expensive commercial studio.

Our own studio efforts had been thwarted, but not for long. We moved to new premises on Snowden Street, invested in a major upgrade and carried on the traditions of Flexible Response.

Despite not having the world-class equipment of Flexi at that time, our philosophy of steady progression and the loyalty of Flexi’s customer base meant we could not only survive, but flourish in the long term.

The studio eventually became Voltage Studios, to tie in with our Voltage Records label. Major artists were still coming, and over the years we worked with the likes of Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor, Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman and Feeder’s Mark Richardson.

Now, still in Bradford, off Ripley Street, Voltage continues to help Bradford talent attain some of the successes of the Flexi era. Indie chart positions for The Sneakypeeks, album releases for AFS, The Downfall and recently Yo el Rey, have all been proud moments for music recorded here in Bradford.

So 25 years on from starting a label and studio from the springboard of Flexible Response, what’s really changed?

It’s harder to sell records these days, but we do still release CDs worldwide though PHD, and Bradford bands are still getting record deals, airplay and coverage in the national music press.

And funnily enough, denim-clad rockers still flog AC/DC covers in smoky pubs, albeit a machine providing the smoke these days and not the punters’ roll-ups.

Oh yes, and Harlequyn are reuniting to play at the 25th anniversary celebrations.

Anniversary events:

• The 25th anniversary of Voltage Studios and the Voltage Records label, both set up in August 1988, is being marked by three events this year.
• The first is at the Black Swan pub, Thornton Road, on Saturday, May 25, also as part of the Bradford Threadfest weekend. It’s a live showcase of Voltage bands including Yo el Rey, The Come Down and Skylight. It’s also the launch night for Yo el Rey’s debut album on Voltage Records.
• The second event on August 17 and 18 is a free weekend and open day at Voltage, just off Manchester Road. All rehearsals and recording are free as a big thank-you to Voltage customers over the years. Recording is limited to two hours per customer, first-come, first-served.
• The third event will be at the Gasworks in Bradford in October. This will be another live showcase with giveaways. Headlining will be Harlequyn, who originally set up the studio and label in 1988.
• This will also be the launch night for a new Harlequyn album, their first since their debut for Voltage in 1989. More bands are yet to be confirmed for this event.