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Date: 9/27/2022
NORTHAMPTON – An analog and digital recording studio on 2 Conz St. in the Unit 22 Maplewood Shops is making headway by looking to bridge the artistic community in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and beyond.
Blind Moose Studios, which was co-founded by brother musicians Daniel and Tommy Carr in 2014, provides mixing, mastering, production and sound design for artists all over New England, and even some outside of the region. Now, after moving into the new studio in Northampton at the start of 2022, the duo is bridging the gap between artists from their old home base in Connecticut and the bustling scene in and around Northampton.
Background
Blind Moose initially began as a way for the brothers to write and record their own projects before branching out to offer recording services for their friends, and eventually 100-plus artists from around the region. “It was really borne out of a necessity to write and record our own projects,” said Daniel.
After working as an intern for recording studios in Los Angeles during the early part of the 2010s where he learned the multi-faceted aspects of recording, Tommy moved back home to Connecticut, and he and Daniel started honing in on the vision for the studio while simultaneously working on their own projects.
“We started playing open mics, so we started getting introduced to people in the Connecticut area, and we started doing live sessions,” said Tommy.
Daniel added, “We started doing live shows at our house, and that kind of lead to meeting other bands and artists, and eventually turning some of that into what was always and what would become the studio.”
After spending half a year at their mother’s house, the brothers moved into what was known in Connecticut as Blind Moose Studios.
“I will say, in those days, Dan was much more of the musician while I was more coming from the production side,” said Tommy. “It made sense to merge our powers for a greater purpose.”
Developing as musicians and allowing others to flourish
At this point, both Tommy and Daniel are proficient in many facets of musicianship. Both work on a variety of projects that meld different genres together, including punk, new wave, MPC production, soul, R&B, singer/songwriter and sprinkles of rock.
Their dynamic styles and expertise have bled into their studio work, allowing them to collaborate with artists from a range of genres. “We’ll essentially be helping someone produce their project, and we’re able to approach that with a songwriting mentality and an engineering side,” said Daniel. “It’s nice to have that balance. We just love making sounds from sounds.”
The studio’s website shows a list of projects they collaborated on in the past with artists such as King Bongo, Funnybone Records & Friends, Laura Wolf and many more. The studio’s Facebook page also provides updates about the artists and projects they most recently worked on, including The Human Fund’s self-titled project and Niamh’s recent single “No Fire.”
“In the studio, we just love sounds, so anyone that comes to us and wants to be recorded, we’ll help them out,” added Tommy. “We’ve had a lot of fun allowing people to go in their own direction, and then we just help guide them a little bit. We like to let people turn the knobs.”
The move to Northampton
After several years in Connecticut, the brothers moved up to Northampton and officially opened the studio. After briefly bouncing back and forth between Connecticut and Northampton, the brothers decided to only operate in the nucleus of Hampshire County.
The move was a natural one for Tommy and Daniel, as they each shared a love of visiting the city for shows and the local record shops, like Turn It Up Records.
“I’ve wanted to move up to Northampton since I was maybe 17 or 18,” said Daniel. “I just went up there a lot, like a lot of people from Connecticut.”
While both artists consider the Hartford area a home base creatively, they also wanted to move to Northampton to branch out and meet more people. “It just seems like we needed a concrete spot with a little bit more direction toward the arts,” said Daniel. “When you think of Hartford, you think of insurance, but when you think of Northampton, you think of an art-centric place.”
Even in a short nine months, the brothers can already feel the vibrancy of being so close to downtown Northampton. “Our workflow is able to flourish because of the space,” said Daniel. “It’s been nice being in Northampton. I think our artists from the Hartford area enjoy it as well. It’s a nice destination.”
Tommy added, “One of our focuses is we’re really trying to get to know the area more. We’re trying to work different organizations and schools to extend the arm of audio engineering, which seems to be in certain areas. We’re trying to make the studio very accessible since they’re often very expensive and intimidating. We’re trying to break that.”
How tape has factored into their work
The duo’s use of tape for recording has been crucial to their success as a studio, as well. “We got an eight-track quarter inch tape machine a while back,” said Tommy. “Using tape, and just the different sounds you could get from tape, has been a big part of our recording journey.”
Daniel added, “It’s certainly an eye-opener, but also people have a lot of fun getting into that magic of analog.”
According to Tommy, the plug-ins added over the past two to three years provided a warmer feeling to the analog sounds compared to digital plug-ins. “The aspect of having to punch in physically and nail the take has its own set of benefits that can never be replaced,” said Tommy. “There is a sonic difference.”
Booking for the future
The brothers told Reminder Publishing that they usually book studio time by appointment unless they are mixing, mastering or editing.
“At any random time, we’ll have one or sometimes three or four ongoing projects,” said Daniel. “For example, we have someone coming up for three weeks.”
Tommy added, “We like to be flexible with people, but we certainly love it when we can lock in and really work on a project.”
While working on these projects, the duo also wants to bolster their community outreach, which is something they hope to do in the coming months.
“I think there’s another side of us that wants to have a little fun and make our own videos,” said Daniel. “And of course, we’re just continuing to learn and better our craft.”
The duo will have plenty of opportunity to do that in a city that continues to house a flourishing art scene.
Visit the Blind Moose Studios Facebook page to learn more about what the Carrs offer: https://www.facebook.com/BlindmooseStudios.