“Right when the Neve was up and run-
ning, I came in to try it out for a couple of
days and just haven’t left since,” he says, only
half joking. He and Owen ended up getting
along really well, and with Cheyne having
just recently joined the team, there was an
opening for a full-time engineer to call
Studio A home.
“It was interesting going from some-
thing that was so chaotic, where you’re
walking into a strange space that was never
intended to be a studio, to this,” Gwilliam
muses about the transition from makeshift
recording spots to a large-scale commercial
facility. “Right away, I was looking for the
quirks [in the live room]. I wasn’t looking for
what sounded great; it was what sounded
unique and interesting. It’s very controlled,
but there are quirks within the room that
help shape the dynamics of where you’re
going to place everything.”
Over the past five years, he’s come
into a fast and fluid workflow thanks to all
the space, isolation, and tools now at his
disposal. “A big part of it is the Neve,” he says.
“If I want to, I can split the console and even
start the mix on the right side. That means
we can pretty much be mix-ready when
people are having that first listen.”
He continues: “Having that much square
footage, and the whole building being tied in
with XLR panels, I can have everything set up
at all times for countless overdubs, whether
it’s the grand piano, the B3, a keyboard sta-
tion with a full gamut of boards and synths
ready to go… There’s never a set-up time
and never downtime. That’s something I real-
ly push for while engineering – that the band
is never waiting for me.”
Gwilliam and Cheyne have developed
a unique collaborative relationship in their
time together, leveraging each other’s
strengths for a speedy, seamless workflow.
Interestingly, the two benefit from being
able to work closely together in the same
way that their clients can create something
special with collaborative, live-off-the-floor
performances.
“Two engineers challenging each other
all of the time is a really valuable and special
situation that not a lot of people have these
days – especially working in home studios by
themselves,” offers Cheyne. “We’re kind of al-
ways pushing each other to do better work.”
Though OCL Studios has grown into
something far grander than Owen and his
bandmates first envisioned, it still has the
characteristics of being its owner’s passion
project in all the right ways.
A big part of that is having the resourc-
es to buck the trend of many large-format
studios needing to supplement their music
recording with post-production, advertising,
or corporate-type projects. At OCL Studios,
it’s all about music, and specifically, all about
the local music community and industry.
“We’re pretty much 100 per cent
music; that’s why Dan built this in the first
place,” Gwilliam says. “I always say we don’t
have a particular style we’re known for, but
what we are known for is live-off-the-floor
recording. Whether it’s country or rock or
hip-hop, we’ve got a reputation for having
real musicians in the room making music.”
An Enviable
Collection
Check out a complete list of the gear
that helps bring projects to life at OCL
Studios through its various tracking
and mixing spaces at
www.oclstudios.com.equipment.
Of course, in a country-rich market like
Alberta, that also means work for a lot of
session players – another way OCL has been
a boon to its surrounding music scene.
“I’d say about 50 per cent of our clients
are country-related, and they typically hire
out sessions, so we’ve got a good stable
of session players – maybe three or so for
each instrument – that we rely on and trust,”
Gwilliam puts in.
“When OCL opened up, a lot of artists
that were going to Vancouver or Toronto or
Nashville had a place where they could get a
similar experience and level of quality locally,
so I think it’s really helped fuel the overall
musical economy around here,” adds Cheyne.
Owen acknowledges that he and his
studio are in a remarkably unique position.
“This business is very difficult – like the
music business in general,” he says. “I have
nothing but respect for musicians and
songwriters and arrangers and the people
that live and breathe it. It’s a difficult space
to navigate, and we have the luxury of not
relying on the studio to turn a profit.”
He adds that since making the decision
to have OCL be a commercial operation,
the goal was always to complement – not
compete with – the existing studios and
audio pros in the area. “I didn’t want to build
anything out here that already existed,
because we have some fabulous studios
here in town and exceptional talent making
awesome records,” Owen asserts. “This was
about something different that would com-
plement the scene in Calgary. That’s why we
have what we have.”
He’s adamant that, as far as he’s con-
cerned, the return on investment needn’t be
solely financial. “When I’m sitting here enjoy-
ing a breathtaking performance in The Hall,
or when Sass Jordan comes in to record, or
a new band walks out with an incredible
song, that’s the payoff. It’s about making
things happen here.”
Gwilliam and Cheyne echo that sen-
timent, both saying they relish the oppor-
tunity to record everything from Canada’s
top country stars to string quartets to high-
school garage bands. Every one of those
scenarios presents a different set of chal-
lenges and fresh opportunities for fun.
“Last year, we had two really crazy stoner
metal projects through here, which is always
cool because we can go excessively loud in
that live room,” Gwilliam shares as an example.
“There’ve been times we’ve had four Ampeg
8 x 10 fridges on 10 in that room, just to see
what it’ll do. We’ve blown some lights out of
the chandelier, but it’s all good.”
A couple of current projects he’s excit-
ed about belong to soulful folk-rocker Mi-
chael Bernard Fitzgerald and country-roots
rocker JJ Shiplett – both Calgarians and
both with growing national profiles.
But again, it’s not just the artists they’re
championing at OCL. Gwilliam currently sits
on the board of directors for Alberta Music, the
province’s music industry association, and is
actively advocating on behalf of his peers.
“I’m working to amplify the message
that the recording industry here is very real.
Session musicians and engineers are looking
to make a living and raise families. We need
to make that known, and develop support
and infrastructure to get more of these kinds
of projects that benefit so many throughout
the creative community off the ground.”
But while the staff at OCL Studios are
clear about their goals, they know that the
main one, above all else, is to help produce
great art.
As Cheyne puts it on behalf of his
music-loving colleagues: “We just work hard
and hope things find the right home once
they leave the studio.”
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Professional Sound.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 37