BUILDING A
SONG FACTORY PART ONE
Hit-Making Producer & Songwriter Mathew “ Songsbury ” Teofilo Takes PS Inside the Construction of His New Studio
By Michael Raine with Mathew “ Songsbury ” Teofilo
Over the years , Professional Sound has covered the design and construction of countless high-end recording studios , but never to my knowledge has PS gone behind-the-scenes of a studio in progress . Admittedly , that wasn ’ t the initial plan for this article either — but when have you ever seen a construction job stay on schedule ? Especially one as intricate and laborious as building a brand-new multi-purpose studio befitting a gold-selling producer and songwriter ?
Mathew Teofilo is that producer / songwriter , but the music world knows him better as Songsbury . Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began , the Canadian hit-maker chose to move back to his hometown of Toronto after spending five years in California . While out west , his career took off , seeing him earn a gold record for co-writing the song “ Revolution ” with Diplo , as well as work with other high-profile artists , including Miley Cyrus and Madonna . Additionally , Teofilo has become an in-demand composer , sound editor , and mixer for films .
So , when Teofilo told PS that he ’ s building a new state-of-the-art facility with help from famed studio designer Martin Pilchner of Pilchner Schoustal , and also said he had detailed photos of the entire process to share , how could we say no ?
“ I ’ ve owned this unit for four years come
December [ 2022 ]. I ’ ve gone through multiple architects . I ’ ve gone through multiple engineers . I ’ ve gone through multiple electricians . Companies have gone under during COVID . It ’ s been the biggest learning experience that you could have . At the end of the day , all I really want to do is just get in the studio and work ,” Teofilo tells PS as we meet over Zoom in late November 2022 . “ It ’ s just so much work — having to glue every joint , every stud , every strapping on every L-channel . It ’ s just insane the number of things that have to be done to do it properly .”
After many pandemic-induced delays , Teofilo thought the studio would be done in December . But , these things being what they are , that deadline continues to get pushed back , with the projected completion date , as of the writing of this article , being in late January 2023 .
When it ’ s completed , the 3,200-sq . -ft . facility with a 1,300-sq . -ft . recording studio will feature a control room with a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos setup , live room with 20-ft . ceiling and Yamaha C7 grand piano with player system ( which allows the piano to be recorded with MIDI tracks that producers / artists can send remotely ), isolation booth , artist lounge , and kitchenette on the main floor . Upstairs will be a private and isolated podcast studio and an office .
“ My father has built houses and commercial buildings , so I have some experience with some of the construction processes . But never me just actually being in it and involved at the level of detail seen on this project . Even the contractors are saying , ‘ This is just insane ; we could ’ ve built two houses by now .’ I mean , just the amount of material ! You ’ ve got three layers on each wall , just for density , so it ’ s 5 / 8-in . drywall , 3 / 4-in . MDF ( medium density fibreboard ), and then another 5 / 8-in . drywall — and then do that two times . Everything has to be sealed and offset and everything has to be glued . So , the MDF is not just glued but also screwed onto the drywall and then the same thing again . The floor is completely floating . So , in terms of the level of detail , even my father was saying , ‘ Wow , this is not a usual project by any means ,’ and that ’ s before you even talk about the gear and wiring , because they have no idea about that !” Teofilo explains . “ I ’ m saying to them , just wait till you see what I have to do in terms of setting up all the gear and making sure that each piece is communicating with everything else , with the computer being outside of the room and having a separate tech closet for that so the sound is isolated from all those fans running on the amps and everything .”
So here , to whet your appetite , Teofilo shares photos from the initial building phases of Songsbury Studio , and offers some insight into the unique project . Next issue , we ’ ll dig into the final stages of the studio ’ s construction and the recording gear it will be outfitted with .
30 PROFESSIONAL SOUND