the studio

Since 2012, The Aviary Recording Studio has been working on making great sounding records,

however, it is now time to take things to another dimension!

To celebrate our 10th Birthday, we have launched the new Aviary Film Division!

We now offer in-house filming services, from bespoke productions to in-house “Fly on the Wall” style live captures.

We have just become your one-stop content creating studio. Come in to make a record, and leave with your live videos already done!

Sounding great never looked so good!

Visit the Film Division page for more details!

"this new room of theirs is one of the best sounding rooms I've tracked in." Stephen Mowat (Prod/Eng - WILSN, Ali Barter, Bliss n Esso) - Instagram 2016

“I built The Aviary to be a place that my friends would want to make records in. A place that felt like you were at home, in the shed, or jam space. Instruments and amps everywhere to seize the moment. Vintage toys like tape delays, 2” tape and a console from the 70s to add that little bit of Mojo. Perched on the top floor of a large old building in the heart of Abbotsford, I believe The Aviary has one of the best live rooms in Melbourne.“

“Established in 2012, the unique layout of various sounding rooms creates a musical haven with the ultimate sonic flexibility. The Aviary makes you feel miles away from the hustle of the city, and allows you to get lost in the creation of music. Over the past few years I have hosted many great bands, artists, engineers and record producers, and always welcome anyone to take a tour of the studio and have a chat about your project. We offer production, recording, filming, mixing and "dry hire" of the studio. Please visit the contact page to get in touch with myself, in-house engineer/producer, Fraser Montgomery. You can also visit "the deal" page for information about booking sessions.”

Fraser Montgomery and Stephen Mowat are the in-house engineers and producers at The Aviary. Head to The Team page to find out more about them. You can also head over to the SIGHTS + SOUNDS page to listen to some of the music that has been created here over the years.

There are 6 different isolated spaces, including the larger "live" room, the original "drier" tracking room, 2 deluxe size vocal/iso booths, 1 amp cupboards and a reverberant hallway. There are plenty of instruments and amps to choose from, including vintage Ludwig drum kit and snares, guitars, basses, upright piano, a Leslie, Wurli and a Rhodes. At the heart of the control room is my beloved 1978 MCI 428B console and MCI JH16 2” 24 track tape machine, surrounded by hi-end pre-amps, compressors, EQs, tape delays and drawers full of carefully selected microphones. We have the ability to record strictly digital, strictly analog, or a combination of both. Please visit the gear page to see the ongoing equipment list.

ARTISTS

Some of the artists and engineers to have recorded at The Aviary Studios.

Allen Stone, Imogen Clark, Eastbound Buzz, Rachael Bamain (Nashville), DEAD, Semantics, Cry Club, Mumrmurmur, Devil Electric, Kerryn Fields, Baby and the Kicks, Hannah Acfield, Jimmy Hawk, Jim Lauderdale (Nashville), The Panics, Harry James Angus, Chet Faker, WILSN, Tim Rogers, Bonjah, Ella Hooper, Shane Howard, Luke Thomas / Central Rain, Pete Denahy, Tek Tek Ensemble, Matt Joe Gow, Clove, Lubwala, Steve Schram, Mustered Courage, Silver Springs, Gretta Ray, Jimi Maroudis, Nicky Bomba, The Cat Empire, Ben Whiting, Loius Valentine, Dan Parsons, Brian ElDorado and the Tuesday People, Luke Brennan, Alex O'Gorman, Geoff Achison, Coby Grant, Pagan, Dance Party, Tommy McEwan, Jesse Valache, Straylove, Tristan Ludowyk, El Moth, Nai Palm (Hiatus Kayote), Ali Barter, Ash Grunwald, The Pierce Bros, The Putbacks, The Meltdown, The Settlement, Echo Drama, Passerine, Zillanova, Greta Rae, Hollow Drums, Ben Franz, Brooke Russell and the Mean Reds, Beter Than Wizards, Robin Mai, Josh Seymour, Luke Sinclaire, James Kenyon, Dan Waters, Suzzanah Espie, Chris Pickering, Tobias Hengeveld, Emilee South, Jane McArthur, Big Smoke, Lama, Little Rabbit, Ghost Orkid, Emma Donovan, Hope Street Recordings, Primitive, John Cashman, Soul Safari, Bob knob, CountBounce (aka Pip Norman/5ths), Jono Steer, Handkerchief Thief, Golden Rail, Ben Wright-Smith, JP Klipspringer, Orches, Old Medicine, Gus Rigby, Chad Mason, Solquemia, Animaux, Paddy Cakes, That Gold Street Sound, Grand Elements, Vanderlay, Justin Yap Band, Vanderlay, Handkerchief Thief, Simon Imrei, Centre and the South, The Dub Captains, Yirrmal, Sietta, Mantra, Little Dreamer, Sam Lowe, My Dynamite, Charm of Finches, King Wolf, Stav, Dead Dingos, Ben Mastwyck, Napier, Heavy Heads, Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, The Sun Rising Band, Martin Webster/From Trees, LaRumba, Anbessa, Al Parkinson, Shake Down Shakes, Philemon, The Ruling Motions, Buddha and the Chocolate Box, Jed Rowe, Zoe K, Jungal, Ganga Giri, Cat Canteri, Blue King Brown, Glenn Johnson, Pappa Chango, Jazmaris, Munroe Melano,  Damon Smith, Quincy and the Rabbit, Modesty, DD & the Damaged Goods, Single Men’s Drinking Club, Homes, Sunny Hawkins, The Ugly Kings, William Blaxland, Hamish McLeod, Silver Lake, Yen Nguyen, Simon Phillips, Mechanical Pterodactyl, Danny Brown, Clint Sigmund, Joel Wolfe, African Intelligence, Mr Sippi, Mission Brown, Horse Meat, Heart Break Club, Emi Day, Tom Fryer, Lucas O’Connell, Kutamani, Friends, Adrian Shaw (The Ages), Evan Tweedie & Luke Collins (Husky), Texture Like Sun, Ryan Brewer and Ben Wicks…