GUS DUDGEON FOUNDATION
+ JAMES SUMMER SCHOOL 2025
Last year it was so good, we're back again…
The Gus Dudgeon Foundation and JAMES are extremely pleased to confirm that the 2025 Post Graduate Summer School will run from 14 July for four days once again, at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales!
Acknowledged to be the first residential studio in the world, Rockfield Studios has played host to many global artists - Oasis, Rush, Iggy Pop, Coldplay, Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Manic Street Preachers to name but a few… and in 1975 was the primary studios used by Queen for the recording of the greatest pop record of all time Bohemian Rhapsody.
This is an amazing opportunity for the star JAMES students to soak up the vibes and learn from the engineers/producers who have worked with the best!
Each student attending will also receive a copy of T-RackS 6 Mastering Suite software generously donated by IK Multimedia. Interesting fact - Gus actually used this himself although the software has been developed a lot since then. Thanks IK!
This is an amazing opportunity for the star JAMES students to soak up the vibes and learn from the engineers/producers who have worked with the best!
Each student attending will also receive a copy of T-RackS 6 Mastering Suite software generously donated by IK Multimedia. Interesting fact - Gus actually used this himself although the software has been developed a lot since then. Thanks IK!
Patron: Sir Elton John
HOST
SPONSORS
Some Thoughts, after the Event -
Rockfield struck the perfect balance between work, learning, and fun. I gained new skills, formed meaningful friendships, and experienced a kind of creative magic that I’ll never forget.
Allanah B, Leeds Beckett University
Working with the in-house producers was enlightening and valuable beyond words. Using the vintage equipment and recording in these legendary rooms was a pleasure and a privilege!
Ryan V, Bournemouth University
The week gave us a realistic insight into the recording industry, and it was amazing to collaborate with students from other universities and work with professional engineers.
Ellyn M, University of Plymouth
But, at the beginning of the Week -
Huge thanks to Ryan Vuyyuru from Bournemouth University for putting these reports together.
Huge thanks to Ryan Vuyyuru from Bournemouth University for putting these reports together.
Today we recorded a three-piece Bristol-based band called Zalizo. They brought in a downtempo track which starts out small with drums, bass guitar, vocals, and a synth drone. Later on the track expands massively with double-tracked guitars, synth overdubs, and guitar feedback recordings.
This track was recorded in the coach house studio, and we made great use of the corridor, which added a massive spatial aspect to the drums. For the drums, we used a combination of condensers, ribbons, and dynamics, which were mostly put through the desk preamps and also through the outboard DBX180 compressors.
This track was recorded in the coach house studio, and we made great use of the corridor, which added a massive spatial aspect to the drums. For the drums, we used a combination of condensers, ribbons, and dynamics, which were mostly put through the desk preamps and also through the outboard DBX180 compressors.
For the bass guitar, we recorded DI, cabinet and Room L+R mics. We also used a trick from Owen Morris where a synth filter (KORG ARP Odyssey today) is used to roll off all the highs from the bass DI for a super subby bass channel.
Guitars had a DI, VOX amp, and Fender Amp, for the overdubs we used a Marshall amp to add some beefiness to the doubled parts.
The song featured a synth drone played on a KORG MS-20, which was then processed through guitar pedals for spatial and spectral effects. We got a DI dry and wet recording from that. Combined with a room and corridor recording made that a huge sound in the end.
For vocals, the singer was used to using an SM57 with FX pedals, so we set that up but also with a U67 mic for a smoother sound. We got a few good takes that will all be comped later on.
Overall, it was a great experience, it was hard work (started at 10am and ended at midnight!), but it was super fun; everyone got a chance to try out each aspect of the studio, and the band was happy at the end of it!
Day 2 -
Guitars had a DI, VOX amp, and Fender Amp, for the overdubs we used a Marshall amp to add some beefiness to the doubled parts.
The song featured a synth drone played on a KORG MS-20, which was then processed through guitar pedals for spatial and spectral effects. We got a DI dry and wet recording from that. Combined with a room and corridor recording made that a huge sound in the end.
For vocals, the singer was used to using an SM57 with FX pedals, so we set that up but also with a U67 mic for a smoother sound. We got a few good takes that will all be comped later on.
Overall, it was a great experience, it was hard work (started at 10am and ended at midnight!), but it was super fun; everyone got a chance to try out each aspect of the studio, and the band was happy at the end of it!
Day 2 -
Here's the recap for Rockfield + Hanterhir 16/07/25
The recording today was done in the Quadrangle studio, which is where Sheer Heart Attack by Queen was recorded!
The band today was called Hanterhir; a six-piece art/folk/rock group featuring a diverse range of instruments. Accompanying a more standard setup of drums, bass, acoustic, and electric guitar were the saxophone, shruti box, clarinet, and kalimba.
The five-piece drum kit was tracked using spot mics (Sennheiser 421s for Toms) and Glyn Johns technique for overheads, with mid-side for rooms (TLM and Coles). This was recorded along with bass, amplified acoustic guitar, and a scratch vocal.
The bass was tracked through DI and a Spheremusic valve preamp; this was sent to a Tube-Tec EQ and 1176 compressor for extra tone shaping. The acoustic guitar amp was recorded with an M88 mic and had a gritty tone which complemented the warm, flat-wound bass very well.
After this central rhythm section was recorded, the overdubs began; starting with electric guitar which was recorded with an M260 and RE20 mic. The guitar had three layers of overdubs; the first was clean chords in a higher register and melody lines, the second was a heavy power chord layer to add girth to the choruses, and the last was a fuzz guitar solo.
In addition to the conventional rock line-up, we tracked saxophone, shruti box, clarinet, kalimba, and Korg synth too.
The saxophone was sent through an accordion amplifier and recorded with an M88 mic; before amping, the sax was layered with dense psychedelic FX pedals in addition to a dry recording.
Next was the shruti box (a small reed instrument similar to the harmonium) which played drone notes and was tracked with an SM2 (mid-side) and 414 pair (spaced pair for a roomy sound). Clarinet was recorded with a Coles ribbon mic and a 414 condenser mic.
All of the woodwind instruments were recorded in the Quadrangle’s live room for a spacious sound.
All the vocals were recorded through a U67 valve microphone and sent through an 1176 for gentle compression. Ben, the lead vocalist, recorded two tracks in different registers, and backing vocals were sung by Ben (again), Lou (the woodwind player), Mike (the sax player), and Grant (the bass player).
Finally, the Korg synth was DI-recorded through a pair of Rosser preamps. Then Kalimba was recorded with DI and a 414 condenser mic.
Again, it was a great experience and very different from yesterday. Compared to yesterday, the professional producers, Tim and Joe, were more hands-off and letting us work directly with the band. At the end of the day, everyone was happy with the result!
Day 3 -
The recording today was done in the Quadrangle studio, which is where Sheer Heart Attack by Queen was recorded!
The band today was called Hanterhir; a six-piece art/folk/rock group featuring a diverse range of instruments. Accompanying a more standard setup of drums, bass, acoustic, and electric guitar were the saxophone, shruti box, clarinet, and kalimba.
The five-piece drum kit was tracked using spot mics (Sennheiser 421s for Toms) and Glyn Johns technique for overheads, with mid-side for rooms (TLM and Coles). This was recorded along with bass, amplified acoustic guitar, and a scratch vocal.
The bass was tracked through DI and a Spheremusic valve preamp; this was sent to a Tube-Tec EQ and 1176 compressor for extra tone shaping. The acoustic guitar amp was recorded with an M88 mic and had a gritty tone which complemented the warm, flat-wound bass very well.
After this central rhythm section was recorded, the overdubs began; starting with electric guitar which was recorded with an M260 and RE20 mic. The guitar had three layers of overdubs; the first was clean chords in a higher register and melody lines, the second was a heavy power chord layer to add girth to the choruses, and the last was a fuzz guitar solo.
In addition to the conventional rock line-up, we tracked saxophone, shruti box, clarinet, kalimba, and Korg synth too.
The saxophone was sent through an accordion amplifier and recorded with an M88 mic; before amping, the sax was layered with dense psychedelic FX pedals in addition to a dry recording.
Next was the shruti box (a small reed instrument similar to the harmonium) which played drone notes and was tracked with an SM2 (mid-side) and 414 pair (spaced pair for a roomy sound). Clarinet was recorded with a Coles ribbon mic and a 414 condenser mic.
All of the woodwind instruments were recorded in the Quadrangle’s live room for a spacious sound.
All the vocals were recorded through a U67 valve microphone and sent through an 1176 for gentle compression. Ben, the lead vocalist, recorded two tracks in different registers, and backing vocals were sung by Ben (again), Lou (the woodwind player), Mike (the sax player), and Grant (the bass player).
Finally, the Korg synth was DI-recorded through a pair of Rosser preamps. Then Kalimba was recorded with DI and a 414 condenser mic.
Again, it was a great experience and very different from yesterday. Compared to yesterday, the professional producers, Tim and Joe, were more hands-off and letting us work directly with the band. At the end of the day, everyone was happy with the result!
Day 3 -
Having recorded Zalizo and Hanterhir, today was dedicated to mixing the recordings that we’d worked so hard to capture. For this process, our group of 11 was split into smaller groups of 2-3 and given a two-hour slot to mix a track. Each group was given the choice between the tracks we’d recorded.
Both tracks presented interesting challenges; Zalizo’s track had fewer elements but had lots of options for reverb, which forced us to balance the other spectrally dense tracks, i.e. fuzz guitar, fuzz bass, guitar feedback, synth drone, etc. On the other hand, Hanterhir’s track had more of a timbrally diverse lineup with many vocal harmonies. The mixing was done in the quadrangle studio on the MCI desk.
Before my group was set to mix, we were given free range to explore the equipment in the other studio. Tim demonstrated and explained the construction of several instruments, including a 1977 Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, and Leslie Cabinet. We experimented with sending various things through the Leslie speaker. First, we used the Hammond organ itself and then used a patched my Telecaster guitar through a Rosser preamp and back out into the Leslie. We experimented with the different speeds and various mic placements around different parts of the cabinet. Next, we played the vocal recording from the Zalizo session and played it back through the Leslie for a psychedelic vocal sound; this would prove to be a useful addition to our mix later on!
Next, I recorded some basic guitar parts through the Fender Twin Reverb amp in an isolation booth and set some parts to loop while patching its output into various processors, such as the Eventide H3000 harmoniser, Klark Teknik DN-34 time processor, for a strange and alien-sounding result.
Each group was doing their own thing throughout the day when not mixing. Tim brought out his EMS synthesiser (used with his band Coil and worth at least £18k!!) and showed us how its unique patch bay worked. Another group experimented with tracking that alongside the Rhodes and a drum sequencer VST on Pro Tools.
Both tracks presented interesting challenges; Zalizo’s track had fewer elements but had lots of options for reverb, which forced us to balance the other spectrally dense tracks, i.e. fuzz guitar, fuzz bass, guitar feedback, synth drone, etc. On the other hand, Hanterhir’s track had more of a timbrally diverse lineup with many vocal harmonies. The mixing was done in the quadrangle studio on the MCI desk.
Before my group was set to mix, we were given free range to explore the equipment in the other studio. Tim demonstrated and explained the construction of several instruments, including a 1977 Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, and Leslie Cabinet. We experimented with sending various things through the Leslie speaker. First, we used the Hammond organ itself and then used a patched my Telecaster guitar through a Rosser preamp and back out into the Leslie. We experimented with the different speeds and various mic placements around different parts of the cabinet. Next, we played the vocal recording from the Zalizo session and played it back through the Leslie for a psychedelic vocal sound; this would prove to be a useful addition to our mix later on!
Next, I recorded some basic guitar parts through the Fender Twin Reverb amp in an isolation booth and set some parts to loop while patching its output into various processors, such as the Eventide H3000 harmoniser, Klark Teknik DN-34 time processor, for a strange and alien-sounding result.
Each group was doing their own thing throughout the day when not mixing. Tim brought out his EMS synthesiser (used with his band Coil and worth at least £18k!!) and showed us how its unique patch bay worked. Another group experimented with tracking that alongside the Rhodes and a drum sequencer VST on Pro Tools.
Once it was time for my group to mix, we sent out the multitrack from Pro Tools and through the desk. We grouped the instruments and channels appropriately to VCA groups for levelling and occasionally used inserts on Pro Tools for tidying up spectral imbalances and faders. Since the song was performed and recorded so well, there wasn’t a huge amount of mixing work needed. Basic levelling and dynamics processing using some Neve compressors helped to add some weight to the overhead drum mics. We experimented with various balances of reverb channels, sends, and the Leslie vocal recording.
From talking to Zalizo yesterday, we knew that they wanted the song to start small and restrained and have an explosive ending. According to Ukrainian vocalist Regina, the song is about finding beauty in painful situations. She described the experience of students in Ukraine who still find ways to make the most out of the current civil unrest. This massively informed the mix decisions that we made; for the ending section, we’d recorded an ethereal and hopeful synth melody alongside some gnarly guitar feedback. This made for a moving and poetic dialogue and helped to achieve Regina’s vision.
After this, I had some fascinating chats with Tim and Joe about their careers and interests in experimental music. On my course at Bournemouth University, the curriculum included lots of material about avant-garde composers such as Pierre Schaeffer, Alvin Lucier, etc. These names came up frequently in discussion with Tim and Joe, which was interesting since they hadn’t taken university courses in music production. After this, we spent a couple of hours experimenting with tape loops and feedback systems, creating dense and layered soundscapes.
For my final day at Rockfield Studios, I couldn’t have asked for much more than this! It’s been a surreal and enthralling experience to talk to such experienced people and interact with such historic equipment. The highlight for me was seeing the tape machine that Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on!
From talking to Zalizo yesterday, we knew that they wanted the song to start small and restrained and have an explosive ending. According to Ukrainian vocalist Regina, the song is about finding beauty in painful situations. She described the experience of students in Ukraine who still find ways to make the most out of the current civil unrest. This massively informed the mix decisions that we made; for the ending section, we’d recorded an ethereal and hopeful synth melody alongside some gnarly guitar feedback. This made for a moving and poetic dialogue and helped to achieve Regina’s vision.
After this, I had some fascinating chats with Tim and Joe about their careers and interests in experimental music. On my course at Bournemouth University, the curriculum included lots of material about avant-garde composers such as Pierre Schaeffer, Alvin Lucier, etc. These names came up frequently in discussion with Tim and Joe, which was interesting since they hadn’t taken university courses in music production. After this, we spent a couple of hours experimenting with tape loops and feedback systems, creating dense and layered soundscapes.
For my final day at Rockfield Studios, I couldn’t have asked for much more than this! It’s been a surreal and enthralling experience to talk to such experienced people and interact with such historic equipment. The highlight for me was seeing the tape machine that Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on!
Represented at this year's Summer School -
City St George's
University
University
University of
Salford
Salford
University of the
West of England
West of England
University of
Plymouth
Plymouth
Leeds Beckett
University
University
University of the
West of Scotland
West of Scotland
Ulster
University
University
Northampton
University
University
Buckinghamshire New
University
University
Anglia Ruskin
University
University
Bournemouth
University
University
University of
Glasgow
Glasgow
Leading this year's Summer School…
The week will be hosted by Rockfield’s incredible team, Lisa, Tim and Joe.
Producer, Tim Lewis - Julian Cope, Spiritualized, The Waterboys, Elizabeth Fraser, Massive Attack, The Saw Doctors, Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatians, Hawkwind…
Sound engineer, Joe Jones - Paolo Nutini, The New Eves, Teenage Fanclub… www.joejonesaudio.com
The students will be recording and working with world class vintage microphones and audio equipment in the most incredible studio and the most beautiful setting that is Rockfield Studios - www.rockfieldmusicgroup.com - Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Rush, Iggy Pop, Coldplay, Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Manic Street Preachers…
And again, the students are being spoilt as they’ll be working with two local bands in the studio - to be announced!
Producer, Tim Lewis - Julian Cope, Spiritualized, The Waterboys, Elizabeth Fraser, Massive Attack, The Saw Doctors, Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatians, Hawkwind…
Sound engineer, Joe Jones - Paolo Nutini, The New Eves, Teenage Fanclub… www.joejonesaudio.com
The students will be recording and working with world class vintage microphones and audio equipment in the most incredible studio and the most beautiful setting that is Rockfield Studios - www.rockfieldmusicgroup.com - Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Rush, Iggy Pop, Coldplay, Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Manic Street Preachers…
And again, the students are being spoilt as they’ll be working with two local bands in the studio - to be announced!
