Easy Eye Sound

Easy Eye Sound
Sxanthony · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Name	Easy Eye Sound
City	Memphis
Country	United States
Owner	Jim Dickinson
Opened	2015
Genre	Multi-genre

Easy Eye Sound is a recording studio and independent record label based in Memphis, Tennessee, founded by musician and producer Jim Dickinson's son, along with collaborators. The studio operates within Memphis's rich musical ecosystem, connecting to traditions established by performers and producers across blues, rock, soul, and Americana. It has hosted sessions and releases that intersect with artists, labels, and institutions from the contemporary roots revival and mainstream pop scenes.

History

Easy Eye Sound was established amid Memphis's long lineage of recording sites linked to Sun Studio, Stax Records, Ardent Studios, Royal Studios (Memphis), and Hi Records. Early activity referenced regional lineages involving figures associated with The Replacements, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Black Keys, and Jack White. The label and studio cultivated collaborations with artists coming through tours and festivals such as Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, South by Southwest, and Newport Folk Festival. Over time Easy Eye Sound built a catalog of sessions and releases that placed it alongside independent labels like Third Man Records, Merge Records, Sub Pop, Dead Oceans, and Jagjaguwar.

Location and Facilities

The studio is located in Memphis, a city historically associated with Beale Street, Mississippi River, Graceland, Sun Records building, and neighborhoods near Overton Square. Facilities reference analog equipment practices similar to those maintained at Abbey Road Studios and Electric Lady Studios, with spaces suitable for live-tracking full bands, overdubs, and mixing. Equipment choices and room acoustics drew comparisons to rigs used by producers for sessions with artists on Columbia Records, Rhino Entertainment, and Nonesuch Records. The layout supports both large-ensemble recording and intimate vocal sessions for singer-songwriters affiliated with labels such as Blue Note Records and Concord Music Group.

Artists and Recordings

Easy Eye Sound has worked with a diverse roster including contributors from scenes connected to Alabama Shakes, Black Pumas, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, and Robert Plant. Sessions have featured musicians who toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Arcade Fire, Wilco, and The National. Releases associate with names that have appeared on charts alongside Adele, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Billie Eilish while remaining rooted in roots and alternative catalogs like The Avett Brothers, Margo Price, and Sturgill Simpson. Collaborations extended to artists who have recorded at facilities including Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and Fame Studios, creating cross-pollinations with performers linked to Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett.

Founder and Personnel

The studio was founded by producer and musician with familial ties to session work in Memphis; its leadership included engineers and producers who have worked with acts on labels including Rough Trade Records, Fat Possum Records, XL Recordings, and Daptone Records. Personnel lists have featured session players who previously recorded with Chet Atkins, Duane Allman, Steve Cropper, and modern collaborators who toured with My Morning Jacket and The Black Crowes. Production and engineering teams draw from a network that includes mixers and mastering engineers who have credits on albums for Radiohead, Beck, PJ Harvey, and Sufjan Stevens.

Musical Style and Influence

Easy Eye Sound's aesthetic synthesizes elements from blues-rock, soul music, country music, folk music, and indie rock traditions championed by labels and artists such as Stax Records, Sun Records, The Band, Dr. John, and Levon Helm. Its sessions emphasize analog warmth, live performance energy, and arrangements that reference horn sections and rhythm grooves found on recordings by B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Booker T. Jones, and Isaac Hayes. The studio's output influenced touring setlists and studio approaches for contemporary acts participating in circuits like AmericanaFest and joining compilations curated by festivals and institutions such as Glastonbury Festival and BBC Radio 6 Music.

Awards and Recognition

Projects recorded or released through the studio have been part of albums and singles nominated for or awarded industry honors associated with the Grammy Awards, Americana Music Honors & Awards, BRIT Awards, and regional recognitions tied to Memphis cultural institutions like the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Coverage in music press placed the studio in discussions alongside producers and studios that have received accolades from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NME, and MOJO.

Category:Recording studios in Tennessee Category:Music of Memphis, Tennessee