Ocean Way Recording

Ocean Way Recording
Name	Ocean Way Recording
Type	Recording studio
Founded	1970s
Founder	Allen Sides
Locations	Los Angeles, Nashville
Notable	Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones

Ocean Way Recording is a renowned private recording studio enterprise founded by audio engineer Allen Sides that became synonymous with acoustic excellence and high-profile popular music production. The studio complex attracted leading figures from Hollywood, Nashville, and the international recording scene, hosting sessions for iconic albums, film scores, and hit singles. Over decades, the facilities and founder played central roles in cross-pollination among artists, producers, and engineers associated with major labels and award organizations.

History

Allen Sides established the enterprise in the late 1970s after work in the Los Angeles engineering community and projects with studios linked to Capitol Records, United Artists, and Warner Bros. Records. Early clientele included session musicians from the Wrecking Crew and arranged projects with arrangers tied to Frank Sinatra and film composers active at 20th Century Fox. Expansion continued into the 1980s and 1990s as producers associated with Quincy Jones, David Foster, and Arif Mardin sought the studio’s rooms for orchestral tracking. Strategic business ties connected the firm to executives at Universal Music Group and distributors serving RIAA-certified artists. The Nashville facility emerged after collaborations with country producers linked to Billy Sherrill, Chet Atkins, and performers on RCA Records. Legal and financial episodes involved negotiations with private investors and partnerships with facility operators known in the studio real estate market.

Facilities and Locations

Major locations included the flagship complex in Hollywood near the Sunset Strip and an additional studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The Hollywood site was sited in a building that previously housed offices near sound stages used by Paramount Pictures and music businesses servicing labels like Columbia Records. The Nashville room served artists working with Sony Music Nashville, Big Machine Records, and producers with credits alongside Dolly Parton and Hank Williams Jr.. Ancillary spaces hosted scoring sessions for franchises connected to Disney and soundtrack projects for collaborations with directors associated with the Academy Awards-winning motion picture community.

Design and Acoustics

Acoustic design drew from principles employed by studios such as Capitol Studios and design consultancies that worked on the Abbey Road Studios renovations. Studio A’s live room accommodated large ensembles and orchestras, attracting conductors and arrangers who had worked with Henry Mancini and John Williams. Isolation booths and control rooms were optimized for engineers who had credits on projects for Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen. Acoustic treatment incorporated diffusers and custom bass traps modeled after techniques used in academic labs at institutions similar to Berklee College of Music and consulting firms that advised the AES community. Spatial design facilitated natural reverberation favored by producers associated with George Martin-era approaches.

Notable Recordings and Artists

The studios hosted sessions with high-profile artists and producers, including work by Michael Jackson during the post-Thriller era, vocal sessions with Frank Sinatra collaborators, rock tracking with members of The Rolling Stones, and pop productions involving Madonna-era teams. Film-score recordings featured orchestrators and conductors allied with John Williams and Hans Zimmer projects, as well as soundtrack pieces for directors linked to Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton. Country and Americana sessions included artists tied to Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and producers associated with the Grand Ole Opry. The client list spanned Grammy-winning engineers and producers from categories recognized by the Recording Academy.

Equipment and Technology

Studios maintained vintage and modern consoles including models favored by engineers who worked at Sun Studio and designs reminiscent of vintage Neve and API desks used by producers collaborating with George Martin and Brian Eno. Microphone collections included classics from manufacturers associated with recordings by Les Paul and captured by engineers alongside Tom Dowd’s legacy. Outboard gear and signal processors reflected inventories used on sessions for Quincy Jones and Phil Spector-style productions, and digital workstations interfaced with systems employed by post-production houses serving Lucasfilm and broadcasters like NBC. Maintenance and custom electronics drew on technicians who previously serviced gear at Capitol Records and boutique builders known in the pro audio community.

Business and Ownership

Ownership remained closely tied to Allen Sides’ management and partnerships with studio operators, private investors, and firms active in the studio real estate sector. Licensing arrangements and rental agreements connected the company to independent producers, record label project managers from Island Records and Arista Records, and soundtrack coordinators from studios working with Miramax. The business navigated shifts in the music industry, moving from tape-based workflows common at Motown Records era sessions to file-based delivery used by contemporary distributors and streaming platforms operated by companies like Spotify and Apple Music.

Legacy and Influence

The enterprise’s influence extended through generations of engineers, producers, and session musicians who trained and worked in its rooms, impacting production practices linked to pop music, film scoring, and country music recording cultures. Alumni include engineers and producers who later worked with artists on projects recognized by the Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards. Its design and technical standards informed subsequent studio builds and inspired consultants who contributed to facilities like Capitol Studios renovations and boutique rooms in Nashville and Los Angeles. The brand’s reputation endures in oral histories, professional profiles of figures like Allen Sides, and documentary treatments of recording industry landmarks.

Category:Recording studios