Facilities on offer:

• The Recital Hall with adjustable seating for up to 120 people
• Acoustically treated for professional recording
• Comes equipped with professional programmable lighting and sound
• Projector and cinematic screen available
• Acoustically treated drum room, vocal booth and control room
• Open plan foyer for pre-event/interval drinks and performance space
• Treated percussion and rehearsal rooms
• Diverse equipment and microphones
• Kitchen and cloakroom facilities
• Full disabled access and lift to the first floor
• Potential for outdoor concerts in the courtyard

Encompassing state of the art recording facilities that offer a professional experience to any band or artist looking to record their latest release.

Services on offer:

• Live recording 
• Multi-track recording
• Tracking and mixing
• Albums, EPs and demos
• Over dubbing
• Access to the Recital Hall for a full live recording, space for an orchestra or choir
• Food and accommodation available

Click here to see our full equipment inventory

Pricing will vary depending on the requirements of a booking.

For recording purposes access to the studio including the Recital Hall and equipment is priced at £160 per day without an engineer or £200 per day inclusive of an engineer. This is for a full 8 hour day with flexible times available depending on booking. If overtime is required this can be discussed per individual booking.

For venue hire of the Recital Hall and it’s encompassing facilities please use the enquiry form below. Prices will be negotiated per event dependent on requirements, dates and times.

Food and accommodation are available at extra cost.

Lluc Tupman has eleven years experience in the music industry and six years behind the mixing desk. He is a competent bass player, songwriter and vocalist, who has been a part of several professional bands across multiple genres that have toured the UK and International scene since 2009.

He moved into music production in 2014, after studying Sound Engineering at Dbs Music and has gone on to produce an ever-expanding portfolio of EPs and albums. With experience in live and multi-tracking, Dolphin Productions are proud to offer a varied recording experience tailored to your group with Lluc behind the desk or on hand to help bring your vision to life.

Accommodation is available onsite.

We can offer single or dorm rooms - please email for availability - at a very competitive price of £35-£45 per night inclusive of food (depending on booking).

Please enquire ahead of booking for more information if food or accommodation is required.

The Queen Elizabeth Music School
King's Bruton
The Plox
Bruton
Somerset
BA10 0ED

Click on the maps for a larger view.

Lluc Tupman - Studio Manager

Tel: 01749 814266
Mobile: 07766 881554
Email: [email protected]

It’s been quite a strange year for the studio as it has been for everyone but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had some exciting artists and projects through our doors.

Gary Husband

We kicked off the year with a session involving the great Gary Husband - a songwriter, pianist and one hell of a drummer! Known for playing with Level 42 for a number of years as well as in groups with Jack Bruce (Cream) and Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy), Gary has an extensive back catalogue as a session player and performer with over 60 credited albums to his name.

Gary arrived for a session with his partner Troo and we hit it off immediately. He wanted to record some live drums to a project he had written to be interpreted for an exam for some young aspirational drummers. I have to say they have their work cut out for them! Gary performed brilliantly and the recording was very smooth. With a few small edits we had some incredible tracks with some almost inhuman drum parts. (A video of one of the performances can be found here).

Gary on the session:

"I thoroughly enjoyed my day recording drum tracks at Dolphin Productions. The studio is wonderfully serene, well fitted out with a very high-end standard of recording components and outboard gear - not to mention a great selection of mics - some of which I discovered for the first time. The in-house recording engineer, Lluc, is a terrific asset to the studio, extremely likeable, open-minded, speedy yet unflappable and, with his great ears and competence, was able to thoroughly accommodate my wishes and preferences regarding kit sound and reproduction. I was delighted with the end result and will very much look forward to the next opportunity I get to work there again."

Gary Husband - (John McLaughlin / Level 42 / Gary Moore / Jack Bruce / Billy Cobham / Jeff Beck / Robin Trower)

Don McCullin Film Screening

Another event that took place at Dolphin Productions was the screening of the critically acclaimed documentary ‘McCullin’, detailing the harrowing life and experiences of famed war time photographer Don McCullin. Transforming the Hall from a venue into a cinema, we opened our doors to a sold out crowd as part of the McCullin exhibition at Hauser & Wirth. The recital hall made for a comfortable setting with high quality screen projection and crisp sound.

The documentary was fascinating and took you on a journey into this man’s life, from humble beginnings capturing the unemployed and downtrodden people of London, 1959, to photographing The Beatles at the height of their fame. Don went on to work for Sunday Times Magazine photographing some truly harrowing scenes from the Vietnam and Bosnian wars.

Swing Into Spring

We are always keen to promote music in-house at King’s, and one of the best times of year for this is our Big Band concert and dinner - Swing Into Spring. I had the pleasure of setting up the stage and mic’ing the band and, along with my colleague Will Stainton, we mixed the sound and lights for the show. It’s never easy getting live sound right in a venue like the Memorial Hall, but I’m pleased to say we managed to find a balance and the show was brilliant. The band were on form and played expertly, showcasing the true talent of the pupils at King’s. It was great to see so many pupils getting involved, not only with the music, but the tech side of things as well and start to understand how a live show is put together.

Dominic Greensmith & Amy Newton

I was pleased to welcome drummer and producer Dominic Greensmith into Dolphin Studios. Dom was the drummer in Reef for many years and has gone on to session for many bands as well as produce and score for film. Accompanying him was singer songwriter Amy Newton. Amy is a talented multi-instrumentalist with three albums to her name and brought with her an array of vintage guitars and equipment which were amazing to play and capture.

The idea was quite simple - we had a full live set up in the Hauser & Wirth Recital Hall with mic’d up drums and a selection of amps for bass, guitar, synth and vocals. We wanted to try and capture the Hall’s natural reverb as much as possible and see how a live recording would come out. We had some exceptional players join us throughout the day and welcomed local producers and engineers through our doors to experience the live, open day session and see the studio in its element.

Using the jammed session tracks as a base we were able to layer over some improvised parts and evolve the jam tracks into songs. It was a humbling experience to work with Dom and Amy and I feel this is just the beginning for some new and exciting projects in the future.

Dom on the session:

“The new music centre at King's is truly a very special place. Somewhere for the lucky students who get to use this everyday, to nurture their creativity and produce, I’m sure, some wonderful music.”

Dominic Greensmith - (Reef / Actor / Film Composer / Producer)

King's Bruton Pupils

There was, of course, a lot of activity in-house as well. With the worry of Covid-19, the Easter term progressed towards the unknown and the studio was a flurry of exam recordings, compositions, ensembles and jams. We recorded pretty much every instrument from strings to brass, piano and vocals. It was great to see the music tech pupils taking the reins on the desk and mixing process to try and complete all of the components of their recordings. Other pupils were keen to pitch in and the musical talent and comradery across King's really shined with many people stepping up to fulfil a role and play apart in the songs.

Angel Mackintosh

I was pleased to welcome Angel Mackintosh into the studio as a young professional to help her live stream some songs to her online fanbase. It proved a new challenge to make sure the sound quality stayed consistent, and opened the door for new techniques for live streaming in the studio. Perhaps a foreshadow of events to come, as most musicians have been using this approach to reach their audience, performing online gigs these last few months.

Unfortunately it came to a close with the onset of the pandemic and we had to temporarily shut our doors. The down time has been productive however with ways to improve the studio, new equipment and courses being prepared for next term.

Mark Macauley

I am also pleased to announce our first return booking with the acclaimed author Mark Macauley. Mark will be our first project of the summer, entering the studio to record and mix an audio book complete with effects to truly bring the novel to life. It’s exciting to be able to open our doors again and we look forward to bringing you news of more exciting projects in the future.

We are also taking bookings so please get in touch if you’re interested.