The Noise Floor Recording Studio

About

Recording Services on the Isle of the Arts, Gabriola Island.

Story

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We favour a creative approach to recording and strive to make timeless, well crafted albums in a comfortable environment. We use a mix of both hi-fi and low-fi equipment, and while we love our high end gear, we work on the philosophy that you don’t need to rely solely on gear and over-manipulation to capture or create memorable performances. A relaxed, comfortable environment, an engineer that has creative ideas and who implements your ideas, and yes, great gear all contribute to the process.

OUR HISTORY - by Terry

Jordan and I met in 2003 when he came to work as an intern in my former studio, The Hive Creative Labs.

Jordan lived about 40 minutes away from the The Hive and I remember my studio partners and I were equally amused and impressed that he often ended up asleep on the couch after a long day of assisting. We were still a basement recording studio at this time, but many great bands recorded there including Destroyer and Hot Hot Heat.

It was a formative time for both of us - I had been producing all ages shows for many years and I teamed up with the Hive when I needed a live recording of a concert I did for the influential Washington DC band, Fugazi in 2001. The show turned out to be the last Canadian date Fugazi ever played and the recording is a very special document of that day. I eventually became a production manager for Sealed With A Kiss Presents…and Jordan was eventually given a bedroom at the Hive.

In 2004 my partners and I moved The Hive to a 3000sq ft commercial building where I was studio manager until early 2010. The Hive became what Exclaim! Magazine called “Vancouver’s indie studio of choice” and “Vancouver Indie Music Mecca” by the CBC. During this time, we started our record label, Hive Fidelity and released 8 albums. I also created our Live at The Hive performance series and a music publishing company that co-publishes with Nettwerk called Shopping Music.

In 2007 Jordan started a small studio in an underground all ages venue / art space called The Emergency Room. The ER was a vital part of Vancouver’s DIY music community gaining national media attention for it’s support of a burgeoning art punk community. In 2008 two Vancouver Independent record labels, (Nominal Records and Grotesque Modern), released a full length compilation album of artists who had performed or recorded at the Emergency Room entitled “Emergency Room: Volume 1.”

The compilation was compared to the legendary Vancouver Complication compilation in a review in Maximumrocknroll.The 924 limited edition vinyl pressings also included a forward by co-founder Justin Gradin and a 20 page photo book. In 2009, after multiple break ins in it’s downtown east side location and an ever increasing turn out to it’s performances, it was time to shut down the Emergency Room.

Shortly after, Jordan teamed up with friends who had been running FaderMaster Studios on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. He also spent a lot of time touring North America multiple times with his band, Twin Crystals.

Jordan is very proud of his involvement in both the ER and Fadermaster, and we both owe a lot to our experiences during our time with The Hive. Being intimately involved in the Vancouver music community for so long is something we feel ridiculously lucky to have been a part of.

On July 6th, 2010 we opened The Noise Floor in a heritage building in Ladysmith, BC on Vancouver Island, before moving to it’s current location on Gabriola Island.