Idful Gone For Good
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When he helped design Engine Studios–a state-of-the-art three-studio facility that opens next month just a few blocks from the old Idful location–Wood took extra care to make it the most comfortable environment he could imagine. Every room in the place, even the “live rooms,” where the artists actually play, has a window–the only time Idful’s interior ever saw natural light was when the roof came off. Each studio has its own lounge and bathroom; at Idful you had to walk through the live room to get to the john, and if someone was tracking, you just had to wait. The speakers in each control room are topflight, meticulously installed for the most accurate sound–even the lowest-priced room is a marked step up from Idful.
Renovations, including sandblasting, rewiring, a new roof, new windows, new plumbing, an elevator, and a parking garage, cost an additional $1,400,000. “I put all of my personal finances into the building,” says Wood, “and I didn’t have enough afterward to start my own studio. It became apparent that whatever expertise I may have, there’s so much money involved with building a new studio that I just didn’t qualify.”
McEntire started his studio, Soma, in 1994 while still working at Idful. He envisioned it as a modest home facility where he could record his own bands, including Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. But as his reputation spread, friends and acquaintances began recording there as well, including Trans Am, Snowpony, and Stereolab. “I never really considered it a commercial venture until after Idful shut down,” says McEntire. “Then I started thinking more seriously about places to work, and I wanted to work on a two-inch [tape] machine, not just a computer.” In fact, however, McEntire’s digital production skills are one of Soma’s major selling points–he recorded and produced Tortoise’s TNT and Stereolab’s Dots and Loops almost entirely on computer. His impressive collection of analog synthesizers, which is available to studio users, is another.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jim Newberry.
