‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’ - making music at London’s Eastcote Studio
LIKE TRYING TO CATCH LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF LONDON’S EASTCOTE STUDIOS FROM 1980 TO 2020 BY LEGENDARY PRODUCER MARTIN TEREFE. FROM RECORDING DEPECHE MODE’S ‘ULTRA’ TO THE MAKING OF ADELE’S ‘ROLLING IN THE DEEP’
Acclaimed music producer Martin Terefe has today unveiled a brand-new book ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’, a rich oral history of making music at London’s Eastcote Studio, it’s anti-authoritarian founder Philip Bagenal and the legendary artists that recorded there. Due for release on Thursday 7 October and available to pre-order now, ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’ celebrates the 40-year history of the musical and rebellious house that is Eastcote Studios and the people who passed through its doors such as Depeche Mode, The Pogues, Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, Grace Jones, Adele, Mark Ronson and more.
The fully-illustrated large-format book, ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’, provides an exclusive look into the unique history of Eastcote Studios, split across individual chapters detailing the past forty years with a wealth of interviews from artists, engineers, and producers who witnessed it all alongside rare, never-before-seen photos. Founded in 1980 by sound-wizard Philip Bagenal, who would remain a constant and much loved presence at the studios, and The Blockheads’ Chaz Jankel, Eastcote became a buzzing, at times tumultuous, haven for independently-minded artists. Starting life as Kensaltown Telegraph Works at the turn of the century, the first two decades of Eastcote Studios saw the likes of Ian Dury, Chaz Jankel, Aswad, Transvision Vamp, Nina Hagen, Bomb the Bass and more pass through, churning out chart-topping records.
As the 90s progressed, the incipient, ambitious cultures of the time intertwined and proliferated at Eastcote Studios with the recording of Massive Attack’s seminal ‘Blue Lines’ in 1991 and sessions from Neneh Cherry, Cornershop, Wah Wah Watson, Suede, Elastica and Placebo. Reaching heady moments of excess in 1996, Depeche Mode were at work on their ninth album ‘Ultra’ in Eastcote’s Studio 2. In the book, Martin Terefe details a conversation with Kerry Hopwood, Depeche’s touring crew and close personal friend, recalls how lead singer Dave Gahan had no memory of ever making the album.
The Wild Bunch
Throughout the noughties, the unrivalled creative culture that Phillip Bagenal sparked persisted and Eastcote continued as a go-to destination for creative artists across genres. From jazz and experimental music with John McLaughlin, Brian Eno, Soft Machine and Acoustic Ladyland, film and classical music by heavy weights such as Max Richter and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails) to pop and rock records from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons, Kate Nash and Kaiser Chiefs. In 2010, the making of Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’, marked a very special moment in Eastcote’s calendar. After success with her debut ‘19’, Adele was at work on her follow up album ‘21’, with producer Paul Epworth in Eastcote’s Studio 1.
Over the past 10 years, Eastcote Studios has become home to music’s most exciting emerging talent, including Glass Animals, Wolf Alice and Yungblud who recorded for his debut album ‘21st Century Liability’ with Martin Terefe at the studio. In 2017 and a few months before his tragic death, emo rapper Lil Peep spent two weeks in Eastcote’s Studio 1 to finish up his debut album ‘Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt.1’
Martin Terefe, author of ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’ says, ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’ is a tribute to Eastcote Studios and the legacy of its founder, the inimitable Philip Bagenal. Over the past 40 years, Philip made Eastcote Studios home to some of music’s greatest legends, young developing talents and its most experimental creators alike. The book is a celebration of the magic that lives within its walls”.
Due for release on 07 October 2021, ‘Like Trying To Catch Lightning In A Bottle’ is currently available for pre-order now. Costing £35 the book is being sold and distributed by Thames & Hudson. A limited edition version of the book – 550 copies with hand-written title and signed by the author – costing £75 is available directly from the studio.