STOMACH RUMBLINGS
Community music venue has never sounded better
‘‘It means that musicians are creating the sounds that they want. It’s amazing.’’ Nigel Mauchline, sound engineer
The sound inside The Stomach has never been clearer, thanks to an upgrade at the community music space.
A grant from the Central Energy Trust of $40,000 means the all-ages music venue can kit its studio out with state-of-the-art equipment.
Manager Harry Lilley said it was extremely exciting.
‘‘We had the old setup for bordering on 10 years and it was starting to show its limitations. Essentially, this means we can do more. We now have the capacity to do really high-quality recordings in a really accessible way for our community.’’
Lilley said, while the upgrade puts them up there as one of the best facilities for sound recording in New Zealand, they are still dedicated to their local community.
‘‘To get things to the point that we are at, while still having a DIY ethos, I think that is just totally incredible.’’
Palmerston North band Ripple Effect were among the first musicians to record in the new studio and Stomach sound engineer Nigel Mauchline said the sound they could now capture was of an exceptional quality.
‘‘The clarity and the transparency is very noticeable. We have to do a lot less to the sound after we have captured it, so we are getting up front what we have always wanted. It requires less fixing and we can now be more creative because of that. It means that musicians are creating the sounds that they want. It’s amazing.’’
The Stomach is primarily funded by the Palmerston North City Council and also received $20,000 from the Department of Internal Affairs Lottery Grants last year for a new concert public address system.
Lilley said each step forward was one that would benefit the community.
‘‘We are partnering with the New Zealand Music Commission as one of their host organisations for their pilot internship programme this year. So we are really lucky to be a part of that and we are going to be hosting an intern here and that it will be an ongoing programme.’’