Pirate opens self-service recording studios in L.A.
Facilities offer 24-hour availability for musicians and others looking for an economical way to work
Pirate, a London-based company with 400 self-service recording studios worldwide, has opened two locations in Los Angeles.
The West Adams and Silverlake locations opened late last year. The facilities are available 24 hours a day with a wide range of professionally equipped spaces.
The studios can be used by musicians, vocalists, producers, DJs and voice-over actors to rehearse, record or even live stream via high-speed internet service.
Pirate is offering free, three-hour sessions to customers through March 23.
How it works
So what, exactly, is a self-service recording studio?
The concept is decidedly different from traditional studios, which are much pricier and typically come equipped with a massive mixing board, scores of rack-mounted effects and an on-site engineer.
Sammi Alani, Pirate’s co-founder and vice president of the company’s North America operations, explains the difference:
“Customers who use our recording studios already have all of the recording software on their computers when
they come in,” he said. “For most sessions, customers only need to bring a laptop and USB cable in addition to their guitars and other instruments to start working. The studios have just about everything else you’d need.”
The West Adams site, for example, has 13 recording rooms outfitted with amplifiers, keyboards, drums, monitors, microphones and headphones, as well as two podcast studios, eight DJ rooms and three rehearsal rooms, plus parking in the rear. The studio is at 4713 W. Jefferson Blvd. The Silverlake studio is at 2807 W. Sunset Blvd.
Rates start at $10 an hour for off-peak hours (from midnight to noon) but can run as high as $30 an hour during other times.
‘Intuitive’ experience
Bianca Bracho, a producer and DJ who goes by the name Bianca Oblivion, is already a regular at the West Adams location.
“I use the DJ rooms there to practice and record sets,” the 36-year-old Culver City resident said. “I also did a live production tutorial about a song I’m working on.”
She said the studios are easy to use.
“It’s pretty intuitive,” she said. “They send you the codes to get in and all of the rooms and hallways are very self-contained. You enter the building, and depending on which corridor you use — whether it’s for production, a band or
DJ — you put in the code to get into your room and plug in your laptop.”
Pirate, which employs about 150 people, doesn’t staff its studios. But help isn’t far away if problems arise.
“We have 24-hour closed-circuit TV coverage and a customer service center that can be contacted if clients have a problem with the equipment,” Alani said. “We also have spares in cupboards that they can access.”
COVID-19 safeguards
Communal spaces are cordoned off to maintain social distancing and masks must be worn by all clients.
Hand sanitizing stations and sanitizing products are available throughout the facilities, which are deep cleaned on a daily basis.
Pirate co-founder David Borrie said a recent survey of Pirate’s DJ customers showed that 54% have lost significant income since the pandemic took hold.
“We saw an opportunity to make studios more affordable for people simply by being open all the time,” he said. “This had the added benefit of letting artists use the studios at the times that suited them.”
How it began
Pirate was launched in 2014 when co-founders David Borrie and Mikey Hammerton decided to design their own studio in Bristol, England, after becoming disillusioned with the quality of available rehearsal spaces.
Once it was up and running, they let their friends use the room to practice for upcoming gigs. The venture eventually grew into a network of more than 400 facilities worldwide.
Pirate was able to open three locations in New York during the pandemic and the company plans to open more studios in Southern California as well as in such cities as Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville and Toronto.
Beau Croxton, whose indie garage band Damn Jackals uses a Pirate studio in New York for rehearsals, is sold on the concept.
“They have everything we need — Fender amps and Marshall stacks and a whole drum kit,” he said. “The facilities are beautiful. We used to go to other rehearsal spaces in Brooklyn, but they were run down and smelled bad. We’ve been booking at Pirate nonstop.”