Roundhead Studios is an

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

-based sound recording studio owned by singer-songwriter

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

. It was officially opened in June 2007, however by the time of its opening, several international artists had already used it whilst the studio was either in construction or receiving finishing touches. Artists who have used the facility include Australian band

Augie March Augie (sometimes spelled Auggie) is a nickname for variations of the name August, which derives from the Latin name Augustus. It may refer to: People *Augie Auer (1940–2007), meteorologist *Augie Galan (1912–1993), Major League Baseball play ...

, US rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, British Indie Rock band Foals, and a range of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

based artists, including Finn's son

Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn. In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowded ...

, Herriot Row,

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-198 ...

Goldenhorse Goldenhorse are a pop band from New Zealand. Release Goldenhorse's debut album ''Riverhead'' was released in October 2002, to a small fanfare. But over the next 18 months various singles from the album started to be played on the radio. The ...

Jan Hellriegel Jan Hellriegel is a singer/songwriter based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her first recorded appearances were in Dunedin band Working With Walt in the mid-1980s when Jan studied at the University of Otago in Dunedin. She then formed all-woman ban ...

, the

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often ...

and

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowde ...

. On 13 July 2007, Neil Finn brought his band

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

in and performed a set of songs live to New Zealand radio.Neil Finn,

3 July 2007 Radio New Zealand 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

interview with Neil Finn, recorded 13 July 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007. Roundhead was also the recording location for 2009

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

charity album ''

The Sun Came Out ''The Sun Came Out'' is a charity studio album released on 31 August 2009 by 7 Worlds Collide, a musical project of New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn for the benefit of Oxfam. The album was recorded at Finn's Roundhead Studios and is a fol ...

'', featuring members of

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. Th ...

Phil Selway Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the English rock band Radiohead. Along with the other members of Radiohead, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Selway released his debut ...

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other mem ...

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 2001, Steinberg ...

and local artists

Don McGlashan Donald McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for ci ...

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the Recording Industry Association of New Ze ...

and

. After recording for ''The Sun Came Out'', members of

took up residency at Roundhead to record the foundation tracks for their seventh studio album, ''

Wilco (The Album) ''Wilco (The Album)'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock group Wilco which was released June 30, 2009. Prior to release, Wilco streamed the album on their website. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best American ...

''. Roundhead has two main studio spaces. Studio A features a Neve console which was originally built for

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. This console was previously located at

Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was a recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York, west of Woodstock in 1969. History Albert Grossman, who was the manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, first arrived in Bearsville in 1 ...

in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Both vintage analogue equipment and modern digital recording equipment is available. Between Studio A and the Brick Room studio below, in order to fully isolate the two studios, there is a 100mm thick concrete pad floating on rubber mounts. Studio A features sealed exterior window frames and panes and interior panes of heavy acoustic glass with a large air gap between them. These provide natural light, while keeping out the noise and vibration from the road outside. Roundhead was also the name given to Neil Finn's previous home studio in Parnell, utilised by New Zealand bands including

Garageland Garageland are a New Zealand indie rock band on the Flying Nun record label formed in Auckland in 1992. Influenced by Pixies, Pavement, The Clean and The Velvet Underground, they were critically acclaimed in the UK and United States for their ...

and

The Stereo Bus The Stereo Bus are a New Zealand band, formed by David Yetton, formerly of the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience. The band recorded two albums: ''The Stereo Bus'' in 1997 and ''Brand New'' in 1999 and were originally active between 1997 and 2000. I ...

in the late 1990s. The name and logo for Roundhead Studios refer to the Round Head period of prehistoric art.

References

External links

Roundhead Studios website
{{Coord, -36.86385, 174.760194, format=dms, display=title 2007 establishments in New Zealand Recording studios in New Zealand Recording studios in Auckland, New Zealand Buildings and structures in Auckland Culture in Auckland Economy of Auckland 2000s architecture in New Zealand