The Village (also known as Village Recorders, or the Village Recorder) is a recording studio located at 1616 Butler Avenue in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

History

The building was built by the Freemasons in 1922 and was originally a Masonic temple. It remained that way until the 1960s, when Maharishi Mahesh Yogi used the building as a center for

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

. The temple was converted into a recording studio in 1968 by composer and meatpacking heir

Geordie Hormel George "Geordie" Hormel (July 17, 1928 – February 12, 2006) was an American musician and recording studio proprietor. Early life and career Hormel was the son of Jay Catherwood Hormel and grandson of George A. Hormel, the founder of Hormel Fo ...

. The Village is home to a vintage Neve 8048 console as well as two Neve 88R consoles. The Village is renowned for its extensive inventory of vintage microphones and outboard gear. The studio also has

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

's Steinway & Sons Model L, which Peterson used extensively from the 1940s through the 1980s. Many major motion picture and television soundtracks have also been recorded at the studio, including ''

Ace Ventura Ace Ventura is a title character created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was performed by Jim Carrey in the films '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', released in 1994, and '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'', released in 1995, and was voiced b ...

'', ''

Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English ...

'', ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 comedy drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and ...

'', ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', ''

Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the ''Toy Story'' franchise and the sequel to '' Toy Story'' (1995), it was directed by John ...

'', ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'', ''

Wall-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

'', '' Revolutionary Road'', ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

'' and others. The Village becomes home to

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

's ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...

'' radio show, hosted by

Jason Bentley Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is an American radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and as Music Director for KCRW. Pre ...

, during on-air membership drives when the station's own performance room is unavailable.

References

External links

*
Interview with Jeff Greenberg - NAMM Oral History Library (2014)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Village (studio), The Recording studios in California Companies based in Los Angeles Masonic buildings in California