Slipway is a recording studio based in South West London, Hampton, Middlesex, UK.

It offers state of the art equipment and a recording space with great acoustic design, providing professional services and expertise to both major labels and up-and-coming or established independent artists.

We know how to keep a session moving forward whilst retaining an informal yet efficient working atmosphere. We pride ourselves of being able to adapt to the mood in the room in order to achieve the absolute best from the talent's creativity. If you need any advice we are there, but equally we know how and when to be invisible.

You can book the studio for a few hours or full days. We offer amazing album deals or just simply come and record your best take… it's all possible. So whatever the size of your project get in touch and we can tailor a package to suit your needs and budget.

Based in a quiet residential street of Hampton, in the borough of Richmond, musicians will be able to relax in comfort in this isolated location in the heart of South West London.
There are regular train links to Hampton from Waterloo, Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Kingston and Richmond. Tube links via the Piccadilly line run regularly to Hounslow East (15 minutes away) and we are 20 minutes from Heathrow.

" I grew up in a fishing town on the Italian coast, and was always transfixed by the way huge boats built inland would manage to enter the water.

A simple slipway was the essential element by which these majestic vessels could transfer from being idly stuck on land, static and lifeless, to being liberated on the open seas, free to fulfil all the mighty potential stored up inside them.
Our studio is a musical slipway between you and your audience, where your dreams can be made reality before being launched bravely into the world beyond. "

SIMONE FILIALI

After graduating at SAE-London in 2003 and gaining a Pro Tools Operator certification at Alchemea, he started cutting his teeth firstly at Livingston and then Strongroom studios. Starting as an assistant engineer to Pro Tools operator to recording engineer, he has worked in sessions with Kasabian, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Skunk Anansie, Depeche Mode, The Chemical Brothers, Spiritualized, Ed Sheeran, Talvin Singh, Pixie Lott, Mahalia, Dennis Bovell, Katherine Jenkins and many others...

He mixed half of the score of Jonathan Glazer's publicly acclaimed movie "Under the Skin" featuring Scarlett Johansson. He also recorded and mixed the score of the movie "The Last Photograph" directed and starring Danny Huston.

Simone is known for his hard-working attitude, deep dedication, patience and a great ear for pitch and timing... and yes, for his accent as well... persuade him long enough and he might jump onto the hobs and cook you an Italian dish or two !

Carina started out in the television industry at MTV 20 years ago and as a Production Manager has had the fortunate opportunity of working on a wide range of programs from Pre-Production through to Post-Production. As a Production Manager she understands what's required in order to pull a project together of any size, schedule or budget.

She has worked alongside composers, post production facility managers and voice over artists on top rating independent production companies and broadcasters including Celebrity Squares (ITV), 60 Minute Makeover (ITV), Dispatches ‘’Saving Africas Witch Children’’ (Channel 4), Homes from Hell (ITV), Playing It Straight (C4), When Women Ruled the World (Channel 4) and many many more.

This experience and expertise ensures that your project will be in very safe hands at Slipway Studio !

CARINA FILIALI

What do you bring to a song?

My main goal is to bring the right emotions to the song. I will obviously pay attention to the technical side of a recording or a mix and will make sure it compares well with commercial releases, but let’s not forget that music is an art-form. When the artist was crafting his/her baby he/she had a vision (one would hope!). Well, I believe that a mix should be an extension of that. If for instance it’s an upbeat song I’ll employ techniques that I feel are appropriate to add excitement and urgency, or if it’s a ballad or a sad song I’ll try to sculpt the sounds in a way to create an atmosphere that supports the message...

How would you describe your style?

Creative. I love dynamics, contrasts and surprises! I believe a mix should tell a story…a bit like a movie.

What's your typical work process?

Before entering in mix mode I spend a bit of time preparing the session. because when mixing I want to focus on the actual sound and vibe, more than on technicalities. I import the files into my system and make sure that I have all the parts of the jigsaw by comparing them against the rough mix, to which I refer constantly to get familiar with the artist's intention. I start to build the driving element of the arrangement which the majority of the time is whatever is conducting the groove (drums, bass, rhythm guitars, etc..). I make sure that this excites me…if it doesn’t do that to me, I can’t expect to do so to anyone else ! Then I move to the other instruments, one by one, in order… depending on their role within the production. While doing this I bring the vocals in and out to make sure that there is always enough space for it to shine. I work hard to get a good balance quickly as I rely a lot on my first impression, which is how general listeners will perceive it. If you spend too much time in the granular details, you risk losing the overall vision of the song.

Can you share a couple of music production tips?

- Make sure that you have an arrangement that works before starting the mix. A great arrangement almost mixes itself. The majority of time you find yourself struggling to make parts fit that are simply not working well together and fighting for the same space. Sometime just alternating in time such parts will give each of them the chance to get the attention they deserve. Or if they do need to play together to convey the energy intended, then playing one of the part one octave (or a musical interval) above/below can creates clarity with also the benefit of adding depth to the production as well.
- Learn the rules and then break them! I spent a lot of time doing my job following ‘the rules’ like commandments and ending up with results different to what I had in my head. I then (slowly) learned that if in order to achieve the sound that you are after you need to boost a frequency 10-15 dBs, overdrive a preamplifier to the reds or place a microphone facing the wrong way - so be it…nobody will see it or tell you off as ultimately what really matters is what comes out of the speakers.

Analog or digital equipment and why?

Both! I constantly adapt my template to incorporate them side by side. Analog still sounds more tri-dimensional to my ears - being it a compressor, an equaliser, an effect processor or an instruments - but the flexibility of Digital is fundamental to keep your workflow fast and recallable. To me the secret is to use one or the other at any particular stage so it can actually help you, instead of becoming an obstacle of getting things done just for the sake of using it because you feel that you're supposed to.

What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

People who think that anyone with equipment can be a sound engineer, and that badly played / produced / arranged songs can be turned into a world class hit in the mix.

Slipway Studio

Bishops Grove, Hampton, TW12, London, UK

Phone: +44 (0)781 558 7298 +44 (0)771 719 6331
Email: [email protected]