[On 16th-19th January, 2019, Homegrown is throwing a first-of-its-kind music festival in Mumbai designed to celebrate the city’s vast and diverse music culture. Dive deep into a wide variety of dynamic workshops, exhibitions, curated tours, panels, pop-ups, performances and parties that promise to be inclusive of all kinds of tastes and people.
There’s something for everyone, click here to find what’s perfect for you.]
Have you found yourself stuck in the middle of a tiny room full of instruments, band members piling up on top of each other, replete with neighbours telling you to take your ‘art’ and stick it where the sun don’t shine? We know that feeling all too well. With the burgeoning talent of guitarists, drummers, singers, and other musicians in Bangalore, skill has rarely been a roadblock–but the lack of suitable spaces certainly has. Musical talent that is left untapped is a such a colossal waste, so we turned our erstwhile support into slightly more fruitful research and created a compilation of nine beautiful and well-equipped jam rooms in the city to harbour these talents or hobbyists.
Scroll on for city spaces that support your musical calling. And don’t forget your earplugs if you decide to pay them a visit.
I. Boom Box House
Where: Sheshadripuram
Soundproof rooms, earth-tone ambience, and enough space for you to deliberate your creative process - need we say more? Say goodbye to the typical dingy, smoke-stained digs and step into pure atmospheric tranquility. Their sound-proofed sanctuaries allow you to explore your expression without distraction.
Charges: If you’re on a tight budget (which is probably true for most of you - let’s be real), this space comes in relatively cheap at INR 350 per hour for full studio rental.
Where: Brigade Road
In an array of many home studios, Soundglitz stands out because of its impressive range of quality musical instruments and professional recording rooms. It is a perfect stop for talented musicians to jam and dish out high quality records. This place sees a mixed bag of musicians stop by, from DJs experimenting with some sick beats and drops to earnest indie artists hitting the right notes and hosting small gigs to share their music with their fans.
Charges: The studio has an immersive vibe that makes creating good music conducive, all of that, at a price not so exorbitant at just INR 400 an hour.
III. Audiokraft Studio
Where: HSR Layout
While this isn’t exactly a jamming space, Audiokraft Studio functions as a full-fledged recording house. They are completely equipped to handle all music production needs from composing and recording to mixing and mastering. The studio is built to accommodate bands, string sessions, and even dubbing for films and radio spots. They even have a greenroom and a rest area for those jam sessions that go on for hours. Basically, this is your one stop shop if you live in and around the area.
Charges: INR 1000 per hour to use their recording facilities.
IV. Audio Academy
Where: Old Madras Road
Audio Academy is a state of the art audio engineering school in Bangalore, which naturally means they come equipped with a spacious, acoustically designed studio space. The studio houses a Protools 12 HD system with KRK rokit 8 and Adam S3A monitors to compliment their audio recording and mixing course.
Who’s jammed here: Ricardo Vogt, Monica Heldal, Mad Orange Fireworks, Parvaaz
Charges: They charge INR 1200/hour for studio space, and an additional INR 800 if you want your sound to be recorded.
Where: Langford Town / Lavelle Road
This studio is considered to be the most futuristic studio in Bangalore by far. Heralded by a team of musicians who have spent a lot of time researching equipment, they offer a state of the art recording space. For bands or musicians who are just starting out, they even offer advice on arrangements, production, and band dynamics. They have two rooms to record in at Langford town - Platypus and Walrus - and one on Lavelle Road. Given that each artist/band has different requirements and priorities, the two recording rooms have been designed in a similar manner. However, Walrus, true to its mammal counterpart, is larger than life in that it has the mixer giant Behringer X-32, in ear monitoring, provisions for multi track recording of tracks and much more.
Charges: It is INR 1000 to record in Walrus for an hour, and INR 500 for Platypus. You could even get a 4 session (8 hour) package for INR 6000 a month. For more information, check out their website here.
Where: Bannerghatta Road
This studio is perfect for musicians and bands on a shoe string budget. Why? Simply because they’ve got the lowest prices in all the land. They have solid acoustics and have invested in 100 Watt tube amps, 800 Watt monitors and a Pearl Drum Set amongst others. Visit their facebook page for more information.
Charges: It costs INR 250 to rent the space for an hour, which is about half the price, if not a quarter, at most places. While they cannot give you a studio recording, they can give you a live set recording for an extra 200.
VII. Resonance Studios
Where: Shanthi Nagar
These guys can help with you with everything from mixing and mastering to advertising and music branding. Like most, this is a jam space as well as a recording studio. Resonance has engineers who have worked in the industry for over a decade and are fully equipped to give you the help you may need.
Charges: The costs are standard, INR 500/hr to jam and INR 1000/hr to record you sound. If you book the room for 10 hours in total, you can avail a special discount.
VIII. DYVe
Where: Lower Agram Road, Vivek Nagar
This jam studio is Bangalore’s largest studio - coming in at 750 square feet. Rest easy, all you 6 piece bands looking for a place to fit everything you have. They are also one of the only jam rooms to give each instrument an individual amp - this is to ensure perfect sound quality for each and every instrument. They have Peavey Tube amps to Fender mustang soild state, and two PA’s for every member of the band to be able to control and make the best sound possible. This space is even fully equipped to host shows and even give out our amplifiers for rent should the need arise.
Charges: You can book the space for INR 500 for studio rental, and INR 1000 for a recording. Here is their website for anything else you may need.
Where: JP Nagar
It is an Art space founded by three individuals who nurture and serve all art forms. Art knows doesn’t look at the clock, it just emanates from within and hence the studio is open 24 hours! The place has a free spirit, artistic vibe, where musicians are treated regal, making this studio a much-admired destination among musical talent. They also give training in western and classical vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, djembe and didgeridoo. It houses well-equipped recording spaces for voice-overs, recordings and rehearsals, with the option to rent out musical instruments and audio equipment.
Charges: All this at a sweet price of just Rs. 350 per hour.
Researched by Chandan Varagappa and Tansha Vohra