https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/i-built-a-recording-studio monthly 0.5 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/05b77ed0-f325-49b8-9bb3-725efef22cc3/tempImagep6nvye.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The outbuilding prior to cladding, tiling and drainage being fitted https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/ba6f3d9f-a82c-4780-bb62-8c3b153e536e/tempImageEF4kSz.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out View from the inside March 2025 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/56b6b791-e820-4cb0-9559-3acf29bb1658/tempImageMGvlqv.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The rockwool arrives…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/5a4a609d-3a6f-4448-b9f0-7830c9d1fce8/tempImageFQyJti.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out So with my trusty handsaw I cut and fitted slabs of rock-wool to construct a 150mm deep layer between the joists. In this image you can see a mountain of black bags containing off-cuts of this rock-wool material . I would use these left-overs to build bass traps in the final stages of the build which saved a lot of money. Also you might notice the small blocks of wood in the eaves. This helped an amateur like me make sure the foil backed polystyrene sheets (often known as cellotex) fit snuggly against the roof whilst still leaving an air gap to the roof lining. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/a283d0b5-5e31-4619-b94b-fa2bcbfc3475/tempImageM2Pfph.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The scaffold tower proved very useful to me and thankfully the builder didn’t need it for a couple of months whilst I carried out the internal fit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/10ed69b4-9a70-4eba-9b53-b791a429c91f/tempImageq2zqIu.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The top layer of the roof void was filled with 50mm foil backed polystyrene panels. These are the best solution for insulation from heat and cold, but are not the best for sound proofing so… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/4bc9d261-0047-4b18-9a3d-f3d10a603cdf/tempImageSoxL1z.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out … another 100mm layer of rock-wool slabs were laid underneath https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/876dba46-277e-4f32-b0d1-d2541ca38546/tempImage8OovxH.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out And here was the solution. In the above photo you can see clips that act like acoustic ‘buffers’ into which you clip these long, flat bars of aluminium (known as ‘furring bars’). Drywall is then attached to the furring bars, so any sound energy is dampened by the clips. They were remarkably quick to fix, and despite my reservations, they are more than capable of supporting huge loads both on the walls and also from the ceiling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/5ee09498-3975-402a-b6c5-55d1933bc418/tempImagev0rpSv.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The first two panels of drywall are attached. This was just the first layer and each plasterboard is a specialist high density acoustic drywall, 15mm thick. Each panel weighs 45kg so when I could get help moving them into place, I did, but in the main I did most of the drywall fit on my own. My back has still not forgiven me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/cdf4cde4-3b23-4e38-9f01-c3329981c55a/tempImageW87wlv.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The next layer is known as ‘mass loaded vinyl’ with adhesive backing. It’s a rubber plastic sheet that is very effective in dampening sound waves. This stuff is a real bugger to attach and I recommend a top quality Stanley knife, plenty of replacement blades, a metal T-Square 1m ruler and if you have the space and manpower to do it, attaching the material to the plasterboard before you mount it, however that will mean a full board will weigh in at 80+kg so I when I was installing it on my own, I had to cut the MLV into manageable sized sheets and accept the inaccuracies of sticking it down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/5bb6f863-6a80-41c9-a555-ac56a0b366ac/tempImageuob5oq.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The trickiest part was always going to be the ceiling. To build it I had to purchase a plasterboard hoist. The ones you can rent stretch to just over 3m. My ceiling was higher than that. So I had to buy one that went up to 5m. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/e2f60ed4-8273-4f30-aabc-c8cd033c357f/tempImagekqBfEC.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Alfie my son, came for a weekend to help me finish the second layer of drywall (with the Mass Loaded Vinyl already stuck on) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/61970054-6b7d-4cdb-9b91-cb7a2c8d2aad/Wedge+for+the+hoist.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Putting up the drywall on a sloped ceiling required a bit of improvisation. We had to wedge a block of wood in the joint of the mechanism to keep it at an angle before attaching it to the ceiling. It worked despite it being a crude method to achieve it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/e7593b0a-31b0-4b3a-a211-e18b93195fa6/tempImagedqaq7h.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Once again I had to adapt to the dimensions of the building. Plasterboard is cut in 2.4m lengths. The height to the ceiling was 2.50m. In the end this feature of design ended up being something the plasterer adapted to, quite creatively… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/09cbdda7-393a-46ec-8304-74494c6e8256/tempImagew7w5w3.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out He ended up fashioning that corner of the building into a curved design. The only drawback being that the plaster was so deep there, it took a couple of weeks to dry fully. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/8e2233fc-377d-4684-aeb2-24ea14290d7b/tempImagenMtrVD.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The first wash of 50% paint/water on the recently dried plaster with a hardworking dehumidifier in the corner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/18f5fb7d-fe45-43da-af2c-7d7da053d95a/tempImageX1lDEe.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Phil my electrician came back to finish the electrics. As you can see I went for quite a crude way of fitting the plug sockets. I chose to wall mount them purely to keep the means of sound escaping, to a minimum. As soon as you cut into walls to mount plug sockets flush, you undo much of the hard work of the soundproofing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/d701418f-a423-444b-b5f3-ac15463bcb2e/tempImagelaBfCi.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out This, if you’re not a dedicated audiophile, is a half finished bass trap. Basically the corners of buildings tend to be the focal point for sub bass that emanates from the corners. As you can see it looks very much like a pork loin. But instead of pig meat I have used rock wool off cuts from earlier in the project. These ended up being about 50cm deep to the corner and because of the way I used string to secure the rock wool, I packed them very tight. According to my PhD Physicist son, Alfie, this should do a decent job of taming the low frequencies that were going to bounce around the studio. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/777e0906-4cfc-4938-9ab0-ee6bd487c7ff/tempImageX6D1OL.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out A hard wearing carpet laid and a couple of bass traps. Things are getting close to finished! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/90fea63d-d907-4f48-8291-ad0c5d307d0c/tempImage2HpzIt.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out I came upon these mdf wall art panels online and modified them by stapling coloured felt material to the back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/470dc0f0-1caa-49e3-afdb-c0a4f18ed2dd/tempImagenaya6L.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out I also mounted these acoustic panels that are sold everywhere online these days. I recommend a good jigsaw if you need to modify them in any way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/7259573e-bda9-4a4d-a5dc-771695423fb5/tempImageiwlfA5.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Ceiling reflections were treated by these panels, continuing the colour themes of the bass traps https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/17f15900-5ff8-4994-a3a8-1892affa624c/tempImageEo6AMb.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Out came the storage shelves that had sat in the garage for a year. And a rug that seemed to fit the space perfectly. It would never look this tidy again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/6873e9d8-4e6f-4c67-b023-f30ab68c370e/tempImageJXfEsp.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/40d5ab74-6bff-4dee-92b9-e6d32e4e371c/Painting+2.JPG Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out Painting them individually was, to say the least, a boring process. But during that time I listened to every album by Radiohead from Pablo Honey to In Rainbows. I shall pick it up from The King of Limbs later this year I guess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/d854ce5e-7bb2-4241-8258-b4157e191d31/tempImageu6xG4e.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The finished panel was admittedly a little more vibrant than I anticipated but a static picture does not do it justice. As you move around it, its vibrancy changes. But if was to make another I would calm down a little on the colour, for sure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/693cc1db-7302-4b9b-a431-961e2f6ef3d1/tempImageOoZcEV.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out The hooks were screwed deep into the ceiling and through the furring bars that were around 60mm behind the surface. I have learnt to love this artwork that doubles as a scatterer of sound! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/0732586c-04d6-43d4-ae1b-75a13426fbad/tempImageSUHgi8.jpg Thoughts - I built a recording studio! - Make it stand out And here is the final image (for now). Taken just moments after I plugged it all in after a year of all my kit sitting in storage. There were gremlins. Yes the screen is enormous. But it was a second hand Samsung 4k TV that I think you’ll agree does wonders for working with a DAW! I don’t intend to do true colour Video so it’s a win. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/new-album monthly 0.5 2024-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/74351b69-e60a-4b6a-8bbf-c63b959882ae/JPEG+image-466A-9BEB-6D-0.JPEG Thoughts - New album! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/collaboration-with-tom-brogan-from-silver-haar-announced monthly 0.5 2024-02-28 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/joes-2022 monthly 0.5 2022-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/953d0d0e-f35f-4e0e-8083-8dc996e74da9/JOE+Avatar+multi-coloured+lines.jpeg Thoughts - Joe’s 2022 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/vinyl-has-arrived monthly 0.5 2022-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/2b9db6f6-fcb3-456c-9230-a64bd33ed666/Vinyl+at+home+ATS.jpg Thoughts - About The Soul - Album Vinyl has arrived! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/new-face monthly 0.5 2022-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/26cea7ac-5f8b-4f4a-8cb6-17d185a3de36/JOE+FINAL+AVATAR+ALL+MEDIA.JPG Thoughts - New Face - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/list-of-bloggers-and-playlisters monthly 0.5 2022-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/223e2386-63d0-4f9b-9c4d-09eb3b0d7586/Best+Bloggers+and+Playlisters+Art.png Thoughts - The Best UK Bloggers and Playlisters - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/2021-thank-yous monthly 0.5 2022-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/50de1eef-4012-4d9f-9b9f-c46da762cb28/Sonder+2+%28text%29+copy.png Thoughts - 2021 Thank You’s - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/sky-diving-penguins-album-review monthly 0.5 2021-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/e35cc991-7a01-455c-962b-de33b7ea5d82/Screenshot+2021-11-13+at+11.32.45.png Thoughts - Sky Diving Penguins Album Review - Make it stand out skydiving penguins.com https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/fires-release-date-26th-nov monthly 0.5 2021-10-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/b7265944-b604-4884-bc83-a0ad32c7590a/Fires+artwork.png Thoughts - Fires release date 26th Nov - Make it stand out Click on the Image to PreSave on Spotify Image by IMOGEN PHILLIPS https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/singing-live-and-its-frightening monthly 0.5 2021-02-24 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/anyone-can-put-their-tunes-on-spotify monthly 0.5 2021-02-20 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/pop-ep-hits-streams-19th-march-2021 monthly 0.5 2021-02-20 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/my-favourite-albums monthly 0.5 2021-02-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/1613482850375-3WEVH8Y7S2O34RX3NT6B/Album+Covers.jpg Thoughts - My favourite albums https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/thoughts-on-a-new-ep monthly 0.5 2021-02-03 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/Blog Post Title One-ns68y-nzp49 monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/category/News monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/category/Lyrics monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/category/Thoughts monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/New+Music monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Indie monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Joe+Adhemar monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Spotify+Playlists monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Alternative+Music monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Found+Ourselves monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Music+Blogs monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/BBC+Introducing monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/thoughts/tag/Peej+Records monthly 0.5 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/home daily 1.0 2025-01-05 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/music-links daily 0.75 2025-01-04 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/videos daily 0.75 2022-07-27 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/reviews daily 0.75 2023-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/807cea52-ec30-40f2-981b-abdf8b05cec0/SYNESTHETE+ART+black+writing.jpeg Reviews - John Michie’s thoughts on my album THE SYNESTHETE Joe’s new album is a journey through classic rock ‘n’ roll, electronic dance music, introspective ballads, and nostalgic trip back to the 1970s stopping off at a few places along the way in the DeLorean. With versatile production skills, Joe merges different genres to create something confident and engaging. The album showcases outstanding performances from everyone involved. The standouts for me though are “The Crows” and “We Hear The Colours.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/1611604868456-BMYISSJ2NQX6H49NDZS0/Album3+Cover.jpg Reviews - Chatting with Lean for CoolTop20.com I really enjoyed this interview late November 2021 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/1612374573229-XMJWSUDJ69QS4AMSFYAD/David+Pearce+Review.png Reviews - Album Review 3rd Feb 2021 Subba-Cultcha’s David Pearce reviews ‘Found Ourselves’ with references to Bowie, Gary Numan, Pink Floyd and Paul Carrack. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/1611505966676-WPWUBLTV8WC3W2ORHXLE/Rebirth+of+Cool+.png Reviews - Album Review 24th Jan 2021 Review of ‘Found Ourselves’ by Indie Blog ‘The Rebirth of Cool’ (Moby Tanner) with comparisons to Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Neil Young and The Verve https://www.joeadhemar.uk/invisible-squirrel daily 0.75 2024-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/1678204810627-YFLR0FKN6TJJOEE5UFS5/IS+Avatar.jpg https://www.joeadhemar.uk/remixes-collabs daily 0.75 2025-01-08 https://www.joeadhemar.uk/home-v2 daily 0.75 2026-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600c33bccbc1b3601d9ea473/d4e601ce-8327-4556-8bb8-7792ea007ea7/tempImageTPhU62.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/f64d269d-6648-4fff-8ded-3294bd99b0c4/imgg-demo-ZRjbSa11.png