Since opening in 2001, The VIP Lounge has become one of the premier studios in the South West. Its relaxed, comfortable ambience combined with its consistently high standards ensures it is the number one choice for bands and artists in the area.

Run by engineer/producer Dare Mason (Placebo, The Church, The Blow Monkeys, Soul II Soul, Thirteen Senses) the studio specialises in recording live music, from rock to jazz to classical and all points in between. Many former clients have been offered record deals on the strength of tracks they have recorded at the VIP Lounge and songs produced by Dare are regularly played on local and national radio. The studio recently was presented with a gold disc for a Norwegian album that Dare mixed. The ethos of the studio is to allow your creativity to come through so your music can reach its full potential. And hopefully we’ll all have a lot of fun in the process.

Remote Mixing Services

Have you recorded some songs and now want a professional mix? All you have to do is send us the sound files. We’ll mix the song(s) and email them back to you for your approval/comments. You don’t pay unless you are happy with the mix. Dare is a specialist mixer and was recently awarded a gold disc by Warner Bros for the grammy nominated “Smear Your Smiles Back On” by Tommy Tokyo and Starving for My Gravy.

The album features 15 tracks by mainly local artists who have recorded at the VIP Lounge over the past year. These include exclusive tracks by My Elvis Blackout, Downtown Riots and iPony among others. The album is packed with quality songs and is a great way of keeping up to date with the exciting Cornish music scene.

Copies of the album can bought for a ridiculously cheap price of £6 from West Penwith Music in Union St, Penzance or simply click on the button below.

Volume two features tracks by Ammunition, The Truths and Blindfold Garden. Read Lee Trewhela’s review below for more of a taste of what you can expect.

Copies of the album are still available – just click on the button below.

In Deep Music Archive

Adjoining the studio is the brand new In Deep Music Archive. This is an amazing and unique space containing over 30,000 vinyl albums, CD’s and singles as well as music books, magazines and even board games.

Relax in comfort and listen to that album you’ve always wanted to hear or read all about your favourite band. In Deep is also a great place to chill out while other members of the band record their parts. There are instruments available so why not write a song too? The only trouble is, you may never want to leave!

In Deep is available to anyone who books time at the VIP Lounge. It’s part of the package. If you want to use the archive without booking the studio (it’s a great place to build up your sample library!) give us a call and we will sort out a cheap rate for you.

Click on the pictures on the right to view a larger image.

Albums of the week. The VIP Lounge
Various - The Best of the VIP Lounge Vol. 2

SINCE the release of the first volume of acts who have recorded at Dare Mason's Penzance studio, his reputation has grown no end in capturing the sounds of new Cornish bands as well as producing up-and-coming acts from further afield.

The VIP Lounge has already played host to bigger names like the Falls's Brix Smith, Cinerama (David Gedge from the Wedding Present's former band) and Thirteen Senses. It has also been the first studio to record I Say Marvin and My Elvis Blackout.

This 15-track CD collects by unsigned Cornish acts as well as Irish bands (the Achtung Baby-esque Bickely/O'Farrell) and Gallic types (Les Nouveaux Heroes).

There are great tracks by Ammunition (Electricity sounding better in its Dare version than the recent Abbey Road production job), The Truths (their stadium-sized mantra rock captured to perfection) and Blindfold Garden (Harold sounds like the missing link between the Smiths and Shudder To Think).

Young tykes are well represented - the jaunty Rick's Rebels and Below Dignity, featuring the truly astounding power house vocals of star-in-waiting Hannah 'Chuck' Pinkert, both shine.

The highlights are the mesmeric traditional sounds of Bagas Degol, Truro's Mr Robots whose Drinking Through A Straw is a hefty slice of Nirvana pop-rock and Taunton's Naji Ooty, whose bizarrely addictive Cornwall Is Japan is equal parts Robyn Hitchcock and Flaming Lips.

On the strength of this excellent compilation I, ahem dare Mr Mason to produce a bad song.

The album is available from the usual outlets.

podcast Listen to a podcast of a recent interview with Dare Mason on the David White show on BBC Radio Cornwall.

THE BEST OF THE VIP LOUNGE VOL 1 This compilation features 15 of the best artists and bands that have recorded at the VIP Lounge in the last 2 years. The CD is absolutely packed with brilliant tracks and is a great way of getting a flavour of what’s going on in the Cornish music scene. Copies can be bought in person at Solo Music, Truro and Mounts Bay Music in Penzance. You can buy copies as well as audition tracks at www.cdbaby.com The VIP Lounge is proud to bring some of this music to the attention of a wider audience and will continue to promote it through a series of these CD's.

more reviews

Review of 'The Best of the VIP Lounge' from the April 2006 issue of 247 magazine, page 34.

This article appeared in the West Briton, January 21, 2006