Keeping it Real at Studio Truth
Curtis Hatton’s Collingwood studio are fighting to stay true during the pandemic; one phone call, archived recording, and roll of toilet paper at a time.
18 May 2020
Curtis graduated from SAE Creative Media Institute Brisbane in 2009 and after cutting his teeth in the industry in Queensland, founded Melbourne’s Studio Truth in 2016.
Complying with ever changing government regulations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Curtis and his team of four engineers at Studio Truth have found themselves having to adjust their business model to adapt.
“Obviously it’s difficult to comply with social distancing measures in our industry, especially when there’s a band involved; we have moved all our consultations to phone interviews and currently only one engineer is in the studio at a time. If we can find a way to do what the client is asking via correspondence, we will.” – a big challenge for a team so dependant on building trust through face to face interaction.
“During this time we are doing the best we can with our resources, focusing on; editing, mixing and mastering services, as these can be done without the artist/s present. We do still have a lot of work going on, expectedly we’ve experienced a huge drop off, but we are still getting two to three enquiries per week.”
Curtis says the team is in the fortunate position of having a backlog of material that is already recorded; ready to edit and mix. “And if it gets to the time that I finish the three EPs and four albums I’m currently working on, I’ll start making some music myself.”
Of course, studio’s can not escape the toilet humour.
“A client of Studio Truth’s – we just finished recording their first ever EP, so it was a big deal – gave us 20 packs of toilet paper. I have never appreciated something so much. Best. Gift. Ever!”
“In our down time we are checking in with our clients and fellow engineers to see how they are doing. We know that for some, finance is a serious strain currently, but one thing commonly not brought up is ‘cabin fever’. Many of our clients and friends are feeling lonely, with limited to no human interaction and just dropping them a line is not only good for their morale, but ours as well. We feel that during times of great stress such as this, it is more important than ever to stay positive as a community.”
Curtis says only time will tell how this will pan out. “This industry moves slowly, so it’s difficult to tell what this will all mean in the long run. In saying that, I am confident the industry can recover and will bounce back stronger than ever, I’m anticipating a huge boom. Once restrictions are lifted people will be ready to party and all the music that musicians are currently writing while at home will be ready to see the light of day.”
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