Narwhal Studios is a recently-opened collaboration between producers Brian Deck and Jim Gifford, occupying the space of Engine Studios, Deck’s previous space in the Wicker Park neighbourhood of Chicago. Having produced albums for artists including Iron and Wine and Modest Mouse among others in the former studio, the new Narwhal is home to a 16-channel Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console loaded with Shelford 5052 Mic Preamp/Inductor EQs, which sits beside a vintage SSL 4040 G+.

Deck and Gifford wanted the space to appeal not only to the genres in which they’ve been working for years – indie rock, alternative and soul/fusion – but also to ‘jazz people with an affection for a Rudy Van Gelder level of recording’, as well as to Chicago’s impressive chamber music scene. ‘We wanted to have a studio where they could get the sonic purity they need to make music like that.’

‘Our goal is simple – we want to create the best environment possible for making creative music,’ Deck,’ says Deck. ‘We have great-sounding rooms, lots of natural light, and the best consoles available… What you’re able to achieve in detail of your soundstage with the 5088, to me, is the best thing that’s ever been created in audio recording. We didn’t feel there was anything else out there, regardless of price, that would really perform the way we wanted it to.’

‘I am now able to achieve what I have been aiming for my entire career, for the first time, more reliably and more beautifully than ever before.’

After working out of other spaces for a number of years since closing Engine Studios, one of the reasons Deck wanted to have his own studio again was to regain a certain level of comfort: ‘If you’re going to a new studio all the time, you are constantly listening super, super hard. I specifically wanted to stop thinking so hard, and to be able to concentrate on the music. I think that’s one of the things that the 5088 does for me. I have complete confidence in what’s going on here.’