Airlock StudiosLive Performances In Times Of Lockdown

Founding member of award-winning bands Powderfinger, and The Church, Ian Haug is no stranger to the world of performance and recording.

At Airlock Studios in Brisbane, a space he helped establish over two decades ago, the worlds of performance and recording have aligned for a new, timely venture called Up in the Airlock. Featuring live, in-studio recorded performances of local talents, Up in the Airlock has just wound up its first season, with more planned for the future.

“It’s been an exciting challenge for us to capture entertaining performances by bands from a wide spectrum of genres,” Ian says about the project. “The main obstacle has been having all of the performers in one space to get the best energy out of a live performance… especially vocally.”

Due to the pandemic, the amount of performers and crew had been limited at first, with solo performers being preferred at the height of restrictions. As lockdown eased, more bands were permitted into the studio. It was during this time that ADAM Audio SP-5 headphones became the go-to monitoring solution for performers across the performance zones.

“All the performers are loving them. The isolation and the snugness on the head ensure people can jump around a bit,” says Ian. The SP-5 have also found their way behind the mixing board as well.

Ian and the Airlock team have also been longtime users of ADAM Audio S2X speakers, which have been an integral part of the studio since its foundation. Ian regards the S2X highly, which round out NS10s and JLM mains in the monitor contingent at Airlock. “They’re great,” Ian says about the S2X. “At the moment we’ve got them linked to a sub, and I’m investigating newer models.”

Being in lockdown for the first season of Up in the Airlock has given the production team an opportunity to curate and showcase local talent, which Ian sees as part of the core mission. “My dream has always been to help elevate small bands. So when, say, Lenny Kravitz comes to town as part of his tour, I want to be able to put a good band that no one knows alongside the show,” Ian says about the project’s goal. “It’s great to be able to provide a forum for these artists to be able to perform and promote their projects with a high level of production.”