Inside the Studio

What's the weirdest drink you have ever had? I've guzzled a fair few strange ones in my time, including a gruesome concoction in New York involving what looked like Swarfega mixed with cream. But the one that topped the lot was something or other from a barnacled bottle salvaged from a galleon that had been part of the Spanish Armada sunk in battle in the English Channel in 1588.

The bottle was a gift given by a fan to Simon Gallup of The Cure and we uncorked and necked it one night after a gig in the South of France. What did it taste like? I honestly couldn't tell you. Truth be told we'd downed a fair whack of best Burgundy to whip up the courage to go for it, so all I can say is the hangover was horrendous.

The gig I mentioned was the one the band played in August 1986 at the Roman amphitheatre in Orange, Vaucluse. It was the occasion upon which Robert Smith, filmed by Tim Pope, walked onto the stage and whipped off a wig to reveal he had cut off his trademark Goth rat's nest of hair and was sporting a buzz cut.

Exterior of the facility

Funky Chateau

After the gig, the band stayed in France for tax reasons, had a few weeks off to chill then moved into Miraval Studios, part of the Chateau de Miraval in Provence, about an eight-hour drive south of Paris and just about the most luxurious recording facility you're ever likely to find. Set in over 2000 acres with terraces, fountains, a forest, olive groves boasting 13 different varieties of olives, and vineyards, the place has a cultural history that dates back to Roman times. It's renowned for its winery, and specifically for its rosé, which was founded in the 1850s by a gentleman named Joseph-Louis Lambot, the estate's owner at the time who also happened to be the inventor of reinforced concrete.

The studio bit was established in 1977 when French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier, famous for his jazz interpretations of classical works, principally by Bach, took over the estate. He teamed up with sound engineer Patrice Quef to build a place where he could record, with a focus on film soundtracks. Soon other artists were welcomed to the facility and in 1979 Pink Floyd arrived to work on some of the pieces that would become part of their double album, The Wall.

Brad Pitt in 2019. He and Angelina Jolie bought the estate in 2011

Pitt's Perfect

Eventually an SSL mixing console was added to the set-up and a steady flow of superstar talents dropped by to record, including Wham! who needed somewhere to work away from fan intrusion and the taxman. They arrived in late 1984 and came away with Make It Big. As previously mentioned, The Cure came in '86 and set about creating their double LP Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me after a couple of months spent tightening up loose jam sessions.

AC/DC followed on, doing their Blow Up Your Video album there in 1987, Sade worked on Promise in '85 and Stronger Than Pride in '88, and Judas Priest arrived in 1990 for the sessions that turned out to be Painkiller. Muse also popped in to create some of their Black Holes And Revelations LP while Courtney Love used Miraval for parts of her America's Sweetheart album, as did The Cranberries in 1998 for Bury The Hatchet, released in 1999.

Loussier sold Miraval in 1998 to a wine producer who subsequently resold it in 2011 for a reported $60m to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who were married in the chateau's chapel in 2014. It ceased to function as a studio until October 2022 when Pitt, now separated from Jolie, who'd offloaded her shares in the estate, got together with a producer who'd worked with Brian Eno called Damien Quintard and reopened the recording facility, having extensively redesigned and equipped it.

The new affair comprised three editing booths for video and sound, several production offices and a room housing Quintard's collection of 170-plus microphones.

It was in early 1979 that Pink Floyd checked into Miraval to record parts of The Wall

Space Odyssey

The recording studio itself measures 3445 square feet and along with a live room that houses Loussier's restored, 1860s-era Broadwood & Sons piano, a Bösendorfer piano from the 1980s, as well as

synths from Moog, Roland and Solina, is marketed as Studio One. There's also a reverb room, a kitchen, an artist salon, two guest suites, a 115ft saltwater pool and an accessible rooftop that affords a 360o view of the estate.

Pride of place was given to the 1000 square foot control room, built around 'the Spaceship', a custom-made hybrid console which offers a digital set-up alongside the studio's original SSL electronics for those who prefer analogue. The facility is also kitted out for Dolby Atmos.

The back wall of the reverb room with its picture window. The space is often used to record drums

Let There Be Light

At the time of opening, Quintard told Spin magazine: 'We were feeling that it was some kind of beast of creativity that was asleep and we had to wake it up! It was one of the most complicated decisions in my life: renovate or rebuild? What made the difference was that their design in the '70s didn't leave much space for natural light and the entire studio was bathed in darkness. Being in the South of France, the light is fantastic and we really wanted to use that as much as we could. We couldn't build a studio for the future if it was going to be dark. So, we took the time to preserve anything we could, from the precious gear to iconic structures, and we started the rebuilding of the studio in search of a feeling of openness and a communion with nature'.

Among those to record in the refurbished facility is Travis Scott who did some of his fourth LP, Utopia, there in 2023 and Sade who returned to work on a prospective new album. 'So many great records were done here, we really had to preserve the original microphones, the console, and anything that was used back then', explains Quintard. 'It's part of our history, and being able to give artists of our day the possibility to record on the same mics Roger Waters or George Michael used is part of what makes Miraval Studios so magical.'

Other industries associated with Miraval now include Brad Pitt's 'genderless' skin care line, Le Domaine, which he founded with the Perrin family, Miraval's vintners, using the estate's antioxidant-rich grapes, and Château Miraval, which is Pitt's own wine brand.

The live room houses synths from Moog, Roland and Solina

Notes From Nature

'I believe that what makes Miraval so unique is Miraval itself! The light, the air, the nature and this incredible domain. Overall, this fantastic feeling of inspiration you get when you set foot there - like a reservoir of feelings that you can draw upon to reach beautiful levels of creativity', continues Quintard.

'Words just don't do it any justice. Hopefully, the songs created and recorded there will give you a better sense of what Miraval is. There's a unique sense of history to this place. It's a Chateau in a domain that has always been looked on gracefully by nature for eons.

'So, when you enter this space you're just in another dimension, where simplicity is key and the troubles of everyday life start to fade away to give way to a frenzy of inspiration.' Damien Quintard: a poet as well as a producer!

Sade Adu returned to Miraval in 2023 after recording hit albums there in the 1980s

Key Recording Timeline

1978
Patrice Quef is at the desk for the recording of Stéphane Grappelli And His American All Stars

1979
> Pink Floyd work on The Wall, which becomes the second best-selling album in the group’s catalogue

1984
Wham! record Make It Big. It tops the charts in the UK and yields four hit singles, including ‘Careless Whisper’

1987
It’s a return to form for AC/DC as they record Blow Up Your Video, which peaks at No 2 in the UK

1988
The band Sade book time at Miraval for sessions that will become their UK Top 3 album Stronger Than Pride

2006
Producer Rich Costey is in the hot seat for Muse’s Black Holes And Revelations, which debuts at No 1