With the music compilation 'Pachyderm...So LARGE...We Ran Out Of Room', Pachyderm Recording Studio in Minnesota celebrates its first year under new ownership of Matthew M. Mueller of Madison WI who also owns The Cardinal Bar in Madison.
White Light Riot, Down Lo, Gypsy Foot, Kari Marie, The New Congress, Don Smithmier, Snake Beard Jackson, Shades a Gray, Alicia Wiley, Chris Koza, Meredith Fierke, Kenny Lucas and Ben all recorded their contribution to the 'Pachyderm...So LARGE...We Ran Out Of Room' CD at the world famous recording studio.
An experience only found in the big woods of Minnesota, Pachyderm Recording Studio is under new ownership. With an all star client list that includes the likes of Nirvana, LIVE, They Might be Giants, Brian Setzer, Indiginous, Soul Asylum and many others, entertainment entrepreneur Matthew Mueller has his sights set high.
"It is more than inspiring to think about the past and what this Rock and Roll Retreat has endured". Mueller explains. "This is more than the realization of a teen age dream, it is the opportunity to carry forward a torch that has been long lit and has burned bright for the Minneapolis music scene".
Matt Mueller purchased the property and studio in December of 2006 with the hopes of bringing a dormant legend back to life. Pachyderm Studios and all involved, including the return of Brent Sigmeth, have their sights set on greatness and bringing this hidden gem in Minnesota' s music history back to it's former glory.
Throughout the years Pachyderm and its scenic surroundings have withstood the test of hard rockin' great adventures had by so many within our industry. Pachyderm Recording Studio is a residential recording studio located in rural Cannon Falls, Minnesota 35 miles southeast of the Twin Cities, is one of the most famous recording studios in Minnesota.
A secluded location on a 50 acre private park in old-growth woods with a trout stream, along with vintage recording equipment including Studer tape machines, tube microphones and a Neve 8068 console (the same board that was used in Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studio recorded AC/DC's 'Back In Black', and the board John Lennon sat at the night he died.) have lured many well-known artists to the site.
The $3.5 million-dollar facility offers lodging in a palatial 6,000 square foot house that boasts an indoor pool and sauna. The house was designed by Herb Bloomberg, a top student of Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1963 by a local malt magnate. Internationally renowned for the uniquely warm and full sonic characteristics of its performance rooms, the 2,500 square foot studio was designed by Bret Theney of Westlake Audio and built in 1988.
Since opening its doors in fall 1989, Pachyderm has become, outside of Prince's Paisley Park Studio, the most storied recording venue in Minnesota. Dozens of notable albums have been crafted there, from nationally famous acts such as Superchunk and Kelly Willis to local heroes like Trip Shakespeare and the Honeydogs. The recording of Nirvana's 'In Utero' - the band's much anticipated follow-up to 'Nevermind' and Kurt Cobain's final album - simply cemented the studio's permanent place in pop-culture lore.
No one can honestly recall the first significant recording session to take place at Pachyderm. But it was either Soul Asylum's 'And the Horse They Rode in On' or the Gear Daddies' 'Billy's Live Bait'. Either way, it's clear the studio was in demand the minute it opened its doors. In recent years, however, the number of semis loaded down with amps and guitars pulling into Pachyderm has diminished considerably. In fact, the last high-profile project to be recorded there was Mudvayne's 'The End of All Things to Come', in the summer of 2002.
Like many recording studios, Pachyderm has struggled to book clients as the economics of the industry have soured. With CD sales plummeting, and the advent of technology that allows entire albums to be recorded and mixed in a bedroom or basement, few labels are willing to shell out big money to rent a recording studio for weeks at a time. The company's fortunes had also dwindled owing to circumstances unique to Pachyderm, and Brent Sigmeth, Pachyderm's beloved in-house engineer for a decade, walked away due to issues encountered by Pachyderm's previous owner.
Watch Pachyderm Recording Studio video tour:
Old Growth Forest
The Pachyderm Preservation Project (ProjectPachyderm.org) is an undertaking of a collection of artists and community members to help Pachyderm Studio purchase 28 acres of land immediately adjacent to its current 6 acres. The land is currently up for sale with the intent of clearing it for residential building. Throughout the area are gorgeous waterfalls, woods, and and old growth. It is the desire of Pachyderm and the community that surrounds it to preserve the land and use it, in its natural beauty, as a unique sanctuary of healing, art and community in the Midwest.
For more information:
Conal Garrity - [email protected]
Pachyderm Recording Studio
7840 Co 17 Blvd
Cannon Falls MN 55009-4048
507-263-5276 -v | 612-597-4759 -c | 507-263-2002 -f
Pachyderm Recording Studio Official Website
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