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Tap to start your tour in Windmill Lane’s Studio One. Look around in 360 degrees, and walk by tapping the circles. The blue dots will tell you more – thanks to Windmill Lane’s Niall McMonagle – while the red dots are music. And look out for Ed Sheeran’s signature on the wall. If you have Google Cardboard or other VR headset, you can enjoy a full 3D experience by tapping the ‘goggles’ icon.
AT THE CENTRE of Windmill Lane’s main live room is a Steinway grand piano that has been played by everyone from Bono to David Bowie, Sinead O’Connor to Ed Sheeran.
An astonishing range of musicians have recorded at the studios: U2 most famously, using this equipment to turn out iconic albums from Boy to The Joshua Tree, Pop and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.
But the huge 1980s-era mixing desks have also heard artists as diverse as The Commitments and Kylie, the Rolling Stones and 50 Cent. “Everybody has recorded on that thing,” says studio manager Niall McMonagle. ”If this desk could tell stories…”
Now as part of the Experience Your World project with KBC and TheJournal.ie, we’re taking you on a virtual reality tour through an iconic Irish landmark each month. To begin, let’s explore the corridors walked by Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry.
(As well as the Spice Girls, Herbie Hancock, Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers, REM… the list goes on.)
Since 1988, the studios have occupied a striking art deco building on Ringsend Road – which began its life as a power station for Dublin’s old tram network before turns as a Bovril factory and a snooker club.
Studio One, above, is the largest room in the building. It’s one of only two studios in Ireland that can fit a full orchestra (the other one being RTE).
Global artists passing through Dublin will also use Windmill Lane, says McMonagle. “It could be somebody in town who’s doing a show at the 3Arena, and asks the label to find them a studio in Dublin. And because of that heritage, we’re the first studio people will call.”
But the huge Studio One space isn’t all there is to Windmill Lane. Two floors down, Studio Two is a much smaller room that is often the choice of rock bands.
Tap below to continue your tour through Studio Two.
Ed Sheeran recorded at Windmill Lane while playing his Croke Park gigs. Lady Gaga dropped in between dates at the O2.
The studios are packed with vintage analogue equipment – relics in a digital age, perhaps, but ones that are “quite sought after” by musicians, says McMonagle. At the centre of it all is the giant Neve VR2 Legend console that dominates Studio One. It’s very large.
“When they were building the studio,” McMonagle says, “they couldn’t bring it up the stairs, and they had to crane it up and knock a hole in the side of the building.” That hole was then glazed, and is now a window with a fine view over the bus depot.
McMonagle has worked as a studio manager and engineer at Windmill Lane since the studios were taken over by Pulse College in 2009. So what are the moments that stand out over that time?
“Nile Rodgers would be a real moment for me,” he says. “And the Ed Sheeran thing was cool. But most of the memorable moments happen with bands that haven’t made it yet. Who are incredible musicians, or just do a great take of a song.”
And some of the magic of the studio, McMonagle adds, is in hiding the incredible craft that goes into music from the listeners at home. ”I remember one guy who played a dulcimer on a Chieftains record. To get it in the right key for the song, he had to do it at double speed, so we could slow the recording down. And he just did it in one take.
“Those are the moments when your jaw hits the floor. And then when you hear it on the record it just sounds like the most normal thing on the world.”
Did you find the hole in the wall? The vintage tape machine? Nile Rodgers’ signature?
KBC’s Experience Your World is a technology project that allows people to experience spaces around them in virtual reality – from properties on Daft.ie, to iconic landmarks and city neighbourhoods on TheJournal.ie. As a digital-led bank, KBC also offers 24/7 anytime chat on the phone, webchat and social media, account opening in minutes on your mobile and a Mobile Mortgage team who can come to your house.
Lending criteria, underwriting, terms and conditions apply. Security and insurance are required. KBC Bank Ireland plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
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As usual trying to put a good spin on Ireland’s figures. Most of our improvement is due to “scambridge” hiring interns.
Most countries have internships. My friend is doing one in London.
And most of Germanys low figure is accountable due to the fact that they don’t have a minimum hourly wage – I’m not sure if it is the same in Austria. This means people can be working, legally, for nothing. Just another way that a government is trying to hide it’s unemployment rate.
Although, some quick googling to fact check shows that Germany have actually agreed to introduce a minimum wage by next year – Let’s see if they keep the same low unemployment levels with that.
Bobby, the difference between an internship and the ‘job’bridge interns is that any employer can hire as many job bridge interns as they want, pay them nothing, and then let them go after the time, and then just hire another poor soul to do the exact same job. No promise to keep them on, and in a lot of cases you see, no real value to the internships offered (stacking shelves, washing cars etc.).
Exactly, it’s mostly completely taken advantage of.
It is a crap system, but it’s the same in England, graduates doing interns stacking shelves. Recently a graduate was sent to work in a pound shop by the jobcentre to stack shelves. She took them to court and won?
So just because they are taking complete advantage of young unemployed people in Britain, it’s grand that we’re doing the same here?
Nope, I never said that, just letting you know you’re not alone.
Ah sorry, my misunderstanding. I thought you were just trying to justify the system because it happens elsewhere.
Actually, I believe Germany has just introduced a minimum wage (€8.50) in the last few weeks.
White Fang, yes I know and linked to an article about it (as it was news to me until I looked it up) in my post above.
Maybe people should look up the definition of internships. Then compare them to what happens on the jobsbridge scam!
Sorry Dave, I completely missed that!
@alan Most of our improvement is due to high end IT, Pharma and Finance jobs. Basic maths kiddo (which ironically is the reason you wouldn’t get a job in any of those sectors.)
Every job in FAS/Solas is for this scam, and scam it is when local auctioneers & solicitors advertising for staff promising a good internship, funded by money stolen from private pension accounts, most vile Government in the history of the state.l
@Bobby
I don’t know if it’s the same story, but I read about a woman with a history degree who was serving as a volunteer intern in a museum.
But her local job centre told her she couldn’t volunteer as that meant she wasn’t “available for work”. They then promptly put her to work in Dealz. And she would lose her dole payment if she refused to take the “job”. So she ended up working a 40 hour week against her will for approx £70.
Dealz wins. Job centre wins. Everyone but the poor woman who was working towards a more permanent placement in the museum wins.
Thanks for that Tom.
The BBC said last week, 26 million people unemployed in the EU
Bobby what possible reason could Eurostat have for manipulation of the true figures.
26 million unemployed in the EU, 18 million in the Eurozone.
Does anybody have an accurate figure as to what our unemployment rate would look like without the old immigration release valve? I imagine we’d be looking at close to the same rate as Greece. We sure are lucky that we speak English and can ship out all those workers for whom there are no jobs.
18 million jobless in the EU and still hundreds of thousands on non EU migrants are allowed enter Europe looking for work every year…madness
I’d love to know out of that 18.9 million how many are people that never want to work . Freeloaders if you will.
With any luck Gilmore will be out of a job soon.
Going by some of the regular trolls….probably 18 million or so..sure who,d want to work when you can live in luxury on the scratcher..and the sort of tripe these idiots post.
The people out of work need help people like you gay only make the situation worse !!
Who are the freeloaders to which you refer? Politicans such as our own, spineless lot? or people in long term unemployment on benefits who require said benefits to survive? We know who gets the blame these days and its the latter.
Yes its so much fun been on the dole and trying to scrape by on 100euro a week…madness!.and you have the cheek to call us all freeloaders?.funnily enough most of us would rather be working and earning some sort of living for ourselves as opposed to living on peanuts!.
well said Denise. the contempt is disgraceful
Thank you Sean, I just get tired of hearing how we are all lazy so-and-so’s when its not the case at all…i got laid off a couple of weeks back simply because there wasnt enough work and have had no luck with finding another job
At 5000 jobs a month Happy Gilmore will have it sorted in 300 years. On a side note… That labour, 70000 jobs ad (blatant lie) at the bottom is making me sick.
I am glad to see those good for nothing screw balls in Leinster house got them self A3Job .
have your say