Hannah Collisson speaks to music producer Harvey Summers from Broadoak Studios about working with musicians to make the magic happen

A space where vintage meets cutting edge technology, drawing musicians from as far afield as Canada in search of their perfect sound, Broadoak Studios is in as unlikely a setting as one could imagine.

Tucked away in a barn on the suburban outskirts of Bexhill, this is where Harvey Summers lets the magic happen.

It seemed for a while as if the digital revolution had the potential to kill off small recording studios such as Harvey’s. Thanks to programs such as Garageband, artists now have the technology at their fingertips to produce music of a high enough quality to release.

But, he says, the tide seems to be turning.

“Mine is a bit of an old-school approach because a lot of producers these days have a laptop in a bedroom, and you can do a lot with that with pop music and dance music, where all you need is a vocal, but if you’ve got a band there’s such a huge difference between someone who has got a studio and knows what they are doing with it, and that very basic thing.

“Recording technology never really got any better since the 1970s and so most of my stuff is from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s. It’s top of the line stuff that has been restored, and it’s got such a classic, rich sound and every piece of equipment is chosen because it has got a characterful sound.”

This includes his mixing desk, an impressive piece of equipment dating back to the 1970s that was once housed at London’s famous Olympic Studios and was used to mix albums by the likes of David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Queen.

“There’s a famous photo of this desk with Keith Richards’ feet up on it, and I’ve had a few people come in wanting to take the same photo,” says Harvey. “I like working with the analogue equipment as opposed to working on the computer because it lets a performance element enter the actual sound and we can do a lot with the mix and controlling things by hand that adds a living breathing quality to the sound.

“I think the authenticity of the equipment and my approach to producing is becoming more of a strength and I think things are turning round a bit now.”

Artists including folk band Steeleye Span and legendary double bass player Danny Thompson have passed through the doors of Broadoak Studios, which Harvey has been running for more than a decade.

Harvey has recently been working with Brighton musician Ellie Ford on her forthcoming album.

“It’s a really exciting project, She is a great singer and a great songwriter, she plays harp as well as guitar.

“In her band she’s got clarinet, violin, guitars, drums.

“It is my brief to myself with Ellie’s record to take every sound within it and try to do something new and a little bit different with it.

“That I think is the Holy Grail when you are producing a record, to try and come up with new interesting sounds that are appealing and aesthetically pleasing, and not just weird for their own sake.”

The fact that the live room is set up as a performance space, itself reflects Harvey’s philosophy of enabling creativity.

“It’s so you can capture the interactions between musicians as they are playing rather than when you have got the recording booth and computer set-up,” says Harvey.

As well as a producer, Harvey is also a musician and multi-instrumentalist. He has released solo albums including the most recent, Jupiter, and his music has also been widely used on television and film.

“My music has ended up on all sorts of things from Top Gear, Dora the explorer, Embarrassing Bodies, American Idol and X Factor.

Harvey grew up in Bexhill and started getting into music at the age of 12, through an interest in how electronics and sound worked together.

Keen to make his own music, he went on to build a small studio at his home.

“I began to find I really enjoyed, as much as writing my own music, producing other people’s music, and helping people find their sound.

“I’ve been doing this for about 25 years, and I learn something new every day still, it’s a fascinating and broad topic “I think what I bring to a recording environment as a producer is that I’m a musician as well.

“I really like to understand the meaning of the music and the emotional content, then everything from the first drum sound to the final elements of the mix are all there to serve the emotion and feel of the song.”

For his next personal project Harvey is working on an album with Canadian singer Laura Cole, who will be coming over especially to record at Broadoak Studios.

“I was blown away by her voice and got in touch and said ‘do you fancy coming to the UK and making a record with me?’” explains Harvey.

In terms of his own influences, Harvey draws from acoustic folk, but also jazz, world, and ambient music and soundscapes.

“My studio is my brain on the outside, it’s my man cave and also a bit of a laboratory for finding sounds,” says Harvey.

“If I’m in a room with a group of great musicians and we’re working out a piece of music, that’s me in my real happy place.”

• Visit broadoakstudios.co.uk