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Polar Studios
Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording label.
The studio was used to record the last three ABBA albums, Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper and The Visitors, as well as their two non-LP singles "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". Following the demise of ABBA, all members of the group continued using the studio to record their solo projects.
In addition to ABBA, a range of other well-known artists recorded at Polar. Among the albums to have been recorded at the studio are Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door and Genesis' Duke.
The studio was created in 1978 at a disused cinema theatre on the street floor (not ground floor, due to a bridge and streets separated by four floors) of a building known as Sportpalatset (Palace of Sports) in central Stockholm.[citation needed] The massive edifice, built around 1930, owed its name to a large indoor public bath (closed in the mid-1950s) and several other sports facilities which had been housed upstairs over the years. ABBA had been looking for a modern studio with a good, spacious live sound where they would be able to work at their own leisure and decided that the best solution was to build their own. The first song recorded at the studio was "Chiquitita", and the band would record their next three studio albums: Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper, and The Visitors at Polar Studios.
Among the early non-ABBA albums recorded at the studio were the Genesis album Duke (1980), followed by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad's solo album Something's Going On (which was produced by Genesis drummer Phil Collins). Led Zeppelin recorded their 1979 album In Through the Out Door here. Artists such as Big Country, the Ramones, Rammstein, Roxy Music, Genesis, Adam Ant, Backstreet Boys, Beastie Boys, Belinda Carlisle, Burt Bacharach, Embracingfranki (Franki), Celine Dion, Roxette, Terra Firma, Entombed, The Hellacopters, Joan Armatrading, Agnetha Fältskog and many major Swedish artists worked at Polar Studios.
The centrepiece of the studio was a 40-channel Harrison 32 Series mixing console, which was modified by technician Leif Mases to give it a unique sound that in some respects resembled a Neve desk. ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors marked a turning point for Polar, as it was recorded on the studio's new 3M digital recorder - thus becoming one of the first digital mainstream pop records.
The music video for ABBA's 1979 song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was filmed in the studio; it depicted the group recording the track, although in reality the audio recording was already complete. On the same day, the group also filmed the Spanish language video for "Estoy Soñando" there.
The studio's original location was a former cinema theatre, in an early 1930s building at Sankt Eriksgatan 58-60 on Kungsholmen. Construction began on the studio in 1977, and it opened for production on May 18, 1978. In 1984, Stig Anderson bought out his partners in the company. Shortly afterward, he sold the studio to his daughter Marie Ledin, her husband Tomas Ledin, and their business partner Lennart Östlund.
Polar Studios
Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording label.
The studio was used to record the last three ABBA albums, Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper and The Visitors, as well as their two non-LP singles "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". Following the demise of ABBA, all members of the group continued using the studio to record their solo projects.
In addition to ABBA, a range of other well-known artists recorded at Polar. Among the albums to have been recorded at the studio are Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door and Genesis' Duke.
The studio was created in 1978 at a disused cinema theatre on the street floor (not ground floor, due to a bridge and streets separated by four floors) of a building known as Sportpalatset (Palace of Sports) in central Stockholm.[citation needed] The massive edifice, built around 1930, owed its name to a large indoor public bath (closed in the mid-1950s) and several other sports facilities which had been housed upstairs over the years. ABBA had been looking for a modern studio with a good, spacious live sound where they would be able to work at their own leisure and decided that the best solution was to build their own. The first song recorded at the studio was "Chiquitita", and the band would record their next three studio albums: Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper, and The Visitors at Polar Studios.
Among the early non-ABBA albums recorded at the studio were the Genesis album Duke (1980), followed by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad's solo album Something's Going On (which was produced by Genesis drummer Phil Collins). Led Zeppelin recorded their 1979 album In Through the Out Door here. Artists such as Big Country, the Ramones, Rammstein, Roxy Music, Genesis, Adam Ant, Backstreet Boys, Beastie Boys, Belinda Carlisle, Burt Bacharach, Embracingfranki (Franki), Celine Dion, Roxette, Terra Firma, Entombed, The Hellacopters, Joan Armatrading, Agnetha Fältskog and many major Swedish artists worked at Polar Studios.
The centrepiece of the studio was a 40-channel Harrison 32 Series mixing console, which was modified by technician Leif Mases to give it a unique sound that in some respects resembled a Neve desk. ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors marked a turning point for Polar, as it was recorded on the studio's new 3M digital recorder - thus becoming one of the first digital mainstream pop records.
The music video for ABBA's 1979 song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was filmed in the studio; it depicted the group recording the track, although in reality the audio recording was already complete. On the same day, the group also filmed the Spanish language video for "Estoy Soñando" there.
The studio's original location was a former cinema theatre, in an early 1930s building at Sankt Eriksgatan 58-60 on Kungsholmen. Construction began on the studio in 1977, and it opened for production on May 18, 1978. In 1984, Stig Anderson bought out his partners in the company. Shortly afterward, he sold the studio to his daughter Marie Ledin, her husband Tomas Ledin, and their business partner Lennart Östlund.
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