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 Despite being just 19, Rachel Smith has risen to the challenge of running her own recording studio. She spoke to Leah Williamson Musical youthJuly 2008 See this article as it appears in the magazine  RUNNING your own business can be a daunting enough prospect however experienced you are.But for 19-year-old Inverness music producer, Rachel Smith, the challenge of opening her own recording and rehearsal studio, Rise2Red – the first dedicated facility in the city – it was all part of the attraction. “I suppose I’ve not really had time to think about it,” Rachel told Executive. “I’ve been so busy concentrating on work I’ve not been able to take a step back and look at what I have done. “I can start working at 11am, leave at 10pm, or 1am on Thursdays, seven days a week. But when I think of what I could be doing instead – working in restaurant or in an office – I know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” At just 17 Rachel had a clear goal in mind when she decided she wanted to develop her own studio. Opened in May 2007, Rise2Red is a far cry from its humble beginnings at her parents’ house in Inverness. In her last year at Culloden Academy she discovered her interest in music, particularly production, was more than just a passing teenage phase. “It sounds a bit geeky and I don’t why it interests me but I like the work that’s involved. You have to use different microphones for each instrument, they have to be at an exact angle and a certain distance away to get the sound just right. “You record each instrument on a separate track and tweak the recording so it sounds at its absolute best. Then you have to get them to all gel with each other.” With her parents’ support she transformed the family home into a makeshift recording studio. “I took over the house! The dining room became the control room and the double garage became the recording studio. The neighbours weren’t too impressed.” Experience With the help of friend, now partner, Graham Gillanders, who has over 20 years’ experience in the music industry working with the likes of Atomic Kitten and OMD, Rachel was able to develop her skills and gain invaluable experience plus make contacts such as Andy McCluskey and Sony/BMG supremo Hugh Goldsmith who is looking to use the studio in the near future. “A lot of the boys I was in school with had formed their own bands so they would come round to the house and I’d record them. It was great opportunity for me to learn. I had considered moving further south to get experience because there wasn’t anywhere in Inverness where I could do this. But with Graham around I could do it myself.” The gamble paid off and proved such a hit with local musicians and young bands that the studio quickly outgrew the family home. The opportunity to expand the business came through Inverness Ice Rink which had extra rooms that had been lying empty for 12 years. Despite needing work, Rachel saw the potential for her studio and managed to negotiate a lease to transform the premises. “The committee have been brilliant with me. I think they were glad I took it off their hands. The beer cellar was leaking and there were kegs all over the place but once it had been stripped it was great. “I installed a large rehearsal area upstairs and I discovered another storeroom when I was looking around and thought it would make a good control room so I had a quadruple-glazed window put in. “I did as much of the work as I could myself like putting up the sound-proofing, the painting and decorating. It was a lot of work but I never thought of it like that at the time. It was all really exciting.” She already had some of the equipment she needed including her Neve mixing desk. It takes pride of place in the heart of the control room and Rachel is particularly proud of it as they normally cost thousands but she managed to get it on eBay for a fraction of the price. For the rest, she used up her savings. “It seemed like a good enough reason to use them!” Having already built up a solid client base from her home she found that bands and musicians were travelling from all over the Highlands and further afield to use the studio. “It’s all kinds of music from signed to unsigned, traditional to funk bands and pop acts. There’s one 13-year-old girl from Bonar Bridge that comes in to sing every week and a band with two guys in their 70s so there’s a real range.” Influences Her own musical influences hark back to era before her time – the synth sounds of the 80s. “Anything with synths – I love the 80s,” she confessed. “I don’t like any particular artist or type of music but I like something that has a good melody.” While at school she played the keyboards and some day hopes to write and produce her own music – as soon as she finds the time. She considered attending sound college to develop her skills further but with Graham’s experience it is akin to having her own private tutor. Rachel is certainly not the average 19-year-old. Her tender years belie a maturity and she admits that clients are often surprised when they turn up and realise she is the boss. “It has all been positive though. The younger bands seem to like having someone who is around their own age. They’re not so nervous and they make a better recording that way.” Rachel puts much of her focused business attitude down to having diabetes. Diagnosed with the condition at four, Rachel has had to be extra careful in looking after her health and takes five injections each day to keep it under control. But she believes it had allowed her to focus on developing her business acumen instead enjoying a typical teenage lifestyle. “I don’t drink or smoke because I know the effect it will have on my condition. In a way I’m glad I developed diabetes at four because you live with it for your whole life – you don’t know anything else. “When you’re older you have to make changes in your lifestyle. I’ve never had chocolate so I’ve never had to give it up. “It has made me more focused on this place. I felt I had do this now and not leave it to the future.” |
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