Six months ago, for the first time in history, Studio One was closed to undergo extensive restoration. Over the past two weeks, we've celebrated its grand reopening with two spectacular events in the iconic studio.

Our Synergy in Motion event took place last night, with Joseph Toonga creating original choreography to the film scores of Daniel Pemberton, remixed and reshaped by Abbey Road’s Artist In Residence, Jordan Rakei.

Last week saw a live 64-piece orchestra, led by musical director James Brett and orchestra leader Everton Nelson, perform pieces from the many legendary scores recorded in Studio One, celebrating 45 years of the most iconic music for film and games created and captured in our home.

Last night, 27 March, we celebrated the reopening with a stunning Synergy In Motion event, a multidisciplinary evening of boundary-pushing contemporary dance and music, which saw acclaimed Royal Ballet choreographer Joseph Toonga create original choreography to the film scores of Daniel Pemberton, remixed and reshaped by Abbey Road's Artist In Residence, Jordan Rakei.

Speaking about Studio One’s reopening and the Synergy In Motion event, Abbey Road’s Managing Director, Sally Davies says: “The reopening of Studio One sees Abbey Road embrace a renewed energy that not only honours our legacy but also looks forward to the future. Last night’s multidisciplinary Synergy In Motion celebration was the perfect way to usher in this new era, with an evening that championed innovation and creativity at every turn.”

Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative, Mark Robertson, adds: “Last night was a celebration of creativity in all its forms, which is at the heart of Abbey Road. For the first time ever, we took boundary-pushing expressive dance into Studio One, by devising a concept that sees the worlds of contemporary dance, film scores and cutting-edge music collide. What appealed about Joseph is that he creates choreography that challenges convention by blending styles from ballet to hip hop and krump, which felt appropriate for the fusion of Daniel and Jordan’s music.”

Synergy In Motion was the second of two events, the first of which on 18 March saw Studio One honour 45 years of the most iconic music for film, with a live orchestra performing pieces from the many legendary film scores recorded in Studio One. These include Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Return of The Jedi, The Last Emperor, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Harry Potter, Skyfall, The Shape of Water, Barbie, Black Panther and Gravity.

Headline upgrades to the Studio One control room include replacing the 20-year old 72-channel AMS Neve 88RS SP2 recording console with an 84-channel AMS Neve 88RS SP3D recording console, the introduction of 7.1.4 monitoring, and extensive acoustic treatment and re-fabricing. The live room has seen the introduction of 10 rows of wool serge, replacing the 21 rows of acoustic treatment ‘washing line’, installed in 1970, as well as the integration of 3 rows of 9 LED pendants to increase visibility.