Last week marked the fifth release in a series of live performances that were recorded here as part of our 90th anniversary programme.
As part of the celebrations, we were lucky enough to be joined in Studios One, Two and Three by some of the most exciting artists in the industry right now.
Last Friday, Maverick Sabre released Maverick Sabre - the Abbey Road 90th Session which marked the fifth film to come out of our 90th anniversary series.
Performances come from Black Pumas, Parcels, Metronomy, Shygirl and Maverick Sabre with one more to follow from Portico Quartet.
Maverick Sabre
Sabre has grown to become a pillar of our 90-year legacy. He recently said, "To be asked to come and perform in a place like Abbey Road was a beautiful honour. Having grown up listening to and being inspired by records either written or recorded at Abbey Road, from The Beatles to Kanye West, it is a blessing to be able to have my own recordings in there. Every musician knows the importance and gravity of the place, let's make it another 90 years of excellence.”
Our Head of Brand, Mark Robertson recently said, “Mav has been a valued friend and regular visitor to Abbey Road over the last few years, writing and recording with artists such as Nile Rodgers, Ghetts and Jorja Smith. He’s also played a big role in our youth mentoring and education programmes, sharing his insights and advice for the next generation of music talent. Watching him write songs in our house has been a real privilege so, knowing he has a new set of songs for 2022, it was an obvious call to invite him to be part of our 90th anniversary.”
Sabre was supported by a full band including drummer and percussionist, Ben McKone, guitarist Joe Price, bassist James McKone and backing vocalist Adam Jordan. The session was recorded live in Studio Two by Lewis Jones, assisted by Matt Jones and Freddie Light.
Black Pumas
In June Grammy-nominated, psychedelic soul band Black Pumas unveiled all three live songs recorded at our 90th anniversary!
Black Pumas performed; Colors, Confines and OCT 33, all tracks from their self-titled debut album.
Some of the gear used included:
- Hammond RT-3 organ
- Fender Rhodes electric piano
- Moog Sub 37 synthesizer
- Neumann U67, U87 and KM84 microphones
- STC (Coles) 4038s drum overheads
Parcels
This session sees the 5-piece perform three songs from their latest album Day/Night: Comingback, Famous and LordHenry. The video is interspersed with footage by band member Louis, shot on a handheld film camera.
The session took place in Studio Three, recorded by our own Paul Pritchard, assisted by Matt Jones and Freddie Light. The session was also mastered here by Christian Wright.
As a band who have always shone in a live setting thanks to their peerless musicianship, this live session is a rare opportunity to see Parcels close up - performing in the studio - playing in the round.
Metronomy
Metronomy played a six-song live set recorded in Studio One.
We also had the pleasure of sitting down with multi-instrumentalist, producer and founder, Joseph Mount to discuss his experience of recording at the studio, the framework for the most recent album Small World and his advice for any young artists or bands starting out.
Shygirl
Backed by an 18-piece string ensemble, Shygirl released Cleo last October, before coming to Abbey Road to record this special orchestrated interpretation. The strings helped keep the dramatic feel of the original, but gave it a different twist by omitting the electronic elements.
