Electrical Audio

Electrical Audio is a two-studio recording complex at 2621 West Belmont Avenue in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. Engineer Steve Albini bought the former screen-printing building in 1995 and built it as his home base and a hub for independent artists; the first session in Studio B was recorded on April 4, 1997, and Studio A opened in 1998. Most structural walls are adobe earth brick, and each studio sits on its own foundation, isolated from the street and the other rooms. The nonprofit Electrical Audio Foundation was created to support and preserve the studio after Albini’s death in 2024. According to its client list, Cheap Trick, The Stooges, The Breeders, Joanna Newsom, Low and Neurosis have recorded here.

Studios and rooms

• Studio A: three performance rooms (Center Field, the largest, for strings, ensembles and full-band acoustic sessions; Kentucky, a bright room most often used for drums; and Alcatraz, a very dry room) and a control room with a custom 56-channel Neotek Elite console with Neve Flying Faders automation.
• Studio B: a live room of about 800 square feet under a 30-foot diffusion ceiling, a 300-square-foot dead room behind a sliding glass wall, a small isolation booth and a control room with a modified 36-input Neotek Series II console.

Tape machines and instruments

• Studer A820 multitracks (16- or 24-track) and Ampex ATR-102 mixdown machines, aligned for every session, alongside Pro Tools rigs, so sessions can run fully analog, fully digital or hybrid.
• A 1920s Steinway H, a Yamaha C7 and a Hammond B3 with Leslie in Studio A, and a Baldwin SF10 grand in Studio B; microphones, drums and amplifiers are shared.

Services and amenities

• Recording and mixing with house engineers; freelance engineers are welcome.
• Analog tape transfers, including baking and restoring tapes.
• Studio A has its own entrance, lounge, kitchenette and two bathrooms; Studio B has its own mini-lounge.
• Three client bedrooms on site for lodging during sessions.

Booking

Sessions are booked by phone or email, with no demo required, by the day or half-day. Electrical Audio recommends booking three to four months ahead for longer sessions, and most days start between 10 a.m. and noon.