"Digital hasn't surpassed analogue"

What Steven asked Jim Riley, music producer and sound engineer at Ranscombe Studios

Jim Riley’s Ranscombe Studios has been integral to the Medway music scene this century. Having been forced out of his studio within the Royal Function Rooms, Steven caught up with him in his new base within a converted warehouse in Intra. We asked him about his own past as a musician, digital versus analogue sound recording, and if there is a future for the Medway Sound.

Jim Riley (left), performing with the Chatham Singers. Photo: Stuart Turner.

What is Ranscombe Studios?
Ranscombe Studios is a recording studio for anything really. The vast majority of the work is bands, solo singers, solo acoustic artists and any genre of music, but I've recorded poets for CDs, I've put together online radio shows. Not that often, but it's something I've done. I'll record anything and anyone. I consider myself a musician sound engineer. I went into sound engineering from being in bands because I took a lot of interest in it and loved it.

Why is it called Ranscombe?
It was started at Ranscombe Farm, up near Cuxton. I started up there in 2002 and took on the name.

Was there a reason you started there?
It was available space. A friend of mine had a rehearsal space there in a barn. At the time, Ranscombe was a hamlet. You had two or three farm buildings, a big building, a few big farm sheds and this barn, which was from the 1500s, a really old barn. We were in there for about 18 months, and then the land got bought up by Lafarge. It was all cement builders’ land, they tripled the rent, then quadrupled the rent, until we all went, and they turned it into a posh gated premises. I looked around, and I knew my friend Andy had the Royal Function Rooms. I popped in to see him for a cup of tea, and he had a bit of space, so I set up there for the next 18 or so years. Lived in a flat there, it was perfect. Come downstairs to work, cafe over the road and everything. Spoiled for 18 years. That came to an end when Andy, who was the leaseholder, had to go because they wanted to sell the property and all that meant we had to go. Within a few months, with the help of Pat the Hat, who runs the Three Sheets to the Wind, who I've recorded over the years in various different things, came in and said, “Look, we'd like to help you find a place, and help put something together.” We found here after a few months, and I put together the building work.