The Berklee College of Music has been known for producing some of the top talent in the music world. Now, it can add “studio manager” to its long list of plaudits.
According to the New York Times, Berklee has purchased the Manhattan building that holds Avatar Studios, launched in the late ’70s as the Power Station, one of the most important recording studios in rock history. It’s also one of the few major recording studios in Manhattan left standing, as a number have closed their doors in recent months. (See: the Hit Factory and Magic Shop.)
The building will undergo a major renovation, its equipment will be upgraded, and it will rebrand as BerkleeNYC—with the quartet of studios still intact. (Per Avatar’s website, its largest studio, Studio A, can hold a 60-piece orchestra and is known for its “fantastic drum sound.”)
Opening in 1977, the Power Station has hosted the likes of Bob Dylan (Infidels), David Bowie (Let’s Dance), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A., The River), and Billy Joel (The Bridge). Madonna cut her 1984 smash hit, “Like a Virgin,” within its walls.
More recently, artists such as Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), Norah Jones, and the cast of Hamilton have recorded there.
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