Baltic Studios

In an age of pristine plug-ins and bedroom production, Baltic Studios feels almost rebellious. Natural light floods through carefully preserved windows. Baltic isn’t just a recording facility, it’s a long-term experiment in how space, risk and sonic character shape music.

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Studio 1: The Origin

Baltic is an independent recording studio complex based in East London and when I originally visited the studio it was shortly after it was created back in 2012, by brothers Orlando and Caspar Leopard. I recently returned for a long-overdue catch up, as they’ve just completed their third studio development in the same building!

Studio 1 was where it all began, a stripped-back production setup deep in the basement with minimal gear. Over the years, Baltic has built a strong reputation, with artists taking advantage of continually improving equipment alongside friendly, accommodating engineers and producers.

There is an ever-present SSL 4000 at its heart, flanked by great tracking rooms in a familiar studio layout. While it’s not about nostalgia, there’s undeniably a classic studio feel, with plenty of familiar high quality outboard equipment and instruments throughout.

This is a recurring Baltic philosophy: fewer random choices, more intentional character.

Studio 2: Designed for Light

With orchestral sessions in mind, Baltic wanted to experiment with clean, musical preamps and streamlined tracking workflows alongside fast, creative routing in Studio 2. But instead of building a clinical, controlled bunker, they focused on shared space and flexibility.

Maintaining natural light became one of the most difficult acoustic challenges of the build. Positioned on a main road, the rooms had to balance isolation with openness. The easy solution would have been to sacrifice the windows. Instead, Baltic engineered around them. It’s a small architectural decision with a big psychological impact.

Whether it’s the stylish art deco–inspired modular furniture designed around a gorgeous EMT A100 20-channel console, or the growing realisation in post-pandemic studio culture that artists don’t just need isolation, they need atmosphere. Baltic has it covered.

All racks and desks can be repositioned, allowing the layout to adapt to an artist’s or producer’s requirements.

Space. Comfort. Identity.

The room itself becomes part of the recording process, and the flexible layout can shift to support whatever you’re trying to achieve.

Studio 3: A Room with a Role

Studio 3 was developed in partnership with electronic composer Digby Smith and serves multiple purposes : mixing, mastering, Dolby Atmos, production and writing, or final-stage finishing for projects from Studios 1 and 2.

It’s intentionally versatile and strategically positioned. With an API The Box providing tactile routing alongside modular racks of hardware, the workflow feels familiar and fluid. Not every project needs a large live room. Not every artist requires the same budget level. By offering multiple rooms at different scales and price points, Baltic has created a collection of studios that adapt to artists rather than forcing artists to adapt to the space.

Three Studios: Three Personalities

Rather than duplicating one “ideal” room three times, Baltic has allowed each space to evolve organically over the years.

Unlike the sterile project-room complexes that seem to be trending, Baltic emphasises a cohesive working network, shared corridors, cross-studio interaction, engineers meeting engineers. Alongside a not-for-profit artist development programme called Baltic ATM, you can clearly feel how the studio sits comfortably within the local creative community.

The idea is simple: great recordings don’t just come from gear. They come from ecosystems. You can feel that in the way the studios have wonderfully evolved slowly and intentionally, through years of iteration rather than one grand architectural statement.

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Building Over Time

What I took away from Baltic:

Don’t build the “perfect” studio on day one. Build the first version. Use it. Learn from it. Change it as you evolve. Everything was refined over time.

Studio 1 grew from minimal gear.
Studio 2 evolved through orchestral sessions.
Studio 3 was shaped by real-world mixing and writing needs.

The studio’s eye-catching interior architecture and spatial design were conceived by EJR Barnes, who developed the bespoke alcoves and overall visual language of the space.

Many thanks to Orlando and Digby Smith for the tour, and the great conversation!

For more information:
https://www.baltic.com