Whether you are a fan of them or not, you have to appreciate this as a musician or as a recording/mixing engineer. The estate, formerly known as the Stern House, now titled the Morning View Studio, is a landmark in Malibu, California. It is named after the street in which it is located on and also for the fourth studio album release from the band, Incubus.
Incubus rented out this estate, near the shore in Malibu to record their album, Morning View. This album was recorded in a six months span back in 2001 entirely within this mansion.
I am fascinated by this studio because it takes into consideration of it’s location and it’s ability to more or less host a band there and let them record their work, while also adding in a feel of a resort. This studio is not singularly known for just Incubus. Other huge stars have also recorded their albums here, including the Black Eyed Peas, Alien Ant Farm, and a Stark County, Ohio native (like myself), Macy Gray.
I’m intrigued that they particularly configured this house to be used specifically as a studio. From the outside and even on the inside, it doesn’t look like a recording studio. In my opinion, I think that is important for the artist(s). It takes away the anxiety of being inside a studio with no windows to see out to the world. That’s not the case for Morning View Studio, it has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean while still being acoustically sound for recordings in the live room/living room. Brandon Boyd, frontman of Incubus says it best about his time at Morning View Studio, “Every day, we’d wake up, eat breakfast, sit in the sun, and then walk into the living room, pick up our instruments, and play sort of at our leisure. We’d do it every day because we wanted to. It couldn’t have been any better.”
Many bands rent out the house for the duration of their recording adventure because then they are at the leisure of creating music and recording when they desire and don’t have to worry about a huge expense when they don’t have the vibe at the moment. I can see how many bands may shy away from this for the simple fact that they have to spend nearly every waking hour with each other while on tour and on the tour busses.
On the closing track to Incubus’ Morning View album, you can hear frogs chirping as the music fades down in the song, Aqueous Transmission. The last minute of this track with the chirping frogs were recorded right at the estate. It’s little things like that, that make a lasting impression for the artist, listener, and the studio vibe.
In closing, I’d like to share this video for you to peruse to take in the aura of Morning View Studio. Click HERE and it will open in another window.
Morning View Studios. (2002). Morning View Studios. Retrieved from http://www.morningviewstudios.com/default.html
MorningViewStudios. (2010, May 16). Morning View Studios Tour, Malibu, California; World Class Residence Recording Studio [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RqfaxGdNd1I
Pesselnick, J. (2001). Epic Sends Incubus To The Beach For Making Of ‘Morning View.’. Billboard, 113(43), 17.
Stroup, K., & Evans, T. (2001). NEWSMAKERS. Newsweek, 138(8), 45.
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