Production, Recording, Mixing
Located in Charlottesville, VA, Tree & Booms Studio is a unique and collaborative recording studio owned and operated by musician, recordist, producer, and mix engineer Matt Wyatt. This is not a commercial recording studio in the conventional sense - it is not a room that you rent to then separately hire a recording team as you sweat over the ticking clock. Instead, it is a studio that offers high quality sound recording with the additional opportunity for input and support through the process.
About the studio Wyatt says, “I built Tree & Booms to be a collaborative recording environment that feels comfortable, relaxed, and personable. I experience recording as an inspiring endeavor, one that offers every musician a chance to hone their creative voice while furthering their musicianship. As a musician, I have had some negative experiences working in studios where I felt rushed or had to navigate uncomfortable social dynamics with the engineer, or where the environment itself did not feel inspiring. I hope for Tree & Booms to be the opposite, for it to be a place where artists leave not only with an exceptional recording, but also having had a positive and supportive experience through the whole process.” The studio values are rooted in a clean, creative space, excellent room acoustics, a live room recording approach, and a great sounding analog signal chain. The workflow is hybrid analog-digital with house instruments that are fully functional, largely vintage classics.
As a recordist, mixer, and/or producer, Wyatt has worked with many artists including Night Teacher, Lowland Hum, Marie Tatti, Nicole Mitchell & Ballake Sissoko, Dillingham, Jack Tierney, Thomas Gunn, Amber McBride, Ryan Trott, Beleza, Dear Black Gold, Jaewar & Vibe Riot, The Pollocks, Frontier Diplomacy, Ted Coffey, David Wax Museum, Golden Hour, Wells Hanley, Eli Cook, Vevlo Eel, Orion Faruque, Joel Streeter, Farewell Friend, MacMillan Publishing, UVA Department of Drama and Dance, Unsettling Grounds (App curated by Marisa Williamson), WarHen Records, FPE Records.
LOCATION
The studio is located in a wooded setting 3 miles (6 or 7 minute drive) from downtown Charlottesville, VA.
Gear: preamps including vintage Neve 3115 (1970’s from a Melbourn console), Chandler Limited, API, etc; conversion by a Burl Mothership; microphones by Coles, Neumann, Pearlman, Royer, Beyerdynamic etc; and various outboard EQ + compression by Inward Connections, Retro, API, Highland Dynamics, etc.
PEOPLE SAY…
In the process of working with Matt on my first record I began to regard my own music with more discernment, attunement, and respect; a shift I will always treasure. From the (welcomed) workshopping of songs to the final stages of the mixing process, Matt was thoughtful, talented, respectful, meticulous, passionate yet utterly professional, and extremely knowledgeable about a wide range of topics regarding the making, practice, and recording of music.
-Lilly Bechtel (Night Teacher)
My music has never sounded better and more authentic than when it is filtered through the production mind, heart, and soul of Matt Wyatt. Everything from the setup of his studio to his unorthodox recording philosophy to his accepting and loving attitude make for an expansive and adventurous creative climate. My best vocal takes ever were recorded lying on my back on the floor of his studio. He is open to trying everything to help the music come out in the most unobstructed way possible. His ideas always feel fresh and experimental but also never contrived, always perfectly in tune with what is trying to emerge.
- Wells Hanley (Pianist, Composer)
Working with Matt has always been such a pleasure. He creates an environment that is easy to create and collaborate in and his space, gear, and experience are all top notch and on par with any of the larger studios I've worked in. Thanks for always being an excellent engineer and simply a great guy to work with!
- Tucker MacDonald (Dillingham, Songwriter)