Unique Recording Studios
Unique Recording Studios was a five room recording studio operating in New York City from 1978 until 2004. Founders and co-owners Bobby Nathan and Joanne Georgio-Nathan installed the first Otari 24-track tape deck in New York. The studio was known for its extensive collection of synthesizers, which attracted Steve Winwood who jammed for many hours in the process of creating his multi-Grammy winning album Back in the High Life at Unique.
Founders
Bobby Nathan was born in New York, and learned to play guitar at age 11. In 1965 in his late teens, he played clubs on the Jersey Shore with his band the Pipers. In September 1973, Bobby met Joanne Georgio and they formed a band called Uptown, playing the Tri-State area, shifting to steady gigs in New York City. Georgio and Nathan married. In 1976 Uptown broke up and the Nathans formed another band called Strawberry, playing disco clubs, and backing disco singers such as Gloria Gaynor. In 1977 Strawberry became a trio with a drummer supporting Joanne and Bobby both on keyboards. In 1978 while playing at Disco Sally's on 55th and Seventh Ave, the Nathans asked former Gaynor guitarist John Fetter to join the band, and Strawberry was renamed Unique "The Disco Experience". It was during these touring years that the Nathans began hauling around a larger-than-usual number of synthesizers for both to play, which would become a signature attraction of Unique Recording Studios.Studio history
Unique Recording Studios started as a one-room rehearsal studio with a Tascam 8-track recorder in 1978, catering to new wave and hip hop artists. Early customers included Polyrock and Bill Laswell. The facility quickly expanded to 16 and then 24 tracks with the first Otari MTR-90 tape recorder, all in the first year of operation. During the same period, the main mixing console in the studio was changed three times, ending up with an MCI JH-600 series mixer with automation. Tommy Boy Records began asking for lengthy bookings to accommodate their artists, especially Planet Patrol. Planet Patrol's Arthur Baker also started to produce other artists, and his bookings eventually required a second room. Into this larger space Baker brought New Edition who recorded Candy Girl at Unique during 1982, with Baker and Maurice Starr co-producing. Candy Girl reached number 90 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 33 weeks.The studio complex was located in Manhattan just off of Times Square in the top three floors of the Cecil B. DeMille Building, adjacent to music-store row. The business was owned and operated by husband and wife team Joanne and Bobby Nathan. The Nathans described themselves as "the pioneers in drum machines, samplers and digital recording on personal computers.
Unique Recording Studios is credited for opening the first MIDI recording room in 1983 called "Midi City" which was later named Studio C, located upstairs from Studio A. The studio could hold 30 synthesizers, with room left over for sequencers and interfaces. Wall jacks made wiring easier and neater. The innovative concept gained Unique a nomination for the 1985 TEC Awards in the recording studio category.
The studio was well known for its large collection of synthesizers and drum machines. Unique was one of the first studios to own a Polymoog synth, as well as the Minimoog, the ARP 2600, the Oberheim OB-X and 8-voice, and a Prophet 5. When Steve Winwood showed up in 1985 to get further inspiration for his project Back in the High Life, he booked all-nighters at Unique and played every synth, jamming with any other studio clients who were willing to join. Back in the High Life was recorded largely at Unique by Tom Lord-Alge with assistance from his brother Chris; Tom remembers taking an impromptu drum break played between songs by drummer John Robinson, and moving it to the beginning of "Higher Love", which satisfied producer Russ Titelman as the album opener. Titelman recalls that Winwood had been recording the album for a year at other studios but had reached a point where he needed more inspiration. Titelman brought the project to Unique for the variety of MIDI-connected synthesizers and for the familiar mixer – an SSL 4000E identical to the one at Winwood's home studio. Titelman obtained a huge drum sound by recording Robinson's drum kit in the center of Unique's main studio, surrounded by eight extra ambient microphones. The song "Higher Love" won a Grammy Award for the best single record of 1987, and the album won a Grammy for the best engineered album, honoring Tom's mix: his first time as head engineer. Chris recalled that the Lord-Alge brothers' status at Unique was raised after the success of the album: "Even though I'd had hits , Bobby and Joanne Nathan insisted that I start out as an assistant, and they worked me really hard. But once Back in the High Life hit, it made it a lot easier for Tommy and me to do no wrong at Unique."
In early 1986 before Back in the High Life was released, Unique reported to Billboard that they had renovated their main studio with a larger control room so that more outboard processing gear and MIDI synthesizer modules could be placed next to the SSL 4000E 48-channel mixer with Total Recall automation. Recording units included two linked Otari MTR-90 Mk II decks each with 24 tracks, and one Studer A-80 half-inch 2-track for stereo mastering. Video decks were installed to feed a video projector so that audio-for-television projects could be accommodated. The studio also owned a 32-channel Neve 8068 mixer that had been in Electric Lady Studios. Unique was nominated a second time for a TEC Award in 1987.
Unique kept pace with technology developments by adding Pro Tools digital audio workstation rigs to their studios, connected to 24-channel interfaces made by Digidesign and Focusrite. A total of five DAWs was installed by 1998.
After 2001, all of the music industry in New York City was in a slowdown. The vintage Neve console was removed from Studio D in 2002 for sale to Glenwood Place, a new studio fitting out in Burbank, California. Nathan said that a vintage Neve in the tracking room was more of a trend in California. Studio D continued as a Pro Tools rig with Neve and API preamps. In 2003, Unique introduced a suite of plugins for Pro Tools, called Unique Recording Software. The plugins offered emulation of classic analog equalizers. Through the URS plugin package, Unique picked up a third nomination for a TEC Award in the Software and Signal Processing category in 2004. However, this industry honor was not enough to keep the business afloat, and Unique was shuttered in June 2004. Major clients were no longer renting time on a Pro Tools rig, they were instead buying one for the artist's home studio.
The URS plugin products continued to be developed and sold after Unique closed. In 2008, a plugin named Classic Console Strip Pro was nominated for a TEC Award.
Notable recording and mixing projects
Grammy, AMA, MTV Awards
Grammy Awards earned by artists for projects that passed through Unique.| Year | Artist | Album | Award | Category | Status |
| 1985 | Billy Ocean | Suddenly Caribbean Queen | Grammy | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1985 | Shannon | Let The Music Play | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1985 | Melba Moore | Read My Lips | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1986 | Freddie Jackson | Rock Me Tonight | Grammy | Best New Artist | Won |
| 1986 | Jimmy Cliff | Cliffhanger | Grammy | Best Reggae Album | Won |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Back in the High Life | Grammy | Album of The Year | Nominated |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Back in the High Life Higher Love | Grammy | Song of The Year | Nominated |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Steve Winwood & Russ Titelman | Grammy | Non- Classicical Producer of The Year | Nominated |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Back in the High Life | Grammy | Record of The Year | Won |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Back in the High Life Higher Love | Grammy | Best Pop Performance – Male | Won |
| 1986 | Steve Winwood | Back in the High Life | Grammy | Best Engineered Non- Classical Album | Won |
| 1987 | Bob James and David Sanborn | Double Vision Since I Fell For You | Grammy | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male | Won |
| 1987 | Bob James and David Sanborn | Double Vision | Grammy | Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental | Won |
| 1987 | James Brown | Rocky IV Living in America | Grammy | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male | Won |
| 1988 | Joe Cocker | Unchain My Heart | Grammy | Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, Male | Nominated |
| 1988 | Joe Cocker | Unchain My Heart | Grammy | Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1987 | Anita Baker | Compositions | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1990 | Public Enemy | Fight the Power | Grammy | Best Rap Performance | Nominated |
| 1991 | Naughty By Nature | Naughty by Nature O.P.P. | Grammy | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated |
| 1992 | Color Me Badd | C.M.B. I Wanna Sex You Up | Grammy | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| 1992 | Color Me Badd | C.M.B. I Wanna Sex You Up | Grammy | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | Nominated |
| 1992 | Naughty By Nature | Naughty by Nature O.P.P. | AMA | Favorite New Artist – Rap / Hip-Hop | Won |
| 1993 | Inner Circle | Bad Boys | Grammy | Best Reggae Album by a Duo or Group | Won |
| 1993 | Miles Davis | Doo-Bop | Grammy | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | Won |
| 1993 | Naughty By Nature | 19 Naughty III Hip Hop Hooray | Grammy | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated |
| 1994 | Toni Braxton | Toni Braxton | Grammy | Best New Artist | Won |
| 1994 | Toni Braxton | Toni Braxton | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1994 | Toni Braxton | Toni Braxton | AMA | Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist | Won |
| 1994 | Toni Braxton | Toni Braxton | AMA | Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist | Won |
| 1994 | Toni Braxton | Toni Braxton | AMA | Favorite Soul/R&B Album | Won |
| 1995 | Anita Baker | I Apologize | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1996 | Naughty By Nature | Poverty's Paradise | Grammy | Best Rap Album | Won |
| 1996 | Naughty By Nature | Feel Me Flow | Grammy | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated |
| 1996 | SWV | It's About Time | Grammy | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| 1997 | Get Shorty | Soundtrack | Grammy | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | Nominated |
| 1999 | Big Pun | Capital Punishment | Grammy | Best Rap Album | Nominated |
| 1999 | Ruff Ryders | Ryde or Die Vol.1 Ruff Ryders' Anthem | MTV VA | Best Rap Video | Nominated |
| 2001 | Nelly | Country Grammar | Grammy | Best Rap Album | Nominated |
| 2001 | Nelly | Country Grammar | Grammy | Best Rap Solo Performance | Nominated |
| 2001 | Pink | Can't Take Me Home | AMA | Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist | Nominated |
| 2002 | Alicia Keys | Songs in A Minor Fallin' | Grammy | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2002 | Alicia Keys | Songs in A Minor Fallin' | Grammy | Best R&B Song | Won |
| 2002 | Alicia Keys | Songs in A Minor Fallin' | Grammy | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 2002 | Alicia Keys | Songs in A Minor | Grammy | Best New Artist | Won |
| 2002 | Alicia Keys | Songs in A Minor | Grammy | Best R&B Album | Won |
| 2002 | Nelly | Country Grammar Ride wit Me | Grammy | Best Rap Solo Performance | Won |