Downtown Music Hub

BIO

Just what is the Down Town Music Hub? Is it a recording studio? Or is it more of a venue? Is it a training and development resource, or is it a community centre? An archive and information resource? The short answer is: all of the above.

Located in the heart of Jozi’s evolving CBD, DownTown Music Hub is an established studio and rehearsal space that creatively incorporates a set of unique features with a special heritage. Starting out in 1979 as RPM Recording Studios, DownTown Studios proudly flies the flag as one of the oldest surviving big recording studios in Johannesburg, having offered artists a truly inspirational and openly creative space for decades.

Over the years we’ve hosted some of South Africa’s greatest musicians as they crafted their classic recordings. From Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Lucky Dube (to name a few), we’ve recorded them all, nurturing genres as diverse Kwaito, Bubble Gum, Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock and Pop and providing artists from all backgrounds a safe creative haven during the political turbulence of the 1980s.

This unique recording pedigree has put the studio in the privileged position of housing one of the most comprehensive and important archives of South African music memorabilia. Under the banner of the DownTown Museum of South African Music, the Department of Arts & Culture initiated a permanent and evolving exhibition featuring ephemera from costumes to photographs to documents to tapes, offering visitors the chance to engage with the full spectrum of our country’s incredible musical output.

Following an extensive revamp in 2015, DTMH has evolved from a dedicated recording and rehearsal facility to becoming a unique catalyst in developing local talent. The studios, equipped with a diverse inventory of both modern and classic recording equipment, attract award-winning producers and engineers from all over the continent, all ready to craft the next generation of unforgettable hits.

But the buzz isn’t limited to the studios.

By opening up to the creative industry as a whole, DTMH stands as a meeting point for the city’s creative community and a platform for the job creating business networks that support a vibrant, diverse and sustainable music industry. The dynamic space allows us to host music industry related workshops, master-classes and events where industry entrants get the chance to interact with more experienced musicians and producers, encouraging collaboration, growth and learning.

It’s not just about developing a strong local component either. As caretakers of a comprehensive music industry facility and information resource, we have also created a unique opportunity for South African musicians to work with our neighbours for truly Pan-African collaborations, making South Africa a go-to destination for top international artists.

We have a diverse range of offerings, from rehearsal rooms, office space for music related businesses and a rooftop venue for album launches and film shoots; but at the heart of all, we remain one of the best recording studios in the country and one of the very few South African complexes with the space to properly record choirs, brass bands and large ensembles for everything from albums to soundtrack scores.

This matters because it makes us one of the few spaces that allow the revival of classic recording processes. Our studios give artists the opportunity to truly play together in the studio, recording in the time-honoured fashion that captures the essence of band dynamics. It’s a space where music is in the walls and where artists can draw inspiration from a rich studio history where today’s artists can record their hits in the home of their heroes.

It’s an organic setting where musicians and their music can breathe and grow
And no matter what enhancements we make, our recording spaces are the one thing we’ll never change; because we know it’s better in a BIG studio!

DTMH: Where Music Lives
www.dtmh.co.za