By Daniel Sheehan, Arts and Features Editor
June 2, 2021
Daniel Sheehan, Arts and Features Editor
Roslindale-based producer Femi Akindele, left, manned the console in one of TRC’s new recording studios as Benjamin Adeniyi aka “Gingaman” of Lynn recorded vocals in the booth. At right, the lobby of The Record Company. Daniel Sheehan photo
Before Covid shut down most of Boston’s music and entertainment economy, local artists already faced challenges in the form of limited accessible rehearsal, recording, and performance space in the city, despite it being home to a thriving music scene and an abundance of talent. Now, as the Boston scene prepares to reopen and regain lost ground, a Dorchester non-profit organization is looking to address those chronic shortages.
Musician and composer Claudio Ragazzi plays his guitar in the new Studio B at The Record Co. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
On a recent Friday morning, the gleaming new foyer of The Record Co. at 960 Massachusetts Ave. in Boston was, as usual, empty. In place of a receptionist, a computer monitor and a bottle of hand sanitizer greeted visitors at the door. A well-stocked kitchenette at the back of the room was quiet.
“The whole place was designed with the idea of people spontaneously running into one another at the coffee pot,” said Matt McArthur, founder and executive director of The Record Co. But the pandemic had forced some changes. McArthur explained how a fancy HVAC system kept the air in different rooms from mixing. Pointing at the ceiling, he described the germ-killing UV lights that blasted fresh air on its way in from outside. “I m basically a mechanical engineer at this point,” he joked.