Abbey Road celebrates the reopening of Studio One with two spectacular events in the iconic studio

28 March 2025 - Press release

SIX MONTHS AGO, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, STUDIO ONE WAS CLOSED TO UNDERGO EXTENSIVE RESTORATION

ABBEY ROAD’S SYNERGY IN MOTION EVENT TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT, WITH JOSEPH TOONGA CREATING ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHY TO THE FILM SCORES OF DANIEL PEMBERTON, REMIXED AND RESHAPED BY ABBEY ROAD’S ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, JORDAN RAKEI

Abbey Road has officially announced the reopening of Studio One, following the studio’s closure for the first time in history, as it underwent extensive restoration and enhancement. Last night, 27th March, Abbey Road celebrated the reopening with a stunning Synergy In Motionevent, a multidisciplinary evening of boundary-pushing contemporary dance and music, which saw acclaimed Royal Ballet choreographer Joseph Toonga create original choreography to the film scores of Daniel Pemberton, remixed and reshaped by Abbey Road's Artist In Residence, Jordan Rakei.

Speaking about Studio One’s reopening and the Synergy In Motion event, Abbey Road’s Managing Director, Sally Davies says: “The reopening of Studio One sees Abbey Road embrace a renewed energy that not only honours our legacy but also looks forward to the future. Last night’s multidisciplinary Synergy In Motion celebration was the perfect way to usher in this new era, with an evening that championed innovation and creativity at every turn.”

Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative, Mark Robertson, adds: “Last night was a celebration of creativity in all its forms, which is at the heart of Abbey Road. For the first time ever, we took boundary-pushing expressive dance into Studio One, by devising a concept that sees the worlds of contemporary dance, film scores and cutting-edge music collide. What appealed about Joseph is that he creates choreography that challenges convention by blending styles from ballet to hip hop and krunk, which felt appropriate for the fusion of Daniel and Jordan’s music.”

Synergy In Motion was the second of two events, the first of which on 18th March saw Studio One honour 45 years of the most iconic music for film, with a live orchestra performing pieces from the many legendary film scores recorded in Studio One. These include Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Return of The Jedi, The Last Emperor, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Harry Potter, Skyfall, The Shape of Water, Barbie, Black Panther and Gravity.

Headline upgrades to the Studio One control room include replacing the 20-year old 72-channel AMS Neve 88RS SP2 recording console with an 84-channel AMS Neve 88RS SP3D recording console, the introduction of 7.1.4 monitoring, and extensive acoustic treatment and re-fabricing. The live room has seen the introduction of 10 rows of wool serge, replacing the 21 rows of acoustic treatment ‘washing line’, installed in 1970, as well as the integration of 3 rows of 9 LED pendants to increase visibility.

The world's largest purpose-built recording studio, Studio One is the centrepiece of Abbey Road. Spanning 4,844 square feet, it can comfortably host a 100-piece orchestra and a 100-piece choir and has been the studio of choice for world-leading artists, including Noel Gallagher, Little Simz, Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Shygirl, U2 and Celeste. Its grand acoustics are often called upon to match the bold narratives and visual landscapes in video games, including Halo, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft, as well as the Academy Award-nominated and Ivor Novello-winning Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the Academy Award-winning Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.