What is something that every recording studio seems to have in common?
They all have places to relax.
That’s right, every recording studio I’ve ever seen, and I’m sure the same goes for you, has a place where people can chill out and relax. Usually these take the form of comfortable sofas, but there are many other relaxation devices as well.
Why you think this is?
Recording studios are quite stressful. Artists and performers and producers and everyone else are all under extreme time pressure to finish their work quickly and to do it well. They work long hours with few breaks. This is a very stressful situation. You need to do something to relieve that stress.
That’s why you also often see things like ping-pong tables or foosball tables or other recreation methods. That is on top of the couches and the beanbag chairs and things like that where people can relax. But you know what I haven’t seen very often? Hammocks.
That’s right, we got some hammocks in our recording studio. And the results have been fantastic. A quick 20 minute nap in a hammock and people feel very refreshed quickly. But there’s something that was even more groundbreaking than adding hammocks. And that was adding a hanging chair.
Specifically, we added a double hanging pod from Cacoon. These things hang from the ceiling and are like a hammock, but they’re shaped like a teardrop. They don’t sag as much as a hammock. You don’t lie in it like you would a hammock, but you sit in your cocoon hanging chair kind of like you would a chair. There’s no support for your back, though.
So you sit in it or you lie in it, but differently to a regular hammock. Some of them are quite large so you have plenty of room to lie there too. Basically it’s a cool little relaxing space. The one we have is enclosed, which kind of shuts you out from the outside world and is perfect for the environment of a music studio. There are others, though, that are more open to the world. For example the Cacoon Lullio. It only has a small wall and the rest of the top is open so you can view the world. This would be great for relaxing outside in nature. Unless it rains, of course.
Ever since we added the Cacoon double hanging pod and the various hammocks, along with the new Cuisinart espresso machine, productivity in our recording studio has improved. Singers and other musicians are getting more done and they are leaving feeling refreshed. That wasn’t always the case before, but coffee and relaxation has changed that. Specifically, delicious espresso coffee.
This hanging pod is not like a hammock where you spend 20 minutes and then get back to work. You can sit around in it all day while you sing or play your instrument. That makes a big difference. It’s like sitting around on the couch and singing, I guess, but the novelty of it makes it feel different and special. I guess it is the novelty, in the end, that makes a big difference and has really led to a huge improvement in our recording studio and will hopefully also lead to a seminal album being recorded.