Adam Sky discusses new production studio alongside Jupiter Labs

Producer and DJ, Adam Sky, a prominent figure in the dance music scene in Asia, has taken the lead in Asia’s booming dance music industry with the launch of a new state of the art music production studio; Titan Studios, alongside Jupiter Labs. Built with the sole purpose of expanding the horizons and creativity of as many artists as possible, the studio features everything from vintage analogue gear, to digital recording facilities and production capabilities.

Adam Sky has amassed more Top 100 and Top 10 charted tracks than any other Producer/DJ in Asia in recent times, with his productions having spent over 900 days in the global Top 100 Beatport dance charts. Many of Sky’s tracks have been signed to the likes of Ultra Music, Universal Records and Armada. Now, Adam Sky has sat down with We Rave You, to discuss his new studio, new music and his upcoming plans for 2019!

You & Jupiter Labs now have your own studio in Singapore! Tell us a bit about that!

“Yes and we love it! We purposely designed the studio, TITAN, to be dance music production. Irrespective of whether you’re an underground artist or a electro pop EDM artist, the facility has everything needed from basic production through to full mastering and engineering. We had a need for a studio for our own Jupiter managed artists, and I used to have a production studio at home but it was not practical to keep bringing artists around at all hours. So, Titan was born. And it was originally just for our own artists, but then we felt that it was a waste not being made available for other talented producers around the region so we opened it up and commercialized it.”

How did Jupiter Labs come into the picture? What influence did they have on the project?

“JUPITER Labs is a multi-faceted media and entertainment company. There are a few business units. But for dance music, our studio and Jupiter Artistry is the most interesting areas. Originally Jupiter was conceived to look after my own DJ brand and provide the support infrastructure. Similarly to Titan Studios, we quickly realized that we had a power model and lots of good tools and processes so we launched Jupiter Artistry to allow us to invest in and manage up and coming, or untapped commercial dance music artists in Asia.”

Tell us a bit about the location! Why was Singapore chosen over all the other budding South-East Asian cities?

“The studio facilities are literally 80 meters away from our Jupiter base in Singapore. So we did look for something nearby. Jupiter itself is actually head quartered out of Hong Kong but Singapore was chosen to give us a stable base to operate from.  Singapore might be small but it is somewhat of a transit hub also for Asia. Similar to Hong Kong from a transit stand point, via Europe and the US, but Singapore we felt was better suited to the commercial dance music scene. We are looking to open offices in some other SE Asia cities over the course of the year so watch this space!”

Considering the large gap in dance music production facilities within Asia, how important was it that the studio has the appropriate facilities?

“Very. We focused a lot on choosing the right mix of gear, acoustics and setup, without just doing what everyone did. There are plenty of studios around Asia, but 99% of them are designed more from a live sound perspective as a preference. Yes there are overlaps, but where we saved on space and cost for live rooms, we were able to spend more on other aspects of the studio design which we felt were more important such as choice and options for equipment and quality brands. We also didn’t want it to be pretentious. Some studios can be daunting and the feel of the studio can make or break someone’s creative flow. Artists and producers who are just starting off can come in and get comfortable with the basics, yet at the same time the main studio will be more familiar to experienced and leading producers. But that said, we also ensured that each studio is very much turn key and plug and play. So, an artist can even come in to our main studio room, turn their laptop on, and with connecting just one thunderbolt connection, can be connected to the main desk and sound interface array. But they can also really get under the covers and work on a more detailed configuration for their session.”

The studio features a plethora of digital loops and samples, as well as plenty of analogue equipment. How important is it for producers to have access to more than just digital resources?

“There’s a fine line between a producer having too many samples and too many toys, so we erred on the side of caution not to just offer equipment and the likes, for the sake of it. Everything item has a purpose, a where it’s a more popular item or instrument type, we offer a few variant models of it. Yet on the flip side, sometimes fiddling with samples and equipment and instruments, can lead to amazing sounds. Some of my best work has come about with me just mucking around with gear and finding something by mistake, and then evolving it. Analog gear also is just amazing to use. The fact that it can sound different every time, the warmth of the sound and the tactile feel of turning dials and flipping switches instead of dragging a mouse around a screen, produces a different outcome. I always say, if you spend the whole time in the box producing, you can sometimes get more pedantic about the settings and what pack and what sound bank to use, than turning dials and listening to the sound more.”

Have you had a chance to test out the studio yourself? Have you been working on any new music?

“I had a few dry runs to shake it down and get the gremlins out of the setup but I’ve since got 3 tracks in various stages of production and all of them produced in the studio. Vocal next!”

What else are you looking forward to this year? What are you hoping to achieve?

“It’s gearing to be a busy year. For me personally, I’m aiming to get more of MY sound produced. In recent years I’ve focused more on what I think certain parts of the industry wanted so this year, I’m pivoting back to focus on my love of progressive and vocal trance. Still commercial and accessible, but moving away from electro-EDM like sounds. Jupiter Artistry also have a target for 10 artists under our management by years end and from progress and interest in us from up and coming artists in only the first few weeks of the year, I think we’re going to smash that out of the park.”