Q Division Studios

Making great sounding records in comfort and style in Boston's best recording studio

Rafi

Le Couteau – Now You’re Nowhere

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Last summer we had Le Couteau in for a two-day lockout session in Studio A. At first the goal was just to capture their sound and release it as close to live as possible. But after hearing everything, the band decided to take their time with the process and we are glad they did. Save for a few hours of guitar overdubs in Studio B, the band tracked their whole record in those first two days. Driven primarily by frontman/guitarist, Jean-Francois Blain, the band blends their various influences to make something familiar to shoegaze fans but unique to each of the players in the band. Phil Murray sang backup and played bass, and Faris Albayya played drums.

Q Engineer Terrance Reeves co-produced and recorded. The album was mixed by local friend, Dereck Blackburn (of Quiethouse Recordings).

Count Zero – Live at Q Division

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We were incredibly happy to host local icons Count Zero a couple of months ago for a very ambitious project. They wanted to perform their new record “thought so,” AND a bunch of older songs, live with and without an audience, while we multi tracked the show AND filmed with multiple cameras.

This session would require the highest possible quality of recording (including isolation), careful lighting, and multiple cameras and angles, alongside live sound reinforcement for the audience, and in ear monitoring for the band. We spent quite a bit of time getting to know the material and plotting the set up – and working through all the possible technical pitfalls we’d run into. The band booked two days – one entire day was dedicated to set up, then to recording/performing the set once with out an audience. On the second day we ran through the set at least one more time – with costume changes, and then the audience rolled in and they performed the set a final time (two sets, to be exact). We were able to capture a full multi track of the performance, mix the show live for the in house audience, and capture as many as 7-9 cameras of the performance (oh, and we also ran a secret livestream out to close friends and family of the band:).

Chuck Hargreaves engineered the recording, Izaak Biewald assisted and mixed the live sound, Rafi Sofer oversaw the entire production and took care of lights and cameras, with additional help provided by Q interns Kieh Blevins and Lydia Hazzard-Lael.
Peter Moore and Will Ragano (of the band) mixes and edited the resulting videos – check out this one for their song SOUTH.

Bob Bradshaw – Live in Boston

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A few months ago Bob Bradshaw brought his band of killer players to Studio A, alongside a very talented video crew, and proceeded to record a live album in a single day!

Mike, John, Steven, Andrew, Peat, Bob, James, Rafi, Andy, Frank, Mark.

The band, which plays regularly with Bradshaw in haunts as near as the Lizard Lounge and as far as Tipperary, Ireland, is a finely tuned band. Featuring (the Amazing) Mike Connors on drums, Andrew Stern on guitar, John Sheeran on bass, and special guests James Rohr on piano and Andy Santospago on pedal steel and guitar, this crew pulled no punches during an incredibly long day. They recorded upward of 12 songs! The video crew, helmed by Mark Steele captured multiple cameras with fantastic lighting, and the resulting album will be released soon – the videos have been trickling out in anticipation of this release. Rafi Sofer recorded the band, and Dave Westner mixed it (not at Q:).

Check out this video of the song Albuquerque.

Get on Our Mailing List!

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Did you know that Q Division has a mailing list? Because social media posts are so unpredictable, the mailing list is a great way to keep in touch with us and hear about events and studio news! Please sign up so that you don’t miss any news! And, don’t fret – we don’t send out a ton of emails. You can sign up for our mailing list here, AND through the CONTACT form on the website (the contact form assumes you might want to book time, the other link just lets you sign up for our list. Confused yet? I am :).

In the meantime, enjoy Jon Strymish‘s photo of Jonathan Richman that’s hanging in Studio B’s lounge (2025)!

Studio B’s Gallery

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While thinking about the new studio we discussed having an area that could serve as a gallery. It turned out that Studio B’s lounge wall is almost perfect for that (it does get some blinding winter morning sun). The inaugural show is now hanging and features 54 black and white photos taken and printed by photographer Jon Strymish.  Photos taken in rooms all over New England of artists who’ve worked at Q and those we hope will stop in some time soon, including Dennis Brennan, Melissa Ferrick, Peter Wolf, Richard Thompson, Hazel Royer, Anne Heaton, Billy Conway, Laurie Sargent, Jonathan Richman, Dave Robinson and many more.

Jon writes:  “Music is the only universal, effective tool for keeping troubles at bay, and I’ve always felt a need for the largest dose possible! The streams of music that run through the bars and basements of Camberville and Boston have been very welcoming to awkward nerds like me, and I’ve tried my hardest to preserve some of the beauty I’ve been lucky enough to witness, and am very grateful for anyone who has allowed me to get away with it!”

Jon’s photos will hang for the next few months, and we’ll have an opening at some point in the near future. If you’re not planing on recording at Q and would like to see the show, please drop us a line and we’ll be happy to find a time for you to visit.