Pachyderm Studios Raises Awareness
Pachyderm Studios
A most uncommon recording environment, Pachyderm Studios is located 35 miles south of Minneapolis in Cannon Falls, MN, on six acres of pristine, old growth forest with spring-fed trout streams and the tranquility of nature for creative stimulation. The studio is nestled amid nearly 50 acres of private forest, which is being threatened by land developers. On June 5-7, in partnership with High Grade Entertainment, Pachyderm Studios will launch a two-day festival with over 50 musical artists to raise awareness of this beautiful location and the encroachment of real estate development.
What has become known as the Pachyderm Preservation Project, the recording studio has joined forces with a collection of musical artists, creative people, and community members to help Pachyderm Studio purchase 28 acres of land immediately adjacent to its current property. That land will be cleared and subdivided into residential homes otherwise. Pachyderm Studios and the community that surrounds it want to preserve the land and use it, in its natural beauty, as a unique sanctuary of healing, art, and community in the Midwest. That also includes continuing its use as a premier recording facility.
Alicia Wiley
The project needs to raise $1 million to purchase the land. Along with festival proceeds and private donations, the studio is also offering a digital download of your choice of a song from Pachyderm’s latest compilation, So Large We Ran Out of Room, featuring such artists as Alicia Wiley, The New Congress, and Chris Koza. Each selection costs only a buck. Go to www.projectpachyderm.org to select your favorite tunes.
Pachyderm Studio has become the recording mecca for a number of well known artists. The studio offers both analog and digital technologies with a classic Neve 8068 recording console. The facility also has a 5,000 square foot, five-bedroom, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Guest House available for bands to use that includes an indoor pool and sauna.
Guest House Grounds
The studio has recorded Nirvana’s In Utero, Live’s Throwing Copper, P.J. Havey’s Rid of Me, Soul Asylum’s Grave Dancers’ Union, Mudvanye’s End of All Things To Come, and the Jayhawk’s Hollywood Town Hall. In addition, They Might Be Giants, Indigenous, Son Volt, and Alice Peacock have also recorded at Pacyderm Studio. These artists know the quality of the recordings here, and they also respect the natural beauty of the surroundings.
The Pachyderm Electronic Music Festival will feature a wide range of artists that most people wouldn’t necessarily associate with green issues. It is to Pachyderm Studio’s reputation and to their cause that these artists are coming to help bring the news to more than granola crunchers. There are 32 DJ’s, four MCs, including Peewee Dread, as well as six, live, hip hop artists, including Omaur Bliss. The live electronic bands and PA s include Shima Cluster, The Histronic, Thought Thieves, Officer Gentlemen, Pretty Ugly, SimplY Us, and Alicia Wiley. There will also be dance and visual art performances, including fire dancers.
The festival opens at noon Friday June 5th, with entertainment starting at 5pm. You can get advance tickets for $25 at http://www.highgradesystems.com/festival.html or at the gate the day of the event for $40. Both ticket prices include camping on site.
The complete artist line up:
DJ’s– DVS1, Centrific, Caustic, Jim K, Soulreal, Hydrophonics, Champe, Soul Control, Easyrider, Bumpyscrew, Lenka Paris, Rude Girl, Ghetto, Virgo, Fundamentalist, 3 Kings, Soundsystem, Aaron Bliss, So Supreme, Blaze One, Task Rock, Shiek, Jeff Wong, Arize, Nick Merchan, Verb X, Aaron Robinson, Misses McFeely, Sarasta, Hardkornate, Kulcha Human, Druski
MCs – Truthmaze, Brace, Hyde, Ishaich, Peewee Dread
Live Electronic Bands & PA’s — Shima Cluster, The Histronic, Thought Thieves, Officer Gentlemen, Pretty Ugly, SimplY Us, Alicia Wiley
Live Hip Hop Music — Ill Chemistry, Yoni with DJ Green Sky, Big Shiz, Omaur Bliss, Slow Spokes, Trees Amongst Garbage
