Winner of 2003 Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia (MIANS) Studio of the Year

The Sonic Temple is a full-service recording studio in the heart of Atlantic Canada’s largest and fastest growing city, Halifax, NS.

After opening its doors in February 2003, The Sonic Temple has hosted recordings by the following artists: Crush, Joel Plaskett, Rita MacNeil, Jerry Granelli, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, The Ennis Sisters, Rant, RyLee Madison, Bucket Truck, Wintersleep, NOJO, Gordie Sampson, Eric Fresia, Paul Cram, Susan Crowe, Glenn Ernst, Mark Bragg, Servo, and Chris Church.

The studio has also hosted recordings for Symphony Nova Scotia, EMI Music Canada, Clearwater Fine Foods, Guild of Canadian Film Composers, Jazz East, Hole In One Productions, Mentor Pictures, New Scotland Pictures, Collidescope Digital and CBC TV.

"We wanted to create a very cost-effective, comfortable, artistic environment that marries past and present recording technology," says Louis Thomas, co-owner.

The Sonic Temple is co-owned by Thomas, David Hillier and Lil Thomas. Hillier and Lil Thomas will also take on engineering and producing roles at the studio.

“The space brings together the warmth and character of a vast array of classic vintage equipment with the convenience and outstanding recording and editing capabilities of today’s most popular and successful digital systems,” enthuses Lil Thomas.

The unique character of the studio is housed within a circa 1820 heritage building. Intricate moldings embellish the ceiling in the control room and Iso booth on the second floor, with exposed brick, original wooden beams and modern skylights gracing the 18-foot ceiling on the third floor’s 1000-square-foot recording area. The pine flooring in the main room has been restored to its original splendor and sits atop a modern floating floor designed to offer maximum isolation between the two levels.

“It is a studio built by musicians, for musicians,” says Hillier. “Everyone who has visited the studio has said the same thing: they love the vibe and the space is extremely inviting and comfortable. An added bonus is that when you walk out the door, everything is at your fingertips: shops, restaurants, hotels and Halifax Harbour. The studio embodies a country setting amidst a very urban city.”

Louis Thomas has over 15 years experience in the music industry as a business and personal manager, producer, promoter, agent, audio engineer and drummer. He currently manages the careers of Great Big Sea, Crush, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Nathan Wiley, and Ricky, Bubbles and Julian of The Trailer Park Boys.

Louis is also president and owner of Sonic Records, a full-service record label distributed by Warner Music Canada.

Hillier is an award-winning audio engineer and producer with over twenty-five years experience in the music business. With an extensive background in studio recording, mixing and producing, as well as live remote recording, concert technical direction and live audio mixing, he is also an accomplished musician with a diverse knowledge of musical styles. Hillier has recorded and mixed for such artists as Rita MacNeil, Laura Smith, Mary Jane Lammond, Maritime Jazz Orchestra, Scott Macmillan’s McKinnon’s Brook Suite, Natalie MacMaster and The Ennis Sisters, to name a few. He has done audio engineering for the Atlantic Jazz Festival (1996 – 2003), Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival (1991 – 2002), ECMA Awards Show (1993 – 2003), Celtic Color International (1997 – 2000) and Tall Ships Festival (2000). Hillier was MIANS Sound Technician of the Year (1998 - 2003) and ECMA Sound Technician of the Year (1996 – 2003).

Lil Thomas has been actively involved in the music, film and theatre industry for over 15 years and is currently sound designer/FX editor at Power Post Productions. He has extensive knowledge in the theory of operations and practical applications of professional recording consoles, studio design and miking techniques. He is also experienced with all types of digital and analogue recording equipment, hard disk recording and editing, midi sequencing and all aspects of post-production. He has done sound design and editing for such productions as Trudeau: The Miniseries, Trailer Park Boys, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada, The Event, Sleep Murder and Lexx and was mix engineer/monitor technician on Open Mike with Mike Bullard. Thomas received his Diploma in Audio Engineering and Production Techniques from Trebas Institute of Recording Arts in Toronto.

Darren van Niekerk began working at The Sonic Temple in March 2003 as assistant engineer. He was nominated for a 2003 MIANS Technician of the Year Award soon after.