When we think of areas of Greater Manchester associated with modern music, some wouldn’t feature highly on the list.
Trafford has its Morrissey connection, as does Salford with Joy Division.
Bury was lucky enough to get Elbow.
But Denton?
Lodged on Heaton Street in Denton at the front of an old hat factory is Silver Lining Studios, a state of the art recording studio, music shop, snack bar and hub for the local music community.
“I wanted to set up the business after being made redundant and finding the job market difficult,” Ashworth told MM.
“I wanted to build modern, properly soundproof rooms that were acoustically treated with backline included for ease of use.
“It was also important to have it staffed at all times with refreshments and music essentials on site and help for customers who needed it.”
Silver Lining Studios is open every day and Owen works six days a week assisted by his manager Denise, friend Taz who works part-time and an in-house recording engineer, Sam.
The studios took three months to build, with the first two opening in January 2014 before SLS unveiled its third live room and recording facility at the end of that year.
The construction required hundreds of lengths of wood, around fifty bags of insulation and hundreds of acoustic plasterboard and wood panels.
SLS serves a vital function to local musicians in providing resources to them unavailable closer to home, with there being no other music shop in Denton.
Come along and join us for an afternoon of talking drums and cymbals. All welcome in fact. .bring a friend or two. pic.twitter.com/S6a3aqgmY5
— SilverLiningStudios (@SLStudiosUK) April 1, 2016
“We live close by and were lucky enough to find it available when we were ready to start work,” Owen told MM.
“The council were happy with the location as they have strict rules about any noise so we had to convince them the rooms would keep any noise to a minimum.
“The supplies shop started with a handful of essentials and is now very well stocked with some exclusive lines like Amedia Cymbals and Daisy Rock guitars.
“We can also order in many items and are open until late in the evening Sunday to Friday which is useful for many people wanting last minute items before gigs.”
SLS’ recording and rehearsal facilities are used by acts across the musical spectrum, from solo musicians and cover artists to rock, reggae and jazz bands.
The studios also offer special rates and a ‘drum club’ to drummers who find it difficult to rehearse at home.
The studio recently won a national recycling award, The Green Can Award, in recognition of its efforts to encourage recycling.
Since beginning work with recycling group Every Can Counts, SLS has recycled over 4,000 cans and invites its community of musicians to bring in empty drinks cans from home.
“The recycling started at the time we opened when we decided to stock drinks for the customers and the number of cans and plastic bottles started to increase weekly,” Owen told MM.
“I felt it was important to be community minded and encourage everyone to check the bins and recycle whatever we could.”
The future is the most important point here, with Denton clearly benefiting from Owen’s studios and their role in developing the local music community.
In a Tameside town still most known for its industrial history and having one of the UK’s least frequent train services, Silver Lining Studios looks to be leading the way.
Image courtesy of Silver Lining Studios, with thanks.
