Atlantis Studios

59°20′32″N 18°2′0″E / 59.34222°N 18.03333°E / 59.34222; 18.03333 Atlantis Studios is a recording studio at Karlbergsvägen 57 in Stockholm. Founded in 1959 as Metronome Studios, it is the location of early recordings of the members of ABBA prior to the formation of the group, as well as the majority of the group's hit singles and recordings by The Cardigans, Roxette, Opeth, The Hives, and others.

History

Metronome

The premises opened in 1941 as the 330-seat Kadetten cinema. Two years later, its name was changed to Terry.^[1] The theater closed in 1959.

The same year, the Metronome record label converted the premises into a recording studio.^[2] The studio was run by Anders Burman and Börje Ekberg sound engineers Gösta Wiholm and Rune Persson.^[3] Among the first recordings made in the new studio were with Siw Malmkvist and Owe Thörnqvist. The studio also recorded projects for other record labels, such as Povel Ramel's company Knäppupp and AB Svenska Ord.^{[citation needed]} Michael B. Tretow began working as an engineer at the studios in January 1968.^[4]

The Swedish folk-Schlager group Hootenanny Singers recorded their albums at Metronome, and when band member Björn Ulvaeus started writing songs with Benny Andersson, most of those compositions were recorded at the studio. Ulvaeus' girlfriend Agnetha Fältskog also recorded at the studio, and she and Andersson's girlfriend Anni-Frid Lyngstad contributed backing vocals to Ulvaeus and Andersson's 1970 album Lycka. The four began recording songs together under the group name ABBA, and the majority of the group's bigger hit singles were recorded at Metronome, including "Waterloo", "Mama Mia", and "Knowing Me, Knowing You".^[5] In 1978, Ulvaeus and Andersson, along with Polar Music co-founder Stig Anderson, established Polar Studios, which then became the studio where ABBA recorded. Once Polar Studios was established, Tretow left Metronome to work at Polar, where he eventually became studio manager.^[4]

Atlantis

In 1983, Metronome Studio was bought by Janne Hansson, who had been working there as an engineer for 10 years. Hansson changed the name to Atlantis Grammofon AB.^[2] Hansson ran the studio from 1983 to May 2020 when a group consisting of Polar Studios veteran Stefan Boman, former Kent guitarist Sami Sirviö, Martin Terefe, Jörgen Ringstrand, Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, and Jonas Kamprad took over the operation.^[6]^[7]

Artists

Selected artists who have recorded at Metronome/Atlantis studios:

References

^ "Atlantis Studios: The Story". Atlantis Studios. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bieger, Hannes (November 2014). "Studio File: Atlantis Studios, Stockholm". Sound On Sound. Future plc. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^ "Company Reports (Sweden): Metronome". Billboard. 8 December 1973. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b Jones, Peter (8 September 1979). "Michael Tretow: 'a real source of inspiration". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^ Palm, Carl Magnus (1994). ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions. Century 22. ISBN 9780907938101.
^ "Atlantis lever vidare med nya ägare". Svenska Dagbladet. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
^ Mischkowski, Frank; Hillmayer, Moritz (July 2024). "Stefan Boman: Remixing Roxette In Dolby Atmos - Atlantis Studios". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b Sexton, Paul (31 March 2001). "Costello, Von Otter Duet On DG". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Stockholm's Atlantis Studios Adds Immersive Mix Room". MIX. Future plc. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Opeth to enter studio in January 2011!". Opeth.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011.