Radio station has recording studio at university

Live, from UNBC, it's the CFUR recording studio.

For the past several months, the campus radio station at UNBC has been building and experimenting with a new live recording space for bands. It is small, it is basic, it is wired for sound and visuals. A growing number of music acts have now used the place and the results can be seen on the station's YouTube channel.

The likes of Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Gary Fjellgaard and CBC Searchlight winner Lauren Mann have laid down songs in the creative closet, along with Calgary folk rockers Flowshine, Fort Nelson singer-songwriter Jasmine Netsina, Goodnightmare (aka Britt Meierhofer), ska-rock band Highball Riot, alterna-country troubadour Jeremy Pahl, and many others.

"I'm excited to get more complex with the acts we record in here," said CFUR music director Jordan Tucker. "We spent some time figuring out how to operate the 24-channel board, how to work with the space, so we are looking forward to accommodating new configurations of musicians."

Mostly the acts have been soloists, duos, small ensembles with acoustic instruments. There have been some acts jammed in pretty tightly. There isn't much room for things like drum kits or DJ turntables, or violin sections, but Tucker said she was willing to entertain ideas if it meant capturing a great moment of music.

"At the end of the summer, we're going to put together a CD of exclusive, entirely locally produced cuts from those sessions to give to people who donate a certain amount in our FundDrive," she said.

So how does an act get recorded inside the recording cave and have it published on YouTube? Just ask.

"Said artist would send us a brief bio, links to their songs, we will review it, see if it fits with what we're trying to cultivate, and then we would work it out with you if we like what you represent," Tucker said.

The studio was the idea of station manager Fraser Hayes and Tucker said his notion met with initial resistance. It wasn't understood by the largely volunteer operating group or the society that governs the station just how interactive and documentative such a studio would be. Now, it is well understood and applauded, she said.

"I believe it is the only one of its kind north of Kamloops, so it serves a real community purpose here, and makes CFUR that much more important to the local arts scene," she said.

Check out the results on YouTube and contact the station through their website for more information.