The Chicken Shack is a full-service recording destination located on a farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. Designed for an immersive and intimate recording experience in the spirit of the golden age of recording, the Shack is equipped with a Custom 24 channel Langevin/ADM Console and a 24-track 2-inch Otari MTR 90 Tape Machine.
While the space encourages live performance and recording to analog tape, it is fully set up for digital production and more modern workflows. Back in the day, the Chicken Shack began as, well, a shack for chickens. After we displaced the birds (to a nicer home), knocked it down and built a brand new structure there, the Shack became a rehearsal space and clubhouse for indie-folk band Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Since 2005, the Shack has served as a creative retreat for internationally recognized artists, producers, and songwriters including Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, Ellen Kempner (Palehound), Skullcrusher, Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog), and many more.
The studio building itself is a roughly 600-square-foot, naturally lit, free-standing recording and control space hosting a tremendous collection of vintage and contemporary recording equipment (and some pretty sick décor). Steps away are a two-story barn serving as a large seasonal live room, and a 50-foot grain silo aka echo chamber. We’ve got those aforementioned chickens plus ducks and sheep to hang with if that’s your vibe (the farm fresh eggs from our chickens have become a major hit with clients). Surrounding the Shack are hundreds of acres of woods and fields and views to hike and explore and mine for inspiration.
The Chicken Shack now includes housing options for artists right next door to the studio. The Chicken Shack is owned and operated by drummer, producer, and engineer Nick Kinsey.
