Basement Recordings, Inc

In The News

By Jared McCallister

Twenty-four-year-old Christian Solorzano chases a dream when he treks by subway from his Queens home to East Flatbush, Brooklyn, each week. His classmates, Eddie Lopez and Darlene Gist, come from Manhattan.

But rewards are well worth the trip to Basement Recordings – a Brooklyn-based recording studio and school that provides low-cost training in high-tech audio recording and computer applications.

"I want to be a top producer, I want to be the best," says Solorzano. "This is a good way to start a career at a good price. You can get as much knowledge as you want. There's no limit."

Students seeking access to the recording industry and insight into the world of computer technology come from as far as Philadelphia and southern New Jersey to realize their dreams in a cramped Brooklyn basement.

Since Basement Recordings was formally established in the late 1980s, close to 10,000 people - from 8-year-olds to grandmothers – have received instruction through digital audio recording classes, computer instruction and the firm's successful Rhythm, Business and Technology Exhibition of music and computer technologies.

Basement makes state-of-the art digital recording and other technology available through agreements with top-flight music and computer industry corporations, says Trevor John, 38, who runs Basement Recordings. The learning center grew from a studio built by John and some friends. John, whose parents hail from Carricou, helped forge relationships with the Yamaha Music Corp and several other major companies including Iomega, Mackie, Steinberg and Microsoft.

"But I don't believe in begging," he added emphatically, while holding a five-inch thick, unsolicited report sent to Yamaha about the Basement students' use of Yamaha equipment, including their reactions, comments and other information.

Recently, Steinberg North America - a leading maker of software for recording and editing digital audio with computers - joined the Basement roster. The melding of technologies in today's music business promoted a collaboration with Microsoft and the start of classes in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Windows 95.

Although space is limited to the basement and an upper floor of the Brooklyn building, several classes take place simultaneously.

"Back in `87, it was one class at a time," recalls Trinidadian-born Terrence Tom, who has worked with the company since 1987. "Now, it's not like that. There are classes upstairs and downstairs, and it’s growing."

Classes, recording sessions, other activities take place six nights a week. A Sunday class schedule, a young recording engineers' class and a children's session will be added soon. Basement's reputation is also growing. Basement staff members are setting up computer labs in Brooklyn schools, pondering an offer to help set up a music facility in South Africa, holding commercial recording sessions and working on projects such as the Brooklyn-based (Caribbean American Sports Youth Movement) Steel Orchestra's first CD. Recently, several Yamaha engineers from Japan toured Basement's facilities to take a firsthand look at corporation's use of equipment and the company's achievements. "They seemed impressed with the work they saw at Basement," says John.

"They learned that there's a lot they can learn in Brooklyn," he said.

For information, call Basement Recordings at (718) 485-7120.