Address: 1616 Butler Avenue, West Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Fiounder: Geordie Hormel
Current Status: Active
The Village Recorders Los Angeles is one of the city’s most revered and enduring recording studios. Founded in 1968 by composer and producer Geordie Hormel, The Village has been at the heart of countless classic recordings spanning rock, pop, jazz, and film scoring. Known for its beautiful acoustics, vintage consoles, and warm, natural ambience, the studio has hosted legendary artists including Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, and Lady Gaga. Over five decades later, The Village Recorders continues to thrive as a hub of creativity, seamlessly blending its rich analogue heritage with cutting-edge digital technology.
Notable Recordings from The Village Recorders
The Village Recorders occupies a former 1920s Masonic Temple in West Los Angeles, a building whose architecture and dimensions proved ideal for recording. When Geordie Hormel purchased and converted it into a studio in 1968, he envisioned a space that combined luxury, technical innovation, and artistic comfort, a place where musicians could work in an inspiring, almost spiritual setting.
In the 1970s, The Village Recorders became a magnet for the era’s leading artists. Steely Dan recorded Aja and Gaucho there, while Fleetwood Mac tracked parts of Tusk, drawn by the studio’s lush sound and precision monitoring. Pink Floyd used its rooms for overdubs during The Wall sessions, and later generations, from The Eagles and Tom Petty to Lady Gaga and John Mayer, continued the legacy.
Under the stewardship of Jeff Greenberg since the 1990s, The Village Recorders has been meticulously modernised while retaining its analogue soul. Today, it remains one of the last great independent studios in Los Angeles, housing multiple control rooms, mastering suites, and post-production facilities used by both major artists and film composers.