Performing the place: Delineating sonic signatures from recording studio spaces

This article explores the evolving landscape of recording engineering in response to changing industrial models. As recording engineers encounter challenges in unconventional spaces and diverse formats, particularly those faced by travelling engineers, adapting swiftly to new recording environments becomes crucial. Our investigation delves into the intricate relationship between recording engineers and the facilities they navigate, with a specific focus on the creative engineering process. Employing actor-network theory, we categorize our exploration into place, facility networks, and time to study the reflexive interactions of engineers with recording environments. Our research involves four participants – three experienced engineers doubling as educators and one early-career student engineer. Each scenario sets two engineers against each other in distinct environments, with six recording sessions (two per studio) over a three-day period, imposing a four-hour time limit to gauge their engineering process. Employing both in-session and post-session interviews, we apply our three categories to better understand how recording engineers creatively adapt to diverse scenarios, shedding light on their dynamic relationship with evolving recording landscapes.