Apple has opened its own live concert venue at the iconic Battersea Power Station, designed for making live recordings.
Not everyone outside London will be familiar with Battersea Power Station. Or perhaps, without realising it, they actually are: the power station famously appeared on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals, accompanied by a flying pig. Incidentally, the rope anchoring the inflatable animal to the ground broke during the photo shoot, after which the pig headed towards Heathrow and caused considerable disruption to air traffic. But we digress.
By the time that photograph was taken, Battersea was already operating at reduced capacity, and the coal-fired power station was shut down completely in 1978. It was, however, granted listed status. Decades of decay and vacancy followed. Eventually, the site was redeveloped into a complex combining offices, shops and entertainment facilities. Among other things, Apple’s UK headquarters is located in the former industrial complex. And that, in turn, explains the opening of the new Apple Music Hall there.
Concert Venue
So, apart from the power station having had a rather special connection with music since the 1970s, it has now been given another contemporary musical role. According to Apple, the venue has deliberately been kept relatively intimate, with room for 600 people. Its design is intended to preserve some of the atmosphere of days gone by.
At the same time, however, it is a state-of-the-art facility for making exclusive video and audio recordings for Apple Music. Behind the scenes is an extensive studio where spatial audio recordings can be mixed immediately. In addition, podcasters can use the facility to make recordings of their own.