Brad Pitt and Emmy Award-winning French producer Damien Quintard have worked together to revamp and redesign the Château Miraval recording studio, which has sat unused for nearly two decades.
Renamed Miraval Studios, the venue will reopen in the heart of Provence rosé wine country in summer 2022.
It marks a rebirth for the illustrious venue, previously known as Studio Miraval, which was built in 1977 by the estate’s then-owner, French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier.
Pink Floyd used the studio for sessions for ‘The Wall’, released in 1979, and other other artists to have recorded there include AC/DC, Sting, The Cure, Sade and The Cranberries, Miraval said.
Photo credit: Hélène Hadjiyianni.
Quintard said he became involved in the project to rejuvenate the studio after Pitt asked to meet him.
‘When we met in Paris, we immediately clicked,’ Quintard said. ‘It was an intense moment where we just talked and talked about sound.’
The pair said they have completely redesigned the studio, while keeping some of the original equipment and features.
Alongside hybrid analogue/digital capacity and a Dolby Atmos system, there is also technology to handle pre-mixing for film and television.
Studio One has 25-ft ceilings and a 320-square-metre live room, yet there are also separate recording booths and a space housing vintage synthesisers ‘and other rare gear’, said Miraval.
Quintard said the new design has ‘redefined a remarkable natural reverb’ at the venue. ‘It really is a space where you can produce anything from pop and rock, to hip-hop and classical records.’
There is also a swimming pool nearby, a ‘breathtaking vista’ and a tower connected to the studio that can house visiting bands and artists, ‘be it for a day or a month’, Miraval said.
It said it is beginning to take studio bookings for summer 2022.
It added that Quintard and Pitt signed a joint-venture partnership deal for Miraval Studios in 2021.
Miraval has also seen an ownership change this year. In October, Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of the Stoli Group, announced it had acquired a 50% stake in Château Miraval and the Miraval brand, from Angelina Jolie.
‘We are thrilled to have a position alongside Brad Pitt as curators of their extraordinary vintages,’ said Damian McKinney, global CEO of Stoli Group.
Miraval rosé has often achieved critical praise and is produced in partnership with the Perrin winemaking family, of Château de Beaucastel fame.