The Magic Shop Recording Studio in Soho, New York has closed down.
The studio was opened by Steve Rosenthal in 1988; among its most famous clients was David Bowie, who recorded The Next Day and Blackstar there.
Other artists who have recorded in the studio over the years include The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Warren Zevon, Kurt Vile, Ramones, Sonic Youth and more.
Rosenthal revealed that Dave Grohl tried to buy the studio after it featured in his Sonic Highways TV series, but the deal fell through.
Rosenthal wrote on The Magic Shop’s Facebook page, “After an amazing 28 year run, I will have to close The Magic Shop Recording Studio. March 16, 2016 will be our last day open.
“Everyone knows why I have to close, so there is little point in rehashing my story. My eternal thanks goes to Dave Grohl, The Foo Fighters and Lee Johnson for stepping up big time last year to try and save the studio from this fate. I would also like to thank the late, great David Bowie for recording Blackstar and the Next Day at the studio. It was an honor to have him and Tony Visconti working here for the last few years.
“One last thing,” he continued, “I get that New York City is always changing and adapting like the living city it is. Maybe what I believe in is no longer of value, but it was for us and we lived it.
“As the city becomes more of a corporate and condo island, some of us wish for a better balance between money and art, between progress and preservation, and we hope that one day we will see a reversal of the destruction of conscience and community we are witnessing.
“Or maybe not…”
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