The star-studded story of the first residential recording studio is coming to home cinema May 14. Abramorama has secured U.S. distribution rights to “Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm” and plans to release the doc next month, a press release announced.
Directed by Hannah Berryman (“Miss World 1970: Beauty Queens and Bedlam”), the film features interviews with Rockfield’s founders, brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward, as well as musicians such as Chris Martin, Robert Plant, and Liam Gallagher, all of whom have recorded at the studio. “Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm” recalls how 50 years ago, “deep in the Welsh countryside, two brothers were milking cows and preparing to take over the family farm — but dreamed of making music. They had the audacious idea to build a studio in their farmhouse attic and record their own tunes,” the film’s synopsis details.
“In a way the film was about group dynamics, the intensity and ‘make or break’ nature of residential recording, something that with technology is on the wane,” said Berryman. “That intensity almost broke some bands, but it also produced tracks that have stood the test of time, and maybe you can hear everything that went on this isolated farm in that music, the pleasure and the pain.”
Abramorama’s CEO Richard Abramowitz and Head of Music Evan Saxon added, “Rockfield has a special place in music history and Hannah has created a delightful, insightful film full of great stories, great music, and great fun. We feel lucky to be able to bring it out into the world.”
“Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm” will make its North American premiere at Hot Docs on April 29. Fifty percent of the directors in the festival program are women.
Check out a clip of the doc below.