Electric Feel opens Miami studio with first SSL Oracle

Electric Feel Entertainment is opening a new facility in Miami's Wynwood Arts District. The site will include the first Solid State Logic Oracle console installed in the United States.

The multi-storey complex spans more than 12,000 square feet. It includes two music production studios designed by WSDG, alongside creative, administrative and hospitality spaces. Studio A will house the Oracle console, while Studio B will feature an SSL AWS 948 console.

The Miami project expands Electric Feel's studio network beyond its existing sites in Hollywood and on Music Row in Nashville. Those locations also use SSL AWS 948 analogue consoles, giving the company a consistent equipment base across key music production markets.

Electric Feel's business spans talent development, management, publishing, recording and label operations. Its catalogue includes 19 diamond records, 726 platinum records, 450 billion streams and more than 40 entries in Spotify's Billions Club, with work linked to artists including Post Malone, Quavo, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Doja Cat.

Studio build-out

The new building is designed for several functions beyond recording. The lower floor centres on the two production studios, while the upper level includes offices, creative areas, a listening room and a dining room. The property also includes a restaurant, bar and rooftop event space with a retractable awning.

That mix reflects a broader trend in premium studio development, where operators combine recording infrastructure with hospitality and workspace to keep artists, writers, producers and managers in one place for longer sessions and collaborative projects.

Danielle Engen, Director, Facilities & Studios, Electric Feel Entertainment, outlined how the studio element fits into the wider site. "The second floor is a creative space, offices, a listening room, a dining room and other amenities. Then we have a full restaurant, bar and event space with a beautiful retractable awning on the rooftop. The restaurant will serve food and drinks to the studio clients and to our offices and dining rooms. Because we have integrated incredible hospitality throughout the building, we wanted our studios to match those same high standards. Nick has curated a fantastic list of audio gear that I know our clients are going to love - and the Oracle, the first to be installed in the country, is a highlight. It's new, it's exciting, and it really elevates everything that we're able to offer our clients."

Console choice

The Oracle is a large-format in-line mixing console with a smaller footprint. SSL says its ActiveAnalogueue system allows instant recall of processing, routing, gain and pan settings. In practical terms, that means engineers can move between sessions more quickly and return the desk to an earlier configuration without rebuilding settings manually.

For commercial studios, recall speed matters because room schedules often depend on fitting multiple clients and projects into the same day. Analogueue consoles have long been valued for sound and workflow, but they usually take more time to reset between sessions than fully in-the-box production.

Nick Mac, Chief of Engineering and Studio Technical Director, Electric Feel Entertainment, said that trade-off was central to the purchase decision. "Solid State Logic is a cornerstone of my engineering career, and so much of my life has happened at the buffer of an SSL. I clearly believe in SSL's technological capabilities, but I am also emotionally connected to certain consoles I've worked on and integrated."

He also explained how the desk will be used in Miami. "I know if I buy a new SSL product it's based on nearly 50 years of striving for excellence and honoring their legacy, yet also looking into and planning for the future - which is where the Oracle comes in. Many factors make the Oracle the best choice for Electric Feel Studio A in Miami. The ability to mix multiple sessions a day with zero downtime between recalls on the desk is insane. SSL's DAW control is the best out there, and Oracle offers it per-fader-bay, allowing me to have analogue control on one fader bank, and DAW control on another - the hybrid workflow is unparalleled. The fader resolution while writing automation in Pro Tools is incredible, easy and feels good physically. Plus, the routing capabilities allow me to say 'Yes' to my clients rather than needing to find a solution outside the desk. Oracle's Mid/Side encode and decode, harmonic Drive control on all the channels, and band-solo feature on the EQ, are features you associate with software, not a fully-fledged analogue studio console - It's astonishing what Oracle is capable of."

Workflow focus

Mac also pointed to recall as a factor in both mix and tracking sessions, especially in a facility designed for regular client turnover. "To be able to do multiple real analogue or hybrid mixes in a day with only a few button pushes in between is like something out of a dream. And while I may not need to recall a tracking session, after a daylong session and breakdown it's a massive relief to know that we can return to our default settings to start the next project with just a touch of a button. Things like this sound so simple, but it's not been possible up until now."

His comments also underline why analogue infrastructure remains relevant even as software-based production dominates much of the recording market. For some producers and engineers, the appeal lies in a blend of tactile control, monitoring headroom, routing flexibility and the ability to move between analogue and digital workflows in the same room.

On that point, Mac said, "I appreciate SSL's SuperAnalogueue technology for many reasons. The headroom and frequency response of SSL's SuperAnalogueue consoles have been something I've relied on in some of my most important moments. A lot of artists I work with demand mix buss and monitoring architecture that won't choke when being hit with high levels of signal for long periods of time. They want to push things to the limit, in every sense. Having a console that I know from experience will sonically hold up and reproduce what we're doing accurately is nonnegotiable. That allows me to stand behind my work and allows my artists to be proud of their work."

The Oracle console for the Miami site was acquired through Sweetwater Sound, while the AWS 948 installed in Studio B was purchased from PK Pandey at AVN | SYS. Mac added: "It's a no-brainer to put an SSL console into an Electric Feel studio, because I know it's dependable and the routing flexibility is unmatched - and you don't even need to mention the sound quality, because it's incredible. SSL is a trademark for people who are serious about what they do. As the Chief Engineer and Studio Technical Director of Electric Feel, the choice for an everyday working console that covers the gamut is clear: it has to be an SSL."