André Perry is a giant in the Quebec recording industry. Starting in the late 1960s, he was involved in an enormous number of recordings of the “Relève”, beginning with Robert Charlebois. After he recorded John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” in June of 1969, he was determined to put his Ville Brossard studio on the map as a place to record major international artists. In order to do this, he was relentless in his pursuit of new recording technology – always ahead of his time. His was the first studio in Montreal to purchase an 8-track and, later, a 16-track tape recorder. His new studio, at 1135 Amherst Square, was also state-of-the-art and well ahead of its time with a newly designed console built by Olive Electronics and two 16-track tape recorders synchronized to offer 32 track recording. Unfortunately, Perry’s desire for innovation was also his downfall. The Olive Electronics console, although a brilliant design, was a disaster in practice, because the technology was not ready. For similar reasons, the synchronization of the two multi-track machines was no more successful. After a little over a year in operation in his new space, Perry was forced to sell the business.
However, his passion for recording and international stature led him to open in 1974 “Le Studio” in Morin Heights. With its live-in country environment, this studio soon attracted artists from all over the globe. This formula worked well for a number of years until an expansion into the video market in Canada and the US led to new financial ruin. Perry subsequently sold the studio in 1988. By 2008 the studio had ceased operations and as of 2015 the property was for sale. On August 11, 2017, the building was partially destroyed by a suspicious fire.
One cannot underestimate Perry’s contribution as the teacher and mentor of other well-known recordist/engineer/producers including Michel Lachance, Ian Terry, Claude Demers, Nick Blagona and Nelson Vipond.
Additional articles (external)
- An interview with André Perry, legendary record producer and founder of the fabled “Le Studio” , part 1
- An interview with André Perry, legendary record producer and founder of the fabled “Le Studio” , part 2
As part of the newscast hosted by Patrice Roy and broadcast by Radio-Canada on January 14, 2022, here is an exceptional meeting with André Perry, a great producer from Quebec with whom the greatest on the planet have recorded. (In French)
