Behind the Scenes of Dublin's Famous Windmill Lane Recording Studio

During CIEE's Global Entrepreneurship high school summer program in Dublin, we took a deep dive into the heartbeat of Irish music history at Windmill Lane Recording Studios. This legendary space has worked with world-famous artists to create groundbreaking albums with amazing sound and quality.

Windmill Lane began in 1978, founded by Brian Masterson and his bandmate and business partner, James Morris. Morris, who originally worked in film editing, saw potential in expanding into music production in Dublin where the music scene was flourishing. Their grit and attention to detail helped them quickly become pioneers in the Irish music scene. The studio's big break came in 1980, when a young band named U2 recorded their debut album Boy here. From there, Windmill Lane became the go-to spot for artists worldwide.

Our guide, Louie, a sound engineer at the studio, showed us Studio 3, one of the largest studios in Europe. The studio is equipped with top-tier gear, like Genelec speakers worth €25,000, and is always running to avoid technical issues. From classic analog tapes to today’s digital tech, we got hands-on experience with it all. In studio 1, the mixing room we learned how music is mixed from analog to digital, and how a track is built layer by layer. One student even got to control the mixing console in this room where she starting with drums, percussion, bass, and eventually guitar and vocals to make a sound song. We also discovered fun audio tricks like how to make a song sound “bigger” by recording the same part up to 10 times and layering it. 

Dublin is full of older buildings that have renovated into something new, Windmill Lane is no exception. The studio we toured was once a train control center, later a snooker hall, and is rumored to be haunted by “Cosmo,” a former manager who died in an accident on-site. The students learned about this history with headphones on and a Binaural recording of the history of the space.  

With its famous 1890s piano played by legends like David Bowie, Norah Jones, and Kate Bush, Windmill Lane is more than a studio—it’s a living piece of music history.

Our tour of Windmill Lane taught students not only what a successful producing studio looks like but how the studio has stayed relevant over the years. From Ed Sheeran to Spice Girls this studio has helped many artists bring their music to millions of ears around the world. 

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