Nine days with Marlow Fen
How Low Water was made: the band in one room, the vocals last (sample).
A recording studio that also puts the records out
Lathe House (sample) is four rooms in an old Springfield print works: a live room for the whole band, a vocal booth, a control room and a cutting room where we cut the lacquers for vinyl. Book a day, an EP or an album. If we love it, we may release it.
LH 024
Side A, 33⅓
Low Water
Marlow Fen
New
Out now: Marlow Fen, Low Water (LH 024). 12-inch LP, 33⅓ rpm. Ten songs, nine days in the live room (sample).
The catalogue
Our last six records in catalogue order, each drawn at its real size: 7-inch singles, a 10-inch EP and 12-inch albums. The white one is a test pressing.
LH 020
A, 45
Paper Kites
Juno Pell
LH 020
Juno Pell, Paper Kites
7-inch single, 45 rpm, 2024
Two songs, played live in one afternoon
LH 021
Side A, 33⅓
Long Exposure
The Quiet Arcade
LH 021
The Quiet Arcade, Long Exposure
12-inch LP, 33⅓ rpm, 2025
Nine songs, tracked to tape in the live room
LH 022
Side A, 45
Field Notes
Ostler
LH 022
Ostler, Field Notes
10-inch EP, 45 rpm, 2025
Four pieces for piano and strings
LH 023
Side A, 33⅓
Hinterland
Hester Vale
LH 023
Hester Vale, Hinterland
12-inch LP, 33⅓ rpm, 2026
Ten songs, mixed here over two weeks
LH 024
Side A, 33⅓
Low Water
Marlow Fen
New
LH 024
Marlow Fen, Low Water
12-inch LP, 33⅓ rpm, 2026
Ten songs, nine days in the live room
LH 025
Test pressing
Night Ferry
Juno Pell
LH 025
Juno Pell, Night Ferry
Out in January 2027 (sample)
Test pressing approved, out in January
Formats, years and pressings (sample).
Four rooms in an old print works
The live room was the press hall: a high ceiling, a wooden floor and walls we lined ourselves. Everything else opens off it, so the band can see each other and the engineer.
Every session comes with an engineer. Bring your instruments; the drum kit, the upright piano, the amps and the microphones are here.
9 x 7 m, 4.8 m ceiling
The whole band playing at once: drums, upright piano, amps behind screens, room for six.
2.5 x 2 m
Vocals and quiet instruments, with a window onto the control room and the live room.
6 x 5 m
A 24-channel analogue console, a 16-track two-inch tape machine and a computer system side by side.
4 x 3 m
Our lathe: lacquers for the pressing plant and one-off records cut while you wait.
Sessions and rates
A session is drawn as the record it makes: a day makes a 7-inch, three days a 10-inch, ten days a 12-inch. White labels, because nothing is out yet.
Session record
1 day
A single
Ten hours, two songs
A single
1 day, 7-inch record
From
$520
- Ten hours in the live room and control room
- Engineer for the whole day
- Two songs recorded and rough-mixed
Session record
3 days
An EP
Up to five songs
An EP
3 days, 10-inch record
From
$1,450
- Three ten-hour days
- Tracking, overdubs and mixing
- Mixes sent the week after
Session record
10 days
An album
Ten songs, mastered
An album
10 days, 12-inch record
From
$4,600
- Ten days, tracking to final mix
- Mastering for vinyl and streaming
- Lacquers cut here at half price
Mixing only, per song
$160
Mastering, per song
$60
Lacquer cut, per side
$180
Two-inch tape reel
At cost
Example prices. All sessions include the engineer and the house instruments; tape is charged at cost.
From first take to test pressing
The same six steps for every record we make, whether it comes out on our label or on yours.
1
Tracking
The band plays together in the live room. We keep the takes that have life in them, not the tidiest ones.
2
Overdubs
Vocals, solos and extra parts in the booth, one at a time, with the band’s take in your headphones.
3
Mixing
In the control room. You sit in for the last pass of every song and take the mixes home overnight.
4
Mastering
Level, running order and the gaps between songs; one master for vinyl, one for streaming.
5
Lacquer cut
We cut each side on our lathe. The lacquers go to the pressing plant by courier the same day.
6
Test pressing
A white-label copy comes back from the plant. Nothing is pressed until you have played it and said yes.
Artists
Six artists on the label, from towns near the studio (sample). Most of them first came in to book a day in the live room.
Marlow Fen
Four-piece, slow-burning folk rock
LH 018 LH 024
Springfield
Hester Vale
Songs for piano and voice
LH 016 LH 023
Eastport
The Quiet Arcade
Five-piece indie pop
LH 015 LH 021
Northgate
Ostler
Composer, piano and small strings
LH 022
Millbrook
Juno Pell
Singer and guitarist, short songs
LH 020 LH 025
Springfield
Kestrel Lane
Soul trio, organ, drums and voice
LH 017 LH 019
Kingsbridge
Pressed in small runs, sold by people who listen
Every Lathe House record is pressed in runs of 300 to 1,000 (sample) and sold three ways.
From us by post
Every format, signed if you ask
Sent within 3 days
Independent record shops
The list is on the releases page
40 shops (sample)
Download and streaming
Downloads include the liner notes
On release day
Send us a demo
We put out four to six records a year (sample), so we listen to everything and say yes rarely. Three songs is enough; a phone recording is fine if the song is there.
What we listen for
- Songs that still work with one instrument and a voice
- A band or artist who plays live, or wants to
- Something we have not already put out this year
Studio notes
Why we still record to tape
Sixteen tracks on a two-inch reel, and what that limit does to a session (sample).
The Night Ferry test pressing is back
A white label in the post, a first play in the cutting room, and a yes (sample).
Book a day in the live room
Tell us what you want to make and roughly when. We reply within two working days with free dates and a quote (sample).