About Us
Welcome to VoxBox Recording Studio, located in sunny Blackpool, it is owned and run by James Reay and Simon Jay and supported by Basil Soper. Between us we have over 75 years in the Entertainment and Sound business. James is a well known Vocal Entertainer, Simon is a DJ, and Basil has enjoyed many years as a Theatre Company Manager, Actor, Director, and currently as a Radio and TV Presenter and Voice-over Artist. If you would like more information on any of us click on any of the names.
We started the studio over three years ago under the heading of Eclipse Media in a small run down building [The Shed] as it was lovingly referred to. During this time we built up a healthy reputation for the quality and service that people received. The pictures to the side were taken of the old studio just before we moved. As you can see it was functional but not very spacious, but nevertheless we managed to fit 10 people in all at once. Not a pretty sight. The vocal booth was located at the far end of the room, with control area directly in front, at the side of the control area were the keyboards, and directly opposite them on the opposing wall was the extravagant seating. The vocal booth interior was 4ft by 8ft and decked out in a very fetching pale blue [sound absorbing] material. Getting more than one person in here was like watching 10 rugby players trying to fit in a mini. During our time there we acquired a contract for a very annoying but memorable advert for a well known accident company featuring none-other than our very own Basil, this to our surprise was played on national radio, and still is today. As time went on a new chicken takeaway business opened up which backed onto our front door. During the summer months the cooking fumes managed to penetrate the walls and settle into the soundproofing, as you can imagine this did not smell very pleasant, we also ended up with a small infestation of rats. I think they really wanted singing lessons, but did insist on bringing the whole family with them. (sorry off on a tangent there). After this incident we decided enough was enough, it was time to move. Despite its size and flaws we and our customers had great fun in there and while we don't miss it, it will forever be a part of our roots.
We started searching for more suitable premises at the beginning of 2005, and after months of looking at different shapes, sizes and ludicrous rent charges, it was starting to look like it wasn't going to happen. Fortunately James decided to go down to the local shop, and on his way back spotted a 'To Let' sign in one of the shop windows . He called, the rent was right, the shop was a tad smaller than we would have preferred, but beggars can't be choosers. We moved in towards the end of March and opened two weeks later. This was no mean feat as the shop itself was badly decorated and in drastic need of repair. But with the help of a select few people we managed it. The pictures on the left depict the progression of the build.
We opened on April 8th 2005 and have been very busy ever since. We now have a front office area where all the cd covers are designed and printed The area to the rear is where the actual recording takes place. The vocal booth has almost doubled in size, it now measures a comfortable 8ft by 6ft while that extra two feet may not sound much, believe me it makes all the difference. We also have a kitchen area and toilet (Woohoo!!), and no cooking smells. People have often said to us that they miss the old place as it was intimate and cosy, but none of that has been lost with the move, if anything it has only been enhanced. The sense of fun has never been more on the agenda.
