Behind the desk
Neil at the desk, Rich on the rooms, Dreaddy Mills on the drums. People who make records for a living, in a room built from the ground up to do it.
The engineer
Your record lands on the desk of a producer and mastering engineer with twenty years behind it, and a back catalogue of his own as one half of Ninja Tune’s Zero dB.
He learned the craft in London at Metropolis, Fluid Ounce and Music City, then in the mastering houses Alchemy and Masterpiece, cutting to vinyl and CD. Five years engineering in Japan, two as Head Music Technician at Durham University running four studios. Whatever the genre, he has mixed and mastered it.
As one half of Zero dB with Chris Vogado, Neil released on Ninja Tune, Fluid Ounce and Tru Thoughts, as well as Sony, Victor Japan, Ministry of Sound and Ubiquity. He has worked alongside Kyoto Jazz Massive, Gilles Peterson, Mr Scruff, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Bonobo, Coldcut and Quantic, and played Glastonbury, The Big Chill and the Worldwide Festival. The same ears now master your record.
the rooms
Rich Combstock runs the rehearsal side: the four rooms, the bookings, backline and PA hire, repairs. If you are a band coming in to play, he is who you speak to.
The studio
Rocking Horse was built by Richard Combstock, Neil’s brother, out of a derelict building in Durham in 2011, and he runs it to this day.
Five rooms grew into a recording studio and mastering house at the centre of the North East scene: 30 to 40 bands a week, drumming classes, demos and albums bound for the pressing plant. When the old site was demolished in 2022, the studio moved to a larger home in Coxhoe and carried on. Over 300 bands, and counting.
“I’ve been recorded by Martin Rushent, Vic Maile, Pat Collier and Dave Allen. All great. But Neil is one hundred percent up there with those guys, the guy’s a genius.”
Arthur Billingsly999 · The Lurkers, 48 years and 18 albums in