Raglan local Tom McCormick has been very busy recently, having just put the finishing touches to his new recording studio at his home in Bay View Road.
I first met Tom at Raglan Old School Arts Centre when he was doing a location recording for Marten Ten Broek’s debut album Pinecone Lightning which he also produced. Like most expats who have settled in Raglan, Tom, originally from Dingle in Ireland, moved to Raglan for the surf four years ago with his partner Jacqui and their two boys Sam and Naoise. In this time, Tom has been working quietly with several local songwriters including Ann Taylor, Lynn Wilkins and Rene Andre and is now in the process of setting up his own production company ‘Blabbering Tree Music’.
Tom is hoping to establish working relationships with musicians in the local area and hopes to discover new talent and capture great songs. The small set up at Bay View Road is ideal for singer-songwriters to get their songs recorded quickly and without a fuss to a broadcast standard. He will offer flexible options to include daily and weekend rates with an all-inclusive option if you want to enjoy a more bespoke experience.
Tom’s passion for music dates back to his school years when he used to hang out with local punk bands, fuelling his desire to learn the guitar. This led to him doing several busking trips throughout Europe including a long summer stint from Greece to Ireland. In the 90’s, Tom returned to Ireland and settled in Tipperary were he got involved in setting up the Tipp Music Collective.
After five years of playing gigs he decided to go back to college and study ‘Music Sound and Management’ in Cork. Having developed a passion for recording and live sound he was employed as House Engineer for Cork’s ‘Secret Garden Studio’. He got involved in recording all genres of music and bagged the studio’s first number 1 chart hit for Dublin band ‘Rain’.
In Raglan, Tom has worked on several location recordings including ‘Waikato Baroque’, Rex St John and Florien Dengler. He is just putting the finishing touches to the debut album of Rene Andre and Marten Ten Broek’s sophomore album.
If you would like to check out Tom’s studio you can call him on 07 825 0236 or email him at inchtom2000@yahoo.co.uk.
Lucy Cioffi, Music reporter
