The legendary Mullet again takes top honours in the Best Local Studio category. Founded by Kevin Lewis and Charles Austin in 1997, Ultramagnetic was intended to be “a cheap and accessible place where people could do demos and quick recordings,” says Austin. The studio has quickly moved beyond this though, producing albums for some of the city’s most established artists (Joel Plaskett, Matt Mays, Buck 65). “We really just wanted to learn more about the recording process, but since then a bunch of other people have come through and added this healthy infusion of new ideas, which has helped a lot.” The studio is currently run by Austin with the help of Graeme Campbell, J. LaPointe and Jon Hutt. “It’s really not all that lucrative, but I can still work full time at it,” says Austin. “Coming from washing dishes for four years, I’m always aware that even on the shitty days, it feels pretty good to do something you love.”
Runners-up: Idea of East, Denmark Productions
