Studio and mastering facility owned for most of its life by EMI Group's Australian branch, located in Sydney, Australia. For the pressing plant at the same address please use Columbia / EMI Records, Homebush.
The site was purchased by Columbia Graphophone (Aust.) Ltd. for a record pressing plant and recording studio in 1925/26. The studio's installation engineer was R.V. Southey. The official opening took place on 14 October 1926 by the Governor of NSW Admiral Sir Dudley De Chair. The speech given at the opening of the premises was itself released on vinyl. Many thousands of Australian performers recorded at these studios, including Slim Dusty and Gladys Moncrieff. The recording of radio transcriptions for broadcasting also occurred here from 1936. The first Australian made "His Masters Voice" radio receivers were also manufactured at Homebush. The facility closed in 1992 when EMI Group's vinyl manufacturing ceased, and the company entered into a joint venture (under the name of Digital Audio Technologies Australia) with Warner Music Australia to open a CD and cassette factory in Silverwater, Sydney.
There were three mastering suites at the Homebush facility. For vinyl, look for dead wax stamp 'Mastered on Copper' or scribing on later releases 'Emidisc DMM'. Emidisc was a trading name used by the mastering department. Mastering engineers here included Allan Parsons and Paul Bryant. The facility mastered for EMI, Polygram, Virgin, RCA, occasionally WEA, CBS. Also budget labels Dino, Concept, J&B.
Recording
- For releases recorded in Australian EMI studios prior to 1954, or such studios identifying the location as Homebush, please use these studios.
- For releases recorded in Australian EMI studios prior to 1992, but without any identifying location, please use EMI Studios Sydney.
- For releases recorded in Australian "301" branded studios, or EMI studios located in Castlereagh St, Sydney, prior to 1999, please use EMI Studios 301.
Mastering
- For releases mastered at an EMI facility prior to 1978, please be careful about which studio to use (see below). Mastering of vinyl (and later CDs) happened at both the Homebush and Castlereagh St facilities, until the Homebush facility was closed in November 1990, and its functions were moved to Silverwater. Mastering continued to occur at Castlereagh St until the move to Alexandria in 2006. The applicable location may also depend on the identity of the mastering engineer (e.g. Allan Parsons, who is generally understood to have worked at Homebush). Use EMI Studios Sydney if the location is unknown.
- For releases mastered at Australian "301" branded studios, or EMI studios located in Castlereagh St, Sydney, prior to November 1999, please use EMI Studios 301.