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About us

A real studio, built over two decades — now working with AI.

Shade Studios sits in the heart of Bedfordview, Johannesburg. We have spent two decades making records for the recording and advertising industries — and now we bring the same standard to AI-generated music.

Who we are

We were here before AI music. That's the point.

We started by recording artists and producing radio advertising — work where a master either sounded right on a car radio in Sandton or it didn't get aired. Twenty years later the equipment has changed completely, but the standard hasn't.

When AI music arrived, we heard the same thing everyone else heard: astonishing songs delivered in seconds, and almost none of them usable as a record. Not because the songs were bad — because nobody had mixed or mastered them. A demo exported straight out of a generator has never sat next to a commercial release on the same playlist and survived the comparison.

That's the gap we close. We don't pretend AI music doesn't need engineers. We think it needs engineers more than ever, because now anyone can write the song and almost nobody can finish it.

Grand piano in the Shade Studios live room
The live room, Bedfordview

20+

Years in the studio

ZA

Bedfordview, Johannesburg

24h

Free quote turnaround

100%

Client ownership

Who we work with
  • Independent artists and bands
  • Producers and engineers needing overflow
  • Advertising agencies and brands
  • Radio and television producers
  • Voice-over artists and directors
  • Content creators and streamers
How we work

Four things we don't compromise on.

Listen first

Every track is assessed properly before a single control moves. We are not running a preset over your song — we are deciding, track by track, what it actually needs.

Check on real systems

A master only counts if it survives a phone speaker, a car system and a club rig. We check all of them before we send anything out.

Quote it fixed

You get a fixed price before we start, and we tell you immediately if the track needs more than we first said. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices.

Hand it back properly

You get your masters, your session files and your metadata. You keep 100% ownership of your song and your publishing — always.

The studio

Based in Bedfordview, working everywhere.

We're on the East Rand side of Johannesburg, minutes from major routes and with parking on site. But most of our work is done entirely online — you upload, we master, you download. Clients across South Africa and internationally get exactly the same studio as someone who drives past the door.

  • Bedfordview, Johannesburg — East Rand, Gauteng.
  • Fully online workflow — upload, approve, download.
  • Studio visits welcome — book a session and come through.
  • Open to everyone — from a first single to a full album campaign.
Studio

A room built for finishing records

  • Broadcast-quality vocal chain
  • Selection of classic and modern microphones
  • A properly treated control room for accurate decisions
  • High-resolution playback and metering
Studio hours
Monday – Friday
09:00 – 17:00
Saturday
By arrangement
Sunday
Closed

Come and see the room, or just send us a track.

Either way, we'll tell you honestly what your music needs.