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    Relay Recording Studio Brings Columbus Music to Life

    As Columbus’ habituates, we proudly facilitate the artistic integrity that lingers within our city. In just a few years, the evolution of our ‘music city’ has been moving faster than one of those swing rides at Cedar Point. We’re contributing members to the present and we’re catalysts for the future. We wait in the long lines because we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

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    The local music scene in Columbus is thriving. For most Columbus folk, this is less than a jaw-dropping statement. With local bands playing nearly every weekday and weekend, bars are stocked with fellow Columbus’ musicians, cohorts and friends supporting the culture. The music scene in Columbus is damn good and inescapable. Although, there is a piece of this musical puzzle that you may be missing. This missing piece is a studio that sits on Spring Street and N. 6th in Downtown Columbus.

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    Relay Recording is an independently owned  recording studio that aids in providing the ultimate professional experience for the musician. Owner, Jon Fintel, has been practicing audio-engineering for more than fifteen-years, and took me hand-in-hand through his quest towards opening up Relay Recording.

    Relay Recording has existed for nearly a decade. Fintel settled his business in various location since 2000 and continued to record, produce and master for musicians at his studio’s. The business continued to experience many adjustments and developments as the years progressed, Fintel mastering his art and expertise in recording, mastering and production. Moving from studio’s to renovated coffee shops, Fintel had the opportunity to re-renovate a studio, his current studio now. In February 2011, Fintel gathered his equipment from storage unit’s, friend’s places and his own home, and happily settled into the new studio.

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    Located on N. 6th Street and E Spring Street, the quaint studio has a slick, black exterior with two large glass doors, modestly disguising the studio. Equipped with a kitchen, furnished lounging area, control room, live room and isolation booths, the studio’s swallows visitors into a recording paradise.  The interior’s exposed brick is both aesthetically pleasing and humble, walls littered with one-of-a-kind concert posters, artwork and memorabilia, gracing the studio with creative inspiration. Fintel’s renovations successfully morphed the building into an exclusive gem, tucked away in Downtown Columbus.

    Local bands have been shuffling in and out of Fintel’s studios since his involvement with the business. Partnering with CD102FM’s Brian Phillips from 2005-2010, Fintel and Phillips recorded Live Relay Recording Sessions with touring acts, passing through the capital city; including interviews and professionally recorded live sets. Fintel pursued his interest with the Live Relay Sessions, recording Eye, She Bears and The Girls! in the new studio, available for viewing on the Relay Recording website. The live sessions provide an artistic interpretation of an intimate, studio performance.

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    After continuously working with many talented Columbus musicians, Fintel began recording and producing local Columbus compilations in 2003, featuring Strangers in Daylight, Flotation Walls, Dead Sea, and many other Columbus musicians. Fintel’s most recent compilation began production in February 2014 and featured ten of Columbus’ up-and-coming local artists: Bummers, She Bears, Swimsuit Edition, Way Yes, Eye, Stations, The Girls!, Post Coma Network, Cliffs and Winter Makes Sailors. After a successful Record Release Showcase at the Grass Skirt on September 6th, Columbus’ music enthusiasts were able to experience Fintel and the contributing bands live interpretation of the record. The well-attended event featured an outdoor stage, t-shirts made by Alison Rose and the compilation on vinyl, artwork crafted by John Hasting.

    As an admirer of the Columbus music scene, it’s easy to mindlessly bypass the behind-the-scenes process in producing a record. As we continue to support our favorite local bands, we subconsciously forget the helping hand that aids these beloved bands. Fintel stands in as the mentor, the stimulant and the wise “Yoda” for these thirsty musicians. Playing in a band himself, Stations, Fintel has been around the block, a few times, and continues to provide an exceptional experience for ambitious musicians. Bearded, dimpled and wildly friendly, Jon Fintel is a man to befriend, collaborate with and to inquire about in the city, providing opportunity and initiative for the working musician.

    For more information, visit www.relayrecording.com.

    All photos by Rainer Ziehm and Red Britain.

    30-promowestColumbus Underground is celebrating the local music scene from September 15 through 21, brought to you by our friends at PromoWest! PromoWest Productions is the largest full-service, independently owned and operated entertainment company in the Midwest. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, PromoWest takes pride in bringing today’s biggest names in music, featured in an intimate setting, while at the same time continually searching for tomorrow’s hottest new act. See more at promowestlive.com!

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    Cassandra Zahran
    Cassandra Zahranhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Cassandra Zahran has music playing in her head all day, every day. She thoroughly enjoys dancing, climbing, her persian cat and the city of Columbus. She feels that music in every medium is incredible, and she loves to experience as much of it as she possibly can.
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