by Myles Wakeham

I was raised as a musician. Eventually I parlayed that into the world of sound engineering and record production. Immediately on arriving in this world-class town I went in search of artists and talent. I was not disappointed. With Mexican and expat musicians, who chose this town either as their final stop or a station on their journey through life, I felt I was with my tribe in San Miguel.

So strong was this musical connection that after moving here, I decided to build a recording studio here. But I wanted to build something that was befitting a world class musical destination, that could stand tall and proud with recording studios the likes of Abbey Road, Sunset Sound, The Record Plant, Blackbird, Sound City and so on.

The Rolling Stones

"Maybe we'll skip the USA"

As a resident obtaining citizenship in the US, I am not unfamiliar with the visa process there. When a foreign musician comes to the US to play a show, he or she needs to obtain a Performance Visa. This used to be a minor formality.

Musicians from Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. could easily come to the US and play shows. They were welcomed in. But on April 1, 2024 things changed.

To start with, on that date, the visa application fee, previously $460us, went up to $1,655. And that's only the application, with no guarantee you would get it, even if generally you will. Then there might be lawyers' fees and additional fees to expedite the process, even though it might still take months. And there are no refunds; if your application is denied, the money is gone. To any emerging talent looking to break into the US music scene this is a small fortune, especially with all your band mates and your entourage paying the same fees.

Then, after all these logistics, and actually getting the visa, there is the risk of being denied entry. In March of this year, British punk band "UK Subs" were denied entry at the US border. Bassist Alvin Gibbs was detained for 25 hours upon arrival before being deported on the basis of public criticism of the US President. Musicians often use their platform for their social and political beliefs. Going to a place they feel restricts their artistic freedom is kind of a deal breaker.

UK Subs

¡Viva Mexico!

Meanwhile a little further south, Mexico is in the minority of countries in the world with a young demographic, unlike countries such as China and Japan in which the bulk of the population are older. With a decent sized population, good infrastructure and an embrace of art and culture, Mexico is an ideal destination for touring artists. Getting a visa is easy. It is affordable to have a Mexican attorney put together all the necessary applications to come here and perform. It also is an ideal launchpad to expand to a full Latin America tour for global musicians.

At a smaller scale, even the emerging artist can find an audience here. Clubs are eager to book talent and have a pretty solid built-in audience. Yes, the money won't be New York money but the costs of being here are not Manhattan level either. All things in balance, musicians will get exposure, and that's a currency most want to trade in.

Creative solace

Stress levels are lower in Mexico, and that gives people more time to follow their passions and enjoy their art. Artists appreciate that. Being able to think in peace leads to deeper thinking. It encourages the challenging of artistic prowess and allows the artist to take risks. Risks, certainly in music, create great and lasting things. If you can't afford to take any risks, then the art suffers. We live in a world of cautious creativity in art with the willingness to seize the lowest hanging fruit of AI, synthetic samples and pre-recorded sound. It may be that this is the sound of the times, but it needs a healthy dose of human risk taking and creative thinking that is well out of the box.

As a producer of other people's creative vision, it scares me to think we have a world in which artistic risk taking isn't celebrated. It helps to have a safer place to take that risk, free of the high cost of living associated with the inner suburbs and cities of the modern world. In this regard San Miguel is one of the best.

Sir George Martin, AIR Studios, Montserrat

A Destination

When I chose to build a world class recording studio here in San Miguel de Allende, I looked to the past, to others that had done the same in far flung places in the world. The most notable was Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles, who built a world class recording studio on the small Caribbean island of Montserrat in the late 1970s. He called that studio AIR Studios Montserrat. I wanted to know about the challenges of doing something like this before I embarked on my own journey, and was lucky enough to be introduced to the designers that built that very studio, and also many people who worked there throughout the 1980s.

The one thing kept coming up though, and it took me a while to understand it.

It is one thing to build a recording studio. The logistics, equipment, room tuning, etc. That all goes without saying. But music is felt as well as being heard and that feeling is hard to capture in the artificial environment of the recording studio.

The Police, AIR Studios, Montserrat
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The living environment: the town, the people, the experiences are critical. Those are the things that made all those hit records came from that AIR Studios: from the Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" album, with the iconic "Money for Nothing," to The Police recording their last two albums there, including such hits as "Every Breath You Take," to Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and The Rolling Stones. They all went there, and they all experienced it.

Montserrat was the place. The people, the cafes, the eateries, the clubs, the little shops, the history and the welcoming nature of the people.

Then Mother Nature took her toll – first with a massive hurricane that wiped out the island and the studio in 1989, and a few years later when a volcanic eruption signed the death warrant on Sir George's marvelous studio. Learning about this tale from the people that lived it informed me that it was a combination of the resources and technologies I could bring and the place and the people. In fact, it was more about the place and the people.

Thirty-five years after the demise of AIR Studios Montserrat, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we emerge in San Miguel as the next great world destination for musicians.

Troubled Clef Studio, San Miguel

From here...

It is my hope that this small Bohemian town will be a part of the world's musical pathway; that the great musicians of the world will come here and share their talent with us. We can add value to their work just by continuing to be who we are, and welcoming them without restriction. They need a safe place to come and create, and we are blessed to have such a place to offer them.

So, if you hear a musician performing their artistic creations here, think that maybe they came here for a reason; that we are helping them by embracing them into our community and showing that we really care about their art. In this, one of the greatest places in the world they could create that next iconic piece of music that will be celebrated for the rest of time.

Troubled Clef Studios
www.troubledclef.com

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Myles Wakeham, raised by classical music parents, hailing from Adelaide, Australia, emigrated to the USA in 1989. He has worked both as a performing musician and sofware technologist, but more notably as an audio engineer and producer in Hollywood with clients including Capitol Records. He has worked directly with arists and band members including Beck, INXS, Jon Entwhistle, SenseField, Carol King (Rudy Guess) and Tears for Fears. Myles is currently building Troubled Clef Studios in San Miguel, a world-class recording institution, expected to open this year.

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