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Frying Pan StudiosBook

How did we get here?

Well, it all started with the REDD.17.

Back in 2014, Crumpler founder David Roper got his hands on a piece of music history: an ex-Abbey Road REDD.17 recording console. He floated the idea of building a studio with Brian Ritchie—Mona’s then music director and Violent Femmes bassist—who then pitched the concept to Mona founder David Walsh. True to form, Walsh embraced the idea, drawn by his enduring fascination with the creative process. The result? Australia’s first recording studio-in-a-museum. Chris Townend was brought aboard to design a ‘sonic playground’, and the rest isn’t quite history (but might be one day). 

This guy pays the bills, just in case you see him around (or he wanders in to see what’s cooking).

This is where Frying Pan sits within Mona, on the Berriedale peninsula in nipaluna / Hobart, Tasmania. Its namesake (depending on who you ask), Frying Pan Island, sits across Berriedale Bay.

The studio is nestled near the Round House, a Roy Grounds-designed modernist marvel that’s been here since 1957—a year before the REDD.17 was unveiled. The house was incorporated into the design of Mona, just like Frying Pan.

This is Chris. As well as running things, he designed the place. No biggie. 

Brian Ritchie, Violent Femmes bassist, past Mona music director and shakuhachi enthusiast, cooked up a plan for the REDD.17 console and Frying Pan was born.

This guy pays the bills, just in case you see him around (or he wanders in to see what’s cooking).

This is where Frying Pan sits within Mona, on the Berriedale peninsula in nipaluna / Hobart, Tasmania. Its namesake (depending on who you ask), Frying Pan Island, sits across Berriedale Bay.