From Spacey Jane to Tame Impala, Fremantle has churned out some of Australia’s best musicians, and now a new creative hub with a state-of-the-art recording studio is ready to help the next generation of artists.
The new $1.28 million hub built at the Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre gives artists a place to create, collaborate, rehearse and record all forms of audio, from songs to podcasts.
Designed for community members, emerging artists and creatives alike, the new space is dedicated to people taking their first steps in music and recording.
“This is a space that is not for the Taylor Swifts of the world, although Taylor, if you’re listening, you’re more than welcome to come and record,” Fremantle mayor Ben Lawver said jokingly.
“This is for those artists who are just starting out, who need that first step to have their vision, their ideas come to fruition and doing that here in Fremantle really is Freo.”
Fremantle musician Abbe May said recording studios like the one at the arts centre would have been a game changer when she was starting out in the industry.
“I am very old now, but I was once a young artist in Fremantle. I spent my late teens and early 20s touring the country in the busted-up touring vans,” she said.
“So I do know what it’s like to be a young artist, and I had the good fortune of basically being raised as a young artist in Fremantle in my late teens and early 20s.
“There were an enormous amount of challenges to face for anyone, but for me, it was things like trying to find spaces to rehearse that were decent.
“Not only because there weren’t that many, but they were very expensive, and when you’re young, you don’t have so much access to this funding.
“These funds, recording spaces themselves were enormously out of reach, they often still are, and so spaces like this beautiful creative hub offer a kind of levelling of the playing field.”
The first-floor recording studio consists of a recording room, sound booth and control room, equipped with a full suite of recording equipment to support music and sound production.
The ground-floor performance space features sound, lighting and audiovisual equipment for rehearsals and small performances, and technical connection to the recording studio.
There is also a green room and accessible ground-floor workshop that provides additional areas for collaboration and community activities.
The project was jointly funded by a $1.26 million commitment by Fremantle MLA Josh Wilson and the federal government, as well as $30,000 from the City of Fremantle.
Wilson said creativity is a part of Fremantle’s identity and one of the reasons why he backed the investment into the arts.
“Fremantle has long been one of Australia’s great incubators of original artists, musicians and creative talent,” he said.
“From local bands and independent musicians to visual artists and performers, our community has an extraordinary track record of producing creative work that resonates far beyond Freo and Western Australia, and this project will help ensure that tradition continues for generations to come.”
The hub already has residencies booked until March 2027 with artists Kobi Arthur Morrison, Susie Waller, Jemma King, Adriano Cappelletta, Willow Fearns and Soundtrakx (Ray Tanielu) among the first to use the new recording studio.