Just over a year ago, Dicken Marshall, a session musician and studio engineer, listened in dismay as a friend who was working with the Rwandan charity Solace told him the story of a choir of orphans who had paid £3,500 to record an album which never came to fruition.

Sadly, the German producer paid to record the album disappeared, along with the money. Marshall was horrified and told his friend that for less than twice that amount, the choir could have built its own studio in which to record the album.

As the owner of Brighton-based studio Stingray, Marshall was something of an expert in the development and operation of a recording facility. A dab hand at acoustics, he constructed his own studio 15 years ago from straw bales, with undulating walls and a curved ceiling. He decided that he had the skills and time needed to help the choir and Solace, before setting about raising funds and planning his trip from his home in the UK.

Six months later, Marshall found himself in central Africa, in a space once used for food storage, lining the walls of a brand new live room with shiplap, an acoustic treatment, which was to prove ideal for the acoustic acts that would perform in the new studio. The 30 square metre room adjoined a slightly smaller control room, which was subsequently kitted out with KRK monitors and a state-of-the-art, eight-core Mac Zeon computer running Logic 8 and a host of high-end plugins. Two Allen & Heath Zed R16s provided the mixing facilities, while a modest selection of outboard included Focusrite’s
ISA 430.

The response to Marshall’s campaign in the UK was extraordinary, helping him raise enough capital for both the logistics and equipment necessary. Mic manufacturer Shure also chipped in, contributing a substantial selection of its products. In total, it donated five SM58s, five SM57s, two KSM 430s, one 57 drum mic set and a phonic power distributor. The KSM condenser mics would be used for lead vocals and guitars, while the 57s and 58s were earmarked for overhead choir recording and live performances. The power distributor and surge protectors were an essential bit of kit, due to the frequent power cuts and mains surges in the area.

Another six months on and Solace Studio is thriving – providing a steady income stream for the charity and the engineers who work there, as well as enabling people whose lives have been shattered by genocide to cement their music in recordings they might otherwise never have realised. It’s worth remembering that music is a fundamental part of Rwandan life and for many of its people, it is one of the very few comforts they have left.

Studio revenue is divided up at a rate of 30/70 between the staff and the charity respectively. This provides a decent wage to the engineers and helps Solace to continue its admirable work.

Solace Studio has actually been so successful that, following a few small but well-chosen upgrades, it is now the leading recording facility in Rwanda. Marshall has revisited the country a further three times to train staff on how to use equipment, make good quality recordings and otherwise run the studio as a profitable business. Never one to rest on his laurels, he now has his sights set on the development of a much larger live room in which to accommodate 100-strong choirs. That, and maybe a few Waves plugins…
www.solaceministriesuk.com

Solace Ministries is a Rwandan charitable organisation established by Jean Gakwandi in July 1996 following the genocide of 1994, with a vision to help provide comfort to widows and orphans. It currently sponsors 20,000 people.

While the survivors of the war and genocide are still struggling to re-establish their lives, hundreds of widows and orphans have been helped to carry on through the work and projects of Solace Ministries.

The charity has a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the widows and orphans it sponsors. It provides counselling, childcare and development support, HIV/AIDS and other health programmes, farming associations and supportive programmes.