CBE, a legendary recording studio
The biggest French and international stars have pushed its doors since 1966
Enregistrement Enrico Macias (1973) by Michele EstardyStudio CBE
I am called Studio CBE. I am a recording studio founded in 1966 by Georges Chatelain and Bernard Estardy. My story is not an ordinary one. More than 50 years of music have made me what I am today. I can't summarize my whole life in a few words, but I'll try to tell you a few bits of it, because I remember everything.
Georges Chatelain and Bernard Estardy, like pioneers, stop in this working-class neighborhood wedged between the St Ouen flea market and Montmartre. They are 27 years old, they have been friends since their studies, they are both musicians and engineers and their only desire is to create a place radically different from the big traditional studios.
ARP de CBE (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
Not a single label in the area, not a record shop on the horizon, no record company around, but a textile store that makes raincoats and that is waiting for them. This is where they will make their musical laboratory, their inspired den, the recording studio that looks like them... Me!
La console de CBE GL Design (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
I am not very big and I admit my volumes are strange. But that doesn't stop them. They build everything with their own hands, from my intimate decoration to the acoustics of my booths, including the innovative machines designed by Gunter Loof. Here there are no sound engineers in white coats who expertly craft the sound. Here we try to create a new sound.
When you walk through my door, you come face to face with a 2.05 meter tall giant who invites you to make music. His name is Bernard Estardy, and he is above all a musician. Former organist for Nino Ferrer and Bill Coleman, he was quickly nicknamed "the Giant" and "the genius of sound" by the whole profession.
Le fairchild de CBE (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
We quickly became inseparable from each other. Some would say that I am a lucky place because I have the privilege to see before anyone else the beginnings of the whole French scene and the birth of the hit songs that you are still humming today.
Quelques bandes magnetiques (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
Of all the songs that have passed through my home, over 500 million records have been sold. Decades and the multiple musical trends are passing by.
Paul Simon feels so good that he advises "not to change a nail in this studio". After recording "Comment te dire adieu" Françoise Hardy will come back often because she says it is the only place where she takes a real pleasure to sing.
For "Les magnolias" Claude François spread a picnic on the console, which made Bernard furious in the middle of mixing.
Joe Dassin will have the mix of "L'éte indien" reworked 25 times before admitting that the very first version was the best, which will earn him the nickname of Attachiant.
Michel Sardou will sing "Les lacs du Connemara" in a rush one hour before leaving on tour.
I have hundreds of stories like that in my memory
Enregistrement de Chassol / Tricatel (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
One would have thought that the years would have taken their toll on me. It is not the case. More than 50 years have passed, my flame and my singularity are intact. A new generation likes to reinvent me, from Sebastien Tellier to Lilly Wood and the prick, from Mick Harvey to Chassol, from Petit Biscuit to Zaz, from Kimberose to Bertrand Burgalat, from Philippe Katerine to Jeff Mills.
Enregistrement du second album de "Lilly wood and the prick" (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
Julie Estardy qui dirige le studio CBE depuis 2007 (2018) by Mathieu BaumerStudio CBE
On board, it is now young musicians who "tamper" with the sound. And it is today the daughter of Bernard Estardy who watches over. We are still a family and the formula is the same since the beginning. A hint of Estardy sound recording, a pinch of good vibrations, a spoonful of sound experimentation. Everything is ready: there is only to taste.
