Originally a dairy farm called The Fig Tree Inn, the Music Farm as it is now known was ‘born’ in 1970’s when a young musician used his family inheritance to realise his dream of building a place where musicians could live and work in a creative and stimulating atmosphere. He installed state-of-the-art recording equipment and, adding a gifted sound engineer into the equation, a unique recording studio came into its own.
The initial studio built on the top of a hill looking over Wilson’s Creek was taken apart and re-constructed into what basically exists today. The musicians’ room is built on a floating slab supported on hard rubber, physically separated from the recording room by a gap in the slab and double glazed windows. The roof and walls are filled with a series of sound absorbing systems constructed in what are now rare timbers: Rosewood, Teak and the denser eucalyptus species. Jimmy Barnes’ Cold Chisel was one of the first groups to record in the rebuilt studios. Some other groups and individuals that have used the studio over the years include Radiators, Youthu Yindi, Olivia Newton John, Kylie Minogue, Richard Clapton and Tommy Emmanuel. Although The Music Farm has since seen a number of owners, it has remained one of the most revered recording studios in Australia renowned for its rich unique sound that comes from the timbers used in construction.
As well as the Music Farm Studio, there are multiple other dwellings set in some of the most beautiful gardens the Byron Bay hinterland has to offer. The main house affords three bedrooms and an office. Serenity Cottage offers two bedrooms and The Cube is a quaint sandstone single bedroom cottage.
The gardens and grounds include two 100+ year old Mulberry Trees, umpteen glorious old Fig trees, stands of Hoop Pine & Eucalypts, flowering plants galore, water features and garden statues, a herb garden, and veggie/market garden complete with chicken coop. Pathways and sealed roads link all buildings and the entire site is overseen by a caretaker from the studio residence above the three-bay machinery shed near the entrance to the property on the much sought after Coolamon Scenic Drive in Coorabell. An inspection of the truly stunning property is a must!