Infernö Class Recörding: An Interview with Trystan O’Connell

The latest recording studio to be born out of the DIY anarcho-punk movement in London is Infernö Class Recörding, responsible for capturing the vibrancy of the recent Eastfield Terminus 10” released on Grow Your Own Records.

Nathan Brown had a word with Trystan, whose past musical antics include Active Slaughter, Left For Dead and Lost Cherrees (more below).

First, tell us a bit about yourself. You’ve played in several bands of note such as Active Slaughter, Left For Dead, and Lost Cherrees. Give us the full run-down. How long have you been playing in DIY punk bands? Has your experience of playing in bands affected your approach to recording and production values?

My name is Trystan. Some call me Stan, but most go with Trys. I’ll answer to all of them.

I’ve been playing in DIY punk bands since around 1994, mainly on guitar, but sometimes bass. I also started messing with recording stuff around this time, as I got hold of a four track, which, battered and beaten, I still have. The first band was called Murkin, with a couple of schoolmates. Our career ‘highlight’ was playing at The Gun in Croydon, ‘cos James and Brad from Shake Some Action Records put us on.

Next, I went through a few bands after moving to Norwich, before being asked to join Terminal City Ricochet (TCR) on guitar when their original guy left. The band were already well established locally: Su, the bassist, was in PMT, and Martin, the singer, is a gobby bastard—he won’t mind me saying that ‘cos he got a mention. We used to play with Active Slaughter a fair bit and had a great relationship with them, which came in handy for me later.

In 2007, I moved back to London and started Condition: DEAD with Alex, previously of SORB and Refuse/All. Condition: DEAD was important because it was the first band I properly played bass in (no one else wanted to), but more so because it was the first time I met the late, great studio engineer Pat Collier (RIP), as we recorded an album at his Perryvale Studios.

Later, Steve of Lost Cherrees took over on bass, and I moved over to guitar. Around this time, he got the Cherrees back together, asked me to play guitar for them. I was with them for about ten years, and as a result became involved with Steve’s AWOD festival behind the scenes, eventually becoming the stage manager.

In 2017, I was asked by JJ and Trev to join Active Slaughter on guitar, then in 2018 joined Left For Dead on bass and have been playing for both ever since. Aside from that, there’s been the odd appearance filling in on bass for Eastfield, Neck, and Liberty on a couple of occasions in place of our departed friend Mark. He forgot more about playing bass than I’ve ever known, and I miss him very much.

My production—‘engineering’ preferred thanks to Pat Collier and see Steve Albini’s The Problem With Music—values are sort of simple: make the band sound how they want to sound. Having played a lot in bands and become a bit more savvy over the years as far as dynamics and sound go, I know what I want and I know what I like, but also recognise that others may hear their songs in a different way. Discussion is important, but the ultimate decision is that of the band paying the bill, so I’ll offer an opinion but work to their preferences. Essentially, my feeling is to be flexible, and if something valuable can be learned—in either direction—learn it.

Why the name Infernö Class, and what’s with the umlauts?

The sound you’re hearing is a huge can of worms being opened!

I’ve loved Motörhead ever since I was given March Ör Die on tape for Christmas in 1992. It’s not even close to their best album, but because it was my first, it has a place in my heart. If anyone has a vinyl copy for less than the ridiculous prices quoted online, please get in touch. It’s the only studio album I’m missing on vinyl.

Other than that, I was trying to think of names, and the one I had had for close to 25 years for a band, project, whatever… suddenly became unavailable ‘cos some wanky online start-up fad agency used it. I used to search the name regularly to make sure it was still not taken, then a day before I registered it, there was a website with that domain. Bastards.

I had Infernö Class Recörding up my sleeve though, so it worked out.

Inferno because it was Motörhead’s first album recorded with Cameron Webb, who is an engineer I respect and learned a lot from through online stuff he did that was easily transferrable to real situations.

Then Class because when you say “Infernö Class,” you also say “No Class.” That’s an old Motörhead song, for those uninitiated.

It’s a bit of a crap way to come up with a name, but I like the result.

What was your motivation to establish the studio? When did you open your doors?  Have you operated from other locations in the past?

The motivation was largely that I finished a degree in Music and Sound Production in 2024 and wanted to put the theoretical stuff into practice. As I said, I’d been messing around and doing a bit of recording for years, and being the age I am, I figured, “If I don’t do it now, I never will…” so I took the plunge. I took over the lease in late 2024, and once that was sorted, I could move my gear in and start advertising online, flyering gigs, and generally making a nuisance of myself to my mates in bands.

In the past, I’ve mainly recorded ideas for my own bands at home, experimenting with different miking techniques on guitars and bass rather than DI’ing. I did shut Jessi Eastfield in the boiler cupboard with a mic so he could do his vocals for a demo a few years back. Thinking about it, JJ from Active Slaughter got the same treatment once as well.*

Other than that, I’ve done some sessions in rehearsal studios with the mobile setup I cobbled together, notably at Pirate in Earlsfield, which is where I recorded the Eastfield Terminus 10” that came out last year on Grow Your Own Records. They have a vocal booth there, which was a relief to Jessi after the boiler cupboard session.

I have also done some work with John Youens of South London Punk Collective at Overdrive in Deptford, helping on his sessions with Caution Elderly People, Violation, and The Ugly Scenes. John is a great mate and a reliable sounding board when I want a second opinion on a mix, a chat about equipment and techniques, or to just talk shite for a bit.

*Singers, please note that you will not be shut in a boiler cupboard to do your tracking if you come to ICR.

What services does Infernö Class currently offer? How did you develop the skills?

In a nutshell, recording, mixing, and mastering. The studio is geared towards capturing guitar-based music with acoustic drums, though I am flexible and happy to discuss any project on enquiry.

The space I have is quite… ‘quirky,’ I suppose would be the right word, because in most studios where the control room and live room are separated, they’re next to each other. At ICR, the control room is at ground level and directly above the live room, which is in turn directly above the isolation space for guitar and bass cabinets. When I first saw the place, I wasn’t sure, but I really like it now and am getting some great-sounding recordings out of it, having done sessions with Circle Nøne and Affray. I am currently wrapping up the mix for a new Eastfield album and have bookings coming up with Lost Cherrees, Dinosaur Skull, and I’m doing double duty playing on and recording the next Active Slaughter release soon as well, so things are picking up.

The skills were initially picked up in a haze of trial and error using the 4 track I had as a teenager in the ’90s, but then refined over the years by watching proper engineers work, before I went and learned the theory myself by doing the degree mentioned earlier, starting in 2021. That finally taught me why the stuff that worked previously did, and why the stuff that was shit didn’t.

Beyond that, I just practiced as much as I could using online resources like Cambridge Music Technology’s free multitracks for mixing and messing around with mic placements on my guitar cabs at home. There’s a lot to be said for trial and error or just trying something a bit off the wall though: a great book I got hold of at university is Sylvia Massy’s Recording Unhinged. She’s done some stuff that is, er… properly unhinged.

Anyone can download a Digital Audio Workstation (recording software). Why should people use Infernö Class instead?

Good point and well made: asking why people reading a DIY website shouldn’t do it themselves. Bastard…

I suppose the stock answer is because I have experience in recording studios and have studied the theories behind capturing, mixing, and mastering music. While true, that feels like a very boring answer.

More interestingly (maybe), my formative experiences came from the DIY scene, so I have first-hand understanding of the aesthetic, but also that the space I have is acoustically treated, sound proofed, and I have put a decent amount of time, effort, and cash into making it an inviting place to record. Beyond that, a day (8 hour) session is reasonably priced at £250 including myself as engineer, plus in practical terms how many people—particularly those living in built up areas—can record an acoustic drum kit or crank up a guitar rig without inviting interruption from neighbours or old bill?

Do you aim to be busy enough to be able to survive on income from Infernö Class or will you always need to supplement your income from other sources? Does that and playing in bands affect how often much you will be able to do?

Running the studio full-time is the plan! Though I am aware it’s a big challenge. Currently, the goal is to make the studio self-sustainable, which takes time while word gets around—hopefully doing this interview will help!

As I said before, I jumped into this thinking, “Well, if I don’t do it now…” so I will do all I can to make it work as a viable source of income. The pleasure that comes from achieving objectives like recording an album for a band that produces a tangible ‘product’—be it vinyl, CD, tape, or download—is not measurable in terms of job satisfaction though.

With the bands I play in, everyone involved is understanding when it comes to other commitments, and we all have plenty, whether they’re musical or other interests. In Active Slaughter, the activity is pretty sporadic since two members live in Wales, but once the new songs are recorded and released, we can hopefully do some gigs. Over the last few years, one thing after another has got in the way, but we have a great new-look line-up and we’re still as stubborn as ever, so watch this space.

Left For Dead are working on a new album—it’s half recorded—and we have three long weekend runs of gigs this year: one in Ireland, one with Bus Station Loonies in the UK, and the other with Juggling Jugulars, who will be coming over to the UK from Finland. Plenty to get on with then, though I’m not sure you were going for a ‘current project update’…

Long story short, the studio is intended as my full-time job, and while I do have my fingers in other musical pies, anyone who wants to book in should please get in touch so we can work out some dates that suit us all.

What advice would you give to bands in terms of preparation before they enter a studio?

For smooth-running sessions, or if you’re working to a strict budget (as most of us are), learn your songs and have at least a basic idea of how you want the end result to sound. Then communicate that to the engineer. It’s much more straightforward to work with a band who know their songs and have explained their vision for them.

That said, as with a lot of creative pursuits, one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. I have heard stories—and been in situations myself—where spontaneity under pressure has produced great things, both in terms of songwriting and/or the recorded results. This can be a stressful approach for everyone involved but also rewarding in certain circumstances. It does tend to make the whole process longer though.

So basically, go with what feels right for you, and remember that the engineer you are working with is there to capture, mix, and master the best-sounding recording they can. Much like a band, no engineer wants a release out in the wild that sounds like shit with their name listed as one of those responsible. I’m not sure if anyone else has said this before—so apologies if I’ve nicked it—but you can’t polish a turd, though you might be able to make a well-practiced fart sound good.

Give us your contact details for folks who want to use Infernö Class’s services.

I’m reachable by email at [email protected]. Let me know who you are, what you do, and what you’d like to use the studio time for, and we can go from there.

The studio is in Wandsworth, southwest London, about 10 minutes’ walk from Wandsworth Town train station. There are numerous buses too—all details are on the ICR website, which has pictures of the studio, pricing, a list of gear, and other general info. If you have any questions, please drop me a line.

Obligatory “anything else to add”

I’ve probably said way too much already, but… support the scene locally, nationally, and internationally! I know everyone and their dog says that, but without support, communication, people showing up to gigs, or volunteering to help in one way or another, there wouldn’t be one.

Lastly, thank you, Nath, for thinking of me and sending over the questions. I hope I’ve been vaguely interesting and that some readers give me a shout so we can do some recording together. Cheers!

More Interviews with DIY Recording Studios:

• Radikal Sounds: The Self-Organization & Politics of DIY Sound in Greece
• Studio Black Cloud: Interview with Bri Doom
• South London Punk Collective: An Interview with John Youens