Have you watched Gracie Otto’s Under the Volcano yet? Deep dive into the filmmaking process behind this amazing doc:
“Under the Volcano tells the story of Sir George Martin’s legendary recording studio AIR Montserrat, from its inception in 1979 until its destruction by natural forces in 1989. More importantly it tells the story of those who made music and connected with the island and its people during this time.
The film spans the ten years of AIR Montserrat’s existence. It taps into a rich, never-before-seen archive of photographic and filmed material from some of the key characters in the Studio’s history and seeks to tell the story of the studio through a relaxed, informal interview style.
From the moment I heard about this project I was completely drawn to it. I met producer Cody Greenwood early on and it was clear that we both had a similar sensibility and beyond the amazing story of this island that we were interested in tackling the same sorts of themes and narrative threads.
It also felt like a natural and logical progression for me as a filmmaker. My first documentary The Last Impresario focused heavily on British film TV and culture from the 1960s and 1980s and this film offered me the opportunity to extend my creative muscles and dive once again into the culture of these times.
I’ve always been intrigued by the inner workings of creative artists and the artistic process in general. What is it that makes creative people tick, how do you build a space that allows them to tap into this creativity, and collaborate in new and innovative ways? And while I was researching and interviewing some of the greatest recording artists of our time, it was the impact that AIR Studios had on their particular ways of approaching creativity that utterly fascinated me.
Collectively, these musicians recorded a remarkable, perhaps unprecedented, body of work at AIR Studios and unpacking their stories and documenting this process has been pure joy.
As time has gone on, it feels that the significance of AIR Studios is even more timely given the current state of the world, which even with the recent pause caused by the COVID pandemic, seems to be accelerating. As modern life gets faster and pressure increases, it has been wonderful to be able to look back at this time and understand the importance of taking time out, breaking cycles and finding different means of creation and collaboration.
I have always found it incredible that one little known island isolated in the Caribbean became such a haven and home to so much cultural inspiration and flourishing musical talent. That this idyllic Studio for a period in time became the centre of the pop music universe. This documentary is a love letter to the iconic island, and its people and a celebration and time capsule of all the amazing music that the world has cherished as a result of its unique existence.
When you understand the origin and genesis of the artistic process, you feel a deeper connection to the work, and for me this was absolutely the case in the making of this film. It really cemented the meaning and context of these songs so firmly in my mind, to the extent that whenever I hear them now, I contextualise how they reflected the journey and career of the artists in our film. The words and music became more than just the melodies we all love, bursting with even more depth and meaning knowing how they shaped an incredible journey and have shone light on this tiny island in the Caribbean.
In terms of the story of the film, the biggest challenge was that there are so many stories to tell. It was not one single person’s story, nor the story of a single band or producer. So, while many bands and musicians recorded at the studio during its lifetime, we made the creative decision to focus on a number of key contributors to the AIR Montserrat mythology. In the end, the true instigator and visionary was Sir George Martin, who is the film’s main protagonist and narrative thread, taking us from inception to destruction. Joining George on this journey were many bands of course but we focused our attention on a targeted list of the most high-profile musicians who recorded there including The Police, Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Duran Duran and The Dire Straits These five artists are some of the most well-known of the AIR Montserrat clients and their collective experiences on the island covers the Studio’s ten-year lifetime. More importantly, these artists were central characters in building the AIR Studios mythology, and each of their experiences touched on the broader themes of our documentary.
Just as important as the bands were the people of Montserrat, and in particular those who worked in and around the Studios, creating the unique atmosphere that would characterise the studios and build its legendary status. George the Chef, Desmond the Bartender – they all played their parts in the AIR Studios story, and they bring a unique perspective to its telling in 2020.
While making the film, we identified thematic veins that we wanted to tap into throughout the narrative. These included themes such as isolation and its impact on creative freedom, the nature of celebrity, nostalgia, and the impermanence of existence. I also intended for the island of Montserrat to be a leading character in and of itself. Its isolation, its starkness, its black sands and its now post-apocalyptic landscape – all of these provide a background to the creation and ultimate destruction of AIR. And of course, the volcano on the island is an ever-present backdrop to the action. It stands as a reminder of the power of nature, and the impermanence of our existence – the fleeting nature of fame, fortune, and even life itself – and will be a recurring metaphor throughout the film, culminating in its final destructive act.
I hope that Under The Volcano feels personal, and allows the audience to be drawn to the charm of the island and to the resilience and positiveness of its people.
I feel that this film is something of a love letter to Sir George Martin and his somewhat crazy ambition to build a studio that was unlike any other, that was all about bringing people together to laugh, sing, tell stories, sometimes fight - but ultimately make great work.”
Gracie Otto
On a remote Caribbean island, in the shadow of a volcano, the world's biggest recording artists made music and myth that defined an era.