Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany, established by the Italian record producer, songwriter and musician Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s. The studios were known for their work with artists such as Donna Summer, Electric Light Orchestra, and Queen, among others.
History Moroder founded the studio modestly in a small space in the basement of the Arabella High-Rise Building. The studio featured a 16-track recorder and a Helios mixing console which was later upgraded to a 48 channel Harrison console in 1976. Moroder hired engineer Reinhold Mack, who eventually complained that the small studio was uncomfortably hot at all times because it was adjacent to the building's central heating system, encouraging Moroder to expand the studios. Utilizing funds from his new Phonogram record deal and the success of Chicory Tip's version of "Son of My Father", co-composed by Moroder and Pete Belotte, Moroder and Mack expanded the studio in 1973. The first recording session in the new studios was for the recording of the Marc Bolan & T. Rex album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (1974). Other rock bands recording there included the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, and Led Zeppelin.
Donna Summer, who was working as a part-time model and backing singer in Munich, met Moroder and Bellotte during a session at the studios and they signed Summer to their Oasis label. The three began working together, resulting in several hit albums and singles, including "Love to Love You" and "I Feel Love", which is widely credited as one of the most influential records originating electronic dance music and paving the way for house and techno music. Electric Light Orchestra recorded several of the band's most successful albums at the studio with Reinhold Mack, beginning with 1975's Face the Music.
Mack co-produced Queen's 1980 album The Game at Musicland Studios, along with its hit singles "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Mack is referenced in the lyrics of "Dragon Attack": "gonna use my stack/it's gotta be Mack". Queen returned to Musicland in 1982 to record Hot Space, and in 1985 for "One Vision", with much of the music video for the song consisting of footage of the band recording the song at Musicland.
Other artists who recorded at Musicland Studios included the Three Degrees, Iron Maiden, Amanda Lear, Freddie Mercury, Sweet and Elton John, and Moroder himself recorded several of his own projects at the studio, including the soundtrack to Midnight Express, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979.
Musicland Studios closed at the beginning of the 1990s, as noise from the nearby U4 metro was interfering with the quality of the studio's recordings. However, Reinhold Mack vehemently contradicts this view in a BR radio feature from 2025: it was not the construction of the underground railway, but a rent increase of almost 100 per cent that spelled the end for the studio.
Selected list of albums recorded at Musicland (by year)
Three Dog Night: Cyan - 1973 The Rolling Stones: It's Only Rock 'n Roll - 1974 Deep Purple: Stormbringer - 1974 Donna Summer: Lady of the Night - 1974 Faust: Punkt - 1974 Marc Bolan & T. Rex: Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow - 1974 Scorpions: Fly to the Rainbow - 1974 Uriah Heep: Wonderworld - 1974 Deep Purple: Come Taste the Band - 1975 Donna Summer: Love to Love You Baby - 1975 Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music - 1975 Giorgio Moroder: Einzelgänger - 1975 Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - 1975 The Rolling Stones: Black and Blue - 1975 The Sweet: Give Us a Wink - 1975 Donna Summer: A Love Trilogy - 1976 Donna Summer: Four Seasons of Love - 1976 Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record - 1976 Giorgio Moroder: Knights in White Satin - 1976 Iggy Pop: The Idiot - 1976 Led Zeppelin: Presence - 1975 Rainbow: Rising - 1976 Rory Gallagher: Calling Card - 1976 David Coverdale: White Snake - 1977 Donna Summer: I Remember Yesterday - 1977 Donna Summer: Once Upon a Time - 1977 Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue - 1977 Giorgio Moroder: From Here to Eternity - 1977 Amanda Lear: Never Trust a Pretty Face - 1979 Electric Light Orchestra: Discovery - 1979 Electric Light Orchestra: Xanadu (soundtrack) - 1979 Elton John: Victim of Love - 1979 Sparks: No. 1 in Heaven - 1979 Suzi Lane: Ooh La La - 1979 Queen: The Game - 1980 Electric Light Orchestra: Time - 1981 Sparks: Whomp That Sucker - 1981 Queen: Hot Space - 1982 Sparks: Angst in My Pants - 1982 Roger Taylor: Strange Frontier - 1984 Whitesnake: Slide It In - 1984 Spandau Ballet: Parade - 1984 Freddie Mercury: Mr. Bad Guy - 1985 Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder: Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder - 1985 Limahl: Colour All My Days - 1986 Spandau Ballet: Through the Barricades - 1986 Donna Summer: All Systems Go - 1987 Iron Maiden: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - 1988
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