RETHINKING THE STUDIO: INSIDE ONEHAND
In early 2025, as wildfires broke out across Los Angeles, a studio built over years was being packed into flight cases ready to come to London. Brian had been working in music since his early teens and was based in LA through his late teens and early twenties, building up a wide range of equipment while developing his sound. After stepping away from music during lockdown, he made the decision in late 2024 to relocate to London and restart his production and writing career, drawn to the city’s creative and fast-evolving music scene.
He flew back to LA in January 2025 to pack everything up, but the night before finishing, the fires started. Ash settled over the cases filled with recording equipment. Because everything was due to be shipped by boat for around three months, he had sprayed the cases with WD-40 to protect them from moisture; knowing it’s also highly flammable. He ended up staying up all night with a fire extinguisher next to him until the movers arrived the following morning. When the equipment finally landed in London in March, it was still covered in ash from the fires.
The foundation of Onehand actually goes back to 2021, when Brian met Sol in their first week at university in London. They became friends straight away and spent the next four years mostly just building that friendship rather than working heavily on music together. Over time, they kept coming back to the idea of opening a studio; talking through what it could look like and how it might feel to work in, especially in an industry that often leans towards fast-paced, business-driven sessions.
Once Brian’s equipment arrived from LA and they combined what they had been building individually, Onehand properly started to take shape. A big part of their approach is bringing live musicians into sessions. Early on, they organised a live jam with some of London’s touring and session musicians, and from there started working with them on writing sessions when they’re off tour or not working. It’s not something you typically see made this accessible, and it changes the dynamic of how sessions feel. Alongside that, they try to keep the environment as relaxed as possible; encouraging artists to take their time, listen to music, read, and settle into a natural creative flow rather than forcing output.
Since launching, they’ve worked with a growing mix of artists including Tendai, Lava La Rue, IAMDDB, SVN 4VR, Rian Brazil, Lara 91k, Sam Henshaw, Scribz Riley, 070 Shake, Sorcha Richardson, and Not3s, as well as Kamal., CARI, MOIO, and JD Cliffe. The focus going forward is simple; keep building, keep refining the way they work, and keep expanding the network around what they’re doing, without losing the core of it.
