TUCKED away between Stockton Heath and Grappenhall there is a hidden gem helping some of Warrington’s most promising artists get a foot on the music industry ladder.

Sean Kelsey created Chilli Inc Studios as a space to practice his own music and continue his work as a sound engineer for the likes of radio plays, voiceover reels and radio advertising.

It originally began life in the basement of Sean’s London house.

But the former freelance sound engineer at the Royal Opera House moved back to Warrington in 2013 when his wife Fiona took a job in the north west – and his studio moved with him.

Since then Sean, who worked in an IT support role on the 2012 Olympics, has been overwhelmed by the town’s talent.

The 49-year-old has wanted to do all he can to support emerging artists since he discovered singer-songwriter Kye Jones.

Sean has been working on all the former Padgate High School student’s releases since and he also manages the psychedelic heavy rockers Psyblings, fronted by Greg Dixon. He works with musicians on an informal basis so, for example, they get to use the facilities without a fee and there is only a charge if the releases begin to make money.

Sean said: “When I first came here in 2013 Warrington’s music scene seemed to be on a dying edge. I saw one or two venues close down like The Brewhouse (which has since reopened under new management as Old Town House).

“I think it’s stabilised and it’s getting better because of the likes of Kye and Greg Dixon.

“Greg has his fingers in all sorts of pies in the Warrington music scene and of course we have the likes of The Voice which Mo won.

“It’s a real downer what happened to Viola Beach. It shocked everybody in Warrington. Everyone knows somebody who knew a member of the band or their family. The ripples of that really shook Warrington a lot. But I think the town is now coming out of that with its head held high.”

Kye was working on his double single Long Gone and Le Fenice when Weekend visited the Ackers Road studio.

Warrington Guardian:

Sean added: “Meeting Kye has been one of my highlights as I’ve been friends with Kye since and he’s introduced me to quite a few people in the music scene in Warrington.

“His first EP opened my eyes to how good a talent he is.

“Another highlight has been seeing Kye and Psyblings at Warrington Music Festival the past two years.

“For me that gives me a huge buzz to say I know these guys. I’ve recorded these guys. They’re fantastic.

“They put so much passion behind the microphone when they’re playing.”

It took Sean around six months to transform his cellar – a formerly dank, wet room where the roof was caving in – into a fully kitted out live room and singing booth.

Sean then spent another year getting the set up just how he wanted it including an acoustically treated control room at the top of the house where the pride of his collection – a Mackie 24 track, eight bus, stereo mixing desk – sits.

And it is all wired up so he can communicate with the band or artist he is working with.

He added: “You can record multitrack so that means you record each individual part on its own, in isolation.

“Or there’s a live environment and that’s how I like to record Psyblings because the whole band is downstairs, they’re all looking at each other, they’re really getting into a groove and that really comes across in the music as well.”

Sean worked in the IT industry for 18 years before he became fascinated with the technicalities of music.

He had always enjoyed live music and even used to perform an Elvis medley in his friend’s rock and roll covers band, The Cadillacs.

But discovering the Maxi Studio Isis sound card and Cubase VST music software when he was working on contract for DAF Trucks in Eindhoven changed everything.

Sean said: “I was there on my own so I needed something to do in the evenings and weekends.

“I decided to get an electric guitar and start playing and recording music.

“They’ve got some great music shops in Eindhoven and I bought this external sound card for the computer and I thought: ‘What is this thing? I’ve now got a recording studio in my bedroom. This is magnificent’.

“I’d worked in computers for 18 years so I liked that as it was very technical and hands on using computers to manipulate the sound. That was it. I was hooked.”

Sean reinvented himself, packing in IT to return to college to study sound engineering and music technology at the City of Westminster College.

That was where Sean met Dean Staker and the pair spent almost four years working together on Dean’s first solo record – a prog rock opus.

Sean, who has worked with reality TV personality Megan McKenna, added: “We started it off in London and we finished it off when I came back up here.

“One of the tracks, Avalanche, had 15 guitar layers on it. I played drums on that track and there were two drum layers as well. There were synthesizer layers. Both of us were doing four layers of backing vocals and all of this was being done by two people.

“It’s a good piece of work I’m very proud of. It was also the first album I recorded and mixed.”

Sean, who also records live performances on site at concert halls, even had the chance to work with Carl Palmer, from Emerson, Lake and Palmer, before he moved back to Warrington.

He said: “I went down to Solent University for two days to film Carl doing these drum solos.

“He’s often named one of the top 10 drummers in the world and there’s a reason for that.

“When he is in full flow it’s just staggering. At the end of an 11 minute drum solo that he performed all of us had slack jaws and wide eyes.”

Sean’s goal now is simple – to see the artists he is working with do well.

He added: “I’m not set up here to make a fortune. I want to help the likes of Kye and Greg. These are independent artists who can’t afford a £400 recording studio whereas I’ve got the facilities here.

“I’m not a professional recording studio by any stretch but I’ve got good resources here and with the talent that we’ve got in front of the microphone and hopefully the skills I’ve got behind the microphone we can produce something pretty good.

“I’d like to have something that’s played on radio or see Kye playing live at Glastonbury based on the work we’ve done in the studio and the hard work he’s done rehearsing.

“When you do something not for the love of money but for the love of it normally that shines through in your work.”

Kye Jones: Having a facility like this in Warrington gives me the drive to succeed

Warrington Guardian:

SINGER-SONGWRITER Kye Jones said that having a resource like Chilli Inc Studios in Warrington is like a goldmine for musicians who are trying to make a name for themselves.

Kye, who grew up in Lymm, is a regular at the Ackers Road studio and was working on his double single Long Gone and Le Fenice during Weekend’s visit.

The 29-year-old previously recorded his two EPs, Hero and Questions , at Chilli Inc, named after owner Sean Kelsey’s love of chillies.

Kye, who is inspired by Tool and Pearl Jam, said: “It’s a wish come true.

"It’s what any musician at my level would need. Sean’s not an idiot. He was a successful man before this and he knows not to waste time on a project with someone who won’t put the effort in.

“He knows how hard I work and I know how hard he works.
“To have someone like Sean wanting to devote so much time and attention to what I want to do makes me want to work harder.

"You’re also doing it for the people that are supporting you. I do it because my mum sacrificed a lot to help me get to where I am and Sean’s given me a lot. 

“Remembering all these people that have helped you move forward is that extra push when you’re down or a gig hasn’t gone so well.”

Sean was introduced to Kye by his plasterer, who was doing some early renovations on his house, after he saw him perform at the pub.

They have been friends since and Sean has become a bit of a mentor figure to Kye, who works at CEX in the town centre.

Kye added: “I’ve been here a lot. Sean’s not just helped me develop my material in the sense of recording and producing it. He’s also helped me develop my sound, my ideas and my business sense for music.

“We first got introduced through the idea of working together but we’ve got similar views on music and when either of us has got a project we use each other.

"We basically came to this agreement that he’d do it with me and if I make money, he makes money – we’re in it together

“You can’t usually find that. Your mates will do it but they’re not working to this level of quality.

"Even some of the studios in Warrington haven’t been treated like this and it’s not as personal as this.

“This is like goldmine. If I make it and I’m under a record label I’d be in top quality studios but they won’t be much different to this.

"It might be different layout and location but you’re still working with the same kind of equipment."