Focusrite Music Production Studio & DJ Room Hire in London
The Portal is our fully equipped music studio and soundproof DJ room at STU 22 in East London, built in partnership with Focusrite for producers, DJs, podcasters and content creators.
Plug in and create on a professional production rig, with acoustic treatment throughout, Denon DJ Prime decks and camera-ready lighting. All at accessible studio rates, in Wapping, five minutes from the Overground.
From £35/hr, kit included
Official Focusrite partner studio
24-hour premises licence
5.0★ from 67+ Google reviews
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Built for content
A room that sounds and looks the part
The Portal is designed for both sound and content. Atmospheric purple and blue lighting, adjustable to a warmer tone for podcast work, a large display for visuals and playback, and comfortable seating for guests and co-hosts. The room is ready to film from the moment you arrive.
From DJ sets and podcasts to music videos, live sessions and behind-the-scenes content, create and record everything in one professional space without hiring a second studio.
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The music room
Ready to create
A fully wired production setup: Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 interface, ADAM Audio A77H monitors, Novation 61SL MkIII keyboard, Circuit Rhythm groovebox and a RØDE NT-USB for vocals and voiceover.
Everything is connected and tested before you arrive. Bring your laptop and start creating. No setup time, no patching, no wasted hours.
Watch · 33 sec
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Step inside
See the room before you book
Take a look inside the STU22 × Focusrite studio. Thirty-three seconds across the production desk, the DJ booth, the acoustic panelling, the lighting and the space that brings it all together.
What you see is what you get. The rig stays wired, the decks are ready and the lighting is set for filming. Turn up, plug in and get to work.
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The DJ room
Turn it up. Play it out.
Fully acoustically treated and isolated from the rest of the building, the DJ room is built for loud, uninterrupted sessions. Run two SOUNDBOKS Gen 4 speakers at performance volume without disturbing a neighbour or the studio next door.
Rehearse a residency set, prep for a festival, record a mix for release or film the session. Bring your own controller or decks if you prefer, or go straight onto the house Denon DJ Prime 4 setup and get into the mix.
Why The Portal · STU 22 Wapping
Four things that decide a music room
Most music rooms are either a bedroom setup or an expensive commercial studio. The Portal sits deliberately in the middle: professional, purpose-built, and priced for the work music creators actually do.
From
£35/hr
One-hour minimum, kit included. Commercial-studio capability at a rate a solo artist can actually book.
Isolation
Full
Professional panelling on walls and ceiling, isolated from the rest of the building. Monitor at performance level.
Rig
Focusrite
Scarlett 18i16, ADAM A77H monitoring, Novation keys and Denon DJ Prime decks, all wired and waiting.
Licence
24 hours
Late-night and early-morning sessions are available when a deadline or a release schedule demands it.
Pricing
Studio hire rates
Simple hourly pricing. Power, cleaning, operational fees and everything in the room are included in every booking. No hidden facility fees.
DJ studio
£35/hr
Minimum 1 hour
Denon DJ Prime decks, SOUNDBOKS speakers and camera-ready lighting. Built for DJ sets, practice and content.
Most popular
Music studio
£50/hr
Minimum 1 hour
The full Focusrite production rig: Scarlett 18i16, Novation keys and ADAM monitors, ready the moment you arrive.
Both rooms
£70/hr
The whole Portal
Music studio and DJ room together, for bigger sessions, shoots, crews and full production days.
All rates exclude VAT at 20%. Half-day and full-day rates available for longer sessions and productions. Discounted rates on repeat bookings and regular clients. Solo artists and full production crews both welcome. Rated 5.0★ from 67+ Google reviews. Download the full rate card (PDF)
Also in this room
Self-tape auditions in The Portal
The Portal is also STU 22’s self-tape studio in East London. It is soundproofed, it has the plain mid-grey backdrop most UK casting briefs ask for, and it is five minutes from Wapping Overground.
From £35 per hour excluding VAT, one-hour minimum. Shoot it yourself on your own phone or camera, or add a camera, lighting and an operator. A reader can be arranged in advance. The 24-hour premises licence means late-night and early-morning slots are there when a casting deadline lands overnight.
Self-tape studio details and rates · Book by WhatsApp · Booking form
Studio specifications
The Portal in detail
- Location
- 8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA
- Acoustic treatment
- Full professional acoustic panelling, walls and ceiling
- Sound isolation
- Fully isolated from the rest of the building
- Audio interface
- Focusrite Scarlett 18i16
- Monitoring
- 2× ADAM Audio A77H studio monitors
- Keys and hardware
- Novation 61SL MkIII MIDI keyboard · Novation Circuit Rhythm groovebox
- DJ setup
- Denon DJ Prime decks · 2× SOUNDBOKS Gen 4 speakers
- Microphone
- RØDE NT-USB
- Display
- Large screen for visuals and playback
- Lighting
- Atmospheric purple and blue, adjustable, optimised for filming
- Seating
- Comfortable seating for guests and co-hosts
- Power
- Multiple 13A sockets throughout
- Access
- Ground floor, easy load-in for equipment
- Parking
- Street parking available nearby
- Transport
- Wapping Overground 5 min walk · Shadwell DLR 7 min walk
- Opening hours
- 24-hour premises licence, late and early slots available
- Minimum hire
- 1 hour
The kit, up close
Focusrite and ADAM Audio, in detail
The recording chain in The Portal is a Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 interface running into a pair of ADAM Audio A77H monitors. These are the units themselves, so you know exactly what you are booking before you walk in.
Focusrite and ADAM Audio manufacturer images, supplied to us as an official Focusrite partner studio. Photographs of the room itself are further up this page, and the full chain is written up in our Scarlett 18i16 guide and our Novation 61SL MkIII and Circuit Rhythm guide.
Who books The Portal
Five kinds of session, one room
Music producers, artists and songwriters writing, recording and mixing on the Focusrite rig with ADAM monitoring. DJs practising for events, residencies and festival sets, or recording a mix for release. Podcasters and content creators who need a visually striking, acoustically controlled room for audio and video at the same time.
Labels and brands producing music-related commercial content and campaigns, and music photographers and videographers booking a location with genuine character. Planning a show? Read our guide to recording a professional podcast in East London.
Frequently asked questions
Before you book
Is The Portal truly soundproof?
It has full professional acoustic treatment and is isolated from the rest of the STU 22 building. You can run your monitors at performance levels without disturbing other studios or neighbouring spaces.
Can I bring my own equipment?
Yes. Connect your own decks, controllers, laptops, synths, drum machines or anything else. There are power outlets positioned throughout the room.
Is the lighting adjustable?
Yes. The atmospheric lighting adjusts to suit the session, from a warmer tone for podcast content to the full blue and purple for DJ filming.
Can I combine The Portal with the photography studios?
Yes, and many clients do. Record audio and music content in The Portal, then move into the Infinity Cove or Blackout Studio for visuals on the same day. Ask us about combined rates.
Do I need to bring an engineer?
No. The room is set up so a producer or artist can work unassisted. If you would rather have technical support on the day, tell us when you book and we will arrange it.
How do I book?
Booking form or WhatsApp, confirmed quickly. We are happy to talk the project through in advance, and to quote for half days, full days and multi-day productions.
Music studio hire in East London · area guide
Music studio, DJ room or podcast space?
The Portal answers all three. As a music studio hire it is a treated, wired production room with a Focusrite front end. As a DJ room hire it is an isolated booth with Prime decks and SOUNDBOKS monitoring. As a podcast studio it is an acoustically controlled space that also looks good on camera, with seating, a display and adjustable lighting.
STU 22 is in Wapping, E1W, five minutes from Wapping Overground and seven from Shadwell DLR. That puts The Portal within easy reach of Shoreditch, Hackney, Bethnal Green, Bermondsey, Canary Wharf, the City and the South Bank, with street parking nearby and a ground-floor load-in for heavy kit.
Adding visuals to your session? Pair The Portal with our Infinity Cove or Blackout Studio, or compare every space on our Studios page. Recording or filming? See our podcast studio in East London and our music video studio hire.
Book The Portal, Wapping
Ready when you are
Book online in 60 seconds, or message us on WhatsApp for same-day availability. 8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA, five minutes from Wapping Overground.
5.0★ from 67+ Google reviews
Everything in the room included
24-hour premises licence
Confirmed within the hour
