Al Houghton first opened Dubway Studios in the infamous Music Building across from the Port Authority Bus Station in the mid-eighties. Word quickly spread about the lone engineer in a tiny studio who conjured up amazing sounds using only one blown speaker and a beat-up four-track.

After a decade in a band’s rehearsal room (a former button warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen), Al moved to Chelsea, enlisting Chris Bowman to implement a beautiful studio build-out, with architect John Storyk’s expertise. Dubway evolved from a one-man operation to a staffed enterprise and Al partnered with Mike Crehore (a fellow Music Building denizen) shortly afterwards. The following 14 years saw Dubway expand into TV, film, audio books, remote recordings, and crystallized the ethic and creativity of the original shop into a breeding ground of talent and camaraderie.

In 2011, Dubway moved downtown where Mike Crehore constructed a larger and more versatile multi-room space. 10 years & many legendary sessions later, Dubway moved to its current East Village location, which includes three control rooms and three sound rooms, interlinked via audio and video to allow for complete flexibility with recording, editing, and mixing. In 2022, Dubway launched an additional location in Chelsea, with 2 control rooms, 3 sound rooms & 2 vocal booths across a 1000-square-foot floor plan. With 14 foot ceilings, this beautiful tracking space is ideal for large ensembles. Comfortable and conveniently located on West 24th Street.

In the forty years of Dubway’s history, Al’s culture of client rapport, creative input, and technical excellence has created an oasis of talent, experience, and expertise. With the ever changing landscape of media arts, Dubway continues to expand its services, now offering Dolby ATMOS mixing, ADR, remote recording, video recording, editing & more, while continuing to provide signature services such as tape & media transfer.