LALA raises the bar with new Genelec-powered immersive facility
London, UK, June 2026... Founded in London during the summer of 2025, LALA’s global music expertise is fast making it the go-to choice of producers and creatives across advertising, film, and television. With its potent combination of music supervision, bespoke composition, sonic branding, sound design and music library access, LALA’s impressive client list already includes Warner Bros, Amazon Studios, Netflix, Debenhams and TUI. Now, the company has raised the bar even further with the opening of its own world-class recording and mixing facility – featuring Genelec 9.1.4 monitoring.
LALA’s ethos of excellence was fundamental in the creation of the new facility – 179 Studios – located at the company’s Wardour Street headquarters in London’s Soho. With the studio, LALA is now able to manage projects end-to-end, from the initial creative brief to delivery of the final mix, all under one roof. Equipping the room to handle immersive audio was key, as LALA Founder Hannah Merrington explains:
“Dolby Atmos has become the industry standard for immersive audio in cinema, home entertainment, and, increasingly, music production. To have a competitive edge, stay technologically current and maintain production quality, we felt it was a priority to future proof the business. We’re seeing brands’ uptake for immersive audio, gaming, AR and VR, in all areas of the market we serve.”
Genelec quickly emerged as LALA’s natural choice for the immersive monitoring system at 179 Studios. “Once you start trying to spec an immersive room, it brings certain challenges,” comments Will Hulacki, resident sound designer at LALA. “Genelec’s compact design, along with the ability to easily match the tonal characteristics of monitors with positions around the room, make them the perfect solution to these challenges. The ability to mix and match different monitor sizes to meet the Dolby specification was an added benefit, since we could pick the correct model for each position in the system,” he adds.
At this point, LALA turned to the Soho-based audio experts Scrub, whose own state-of-the-art demonstration facilities allow a wide range of Genelec monitoring solutions to be evaluated in a controlled listening environment.
“We were invited down to Scrub to listen to ‘The Ones’ family of coaxial three-way point source monitors in an Atmos 7.1.4 configuration – and were impressed with the sonic accuracy, as well as the similarity across the different models,” says Hulacki. “Scrub specified a 9.1.4 configuration, since our large room could accommodate the additional monitor positions. We’ve got 13 Genelec monitors all directed towards the critical listening position, and the results speak for themselves – it’s a great sounding room.”
With Scrub handling the studio design and integration, the monitoring system features 8361A models for LCR, 8351Bs in the surround and overhead positions, and a 7382A subwoofer handling the low end. Once the system was in place, the Scrub team carried out multiple system calibrations using Genelec’s GLM software and the Avid MTRX Studio SPQ. “We created presets that include a flat response, the Dolby Atmos Music Curve, and the X-Curve, at both 79 and 85 dB SPL reference levels,” says Scrub’s Steve Jones. “That allows the user to instantly switch to the most suitable profile for any given project or client requirement.”
The ability to calibrate The Ones, so that they’re completely tailored to the room’s acoustics, has been a real benefit for the LALA team, as Hulacki explains:
“GLM calibration gives us the assurance that mixes will translate perfectly, either to our end user after the final mix is completed, or from a premix that is brought here from a smaller GLM tuned studio. This seamless transition means that we can be extremely efficient with our client’s time and budget.”
From Scrub’s perspective, Jones is equally happy with the studio’s performance. “I’m really pleased with how the room turned out,” he reflects. “It was great to work with a client whose top priority was achieving the best possible audio quality – no compromises were made on equipment choice and sonics. The room looks and sounds fantastic, capable of playing back at earth-shaking levels whilst maintaining control – and without a hint of distortion.”
With 179 Studios now hosting LALA’s own projects, and taking dry hire bookings from third parties too, LALA’s Merrington is feeling very positive about the future:
“We’re excited to continue providing elite audio post-production services through 2026 and beyond, and with a full-spec studio in-house, we offer a truly seamless end-to-end experience. This room is the heart of our operations; hosting clients for the final mix and seeing their vision fully realised is exactly why we built it.”
For dry hire booking enquiries, LALA can be contacted at team@lalamusic.co
For more information, please visit www.genelec.com
