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Google let us be the Beatles

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OK, so you won't get to experience the giddy thrills of being chased out of a packed venue by a horde of screaming teenage girls, and you won't suddenly inherit John Lennon's knack for penning bizarrely poetic rhyming couplets, but thanks to Google, us mere mortals can now enjoy a taste of what it must have been like to be a Beatle by allowing us inside the doors of the famous Abbey Road Studios. Well, virtually at least. The “Inside Abbey Road” interactive experience lets music fans explore the legendary studios, interact with its famous equipment and hear the stories of some of the most beloved albums of all time that were recorded there. As a musician who has long dreamed of laying down a track at the studio arguably more famous and well-regarded than any other on the planet, I have to say the concept really speaks to me more than any of the similar virtual experiences which Google have been rolling out over the last year such as the Pyramids of Giza Streetview experience and the Google Cultural Institute's Van Gogh creative.

The “Inside Abbey Road” interactive experience lets music virtually fans explore the most legendary studio in the world

The studios were opened in 1931 by the composer (and fellow Midlands lad) Edward Elgar, and played a crucial role in the development of popular music throughout the 20th century. The studios hosted the world’s first live global broadcast in the 60's when The Beatles taught the world for the first time that “All You Need is Love,” and it was at Abbey Road that EMI engineer Alan Blumlein helped to invent stereo sound. The studios have also become a popular tourist destination, thanks largely to the iconic cover of The Beatle's album that took its name from the studio. Indeed, I struggle to think of a more generic tourist snap than the famous crossing outside the studio.

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The Inside Abbey Road experience can be accessed from any internet-ready computer, smartphone or tablet, and uses the same engine used to power Google Streetview. As such, anyone who has ever used Google Maps should be at home with the program, but the level of interaction is completely unique to the Abbey Road experience. The site lets users explore every nook and cranny of the three main studios and the mastering suite by moving through more than 150 360-degree panoramic shots. The site is also littered with links to archival images from the studio's history and YouTube clips revealing what happened where and on what date. It's a literal window into the past, with footage featuring everyone from Elgar to Jay Z, and it all works seamlessly.

The experience can be accessed from any internet-ready computer, smartphone or tablet, and uses the same engine used to power Google Streetview

Another feature unique to the site is the ability for visitors to play around with the equipment. Visitors to the virtual control room, for example, get to play with the J37 4-track recorder that was used to record Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. You'll be given a song and are asked to get it as close to the original mix as possible, with a score given at the end grading your efforts. It's a surprisingly fun little game that will give those new to the practice a practical insight into how mixing works. There is also a station in the mastering suite that tells site users how to cut vinyl, which couldn't be times better, as this coming Saturday (April 18th) marks the 9th annual Record Store Day in the UK. Rather cunningly, Google has also included links to their Google play service on the site, which will allow users to directly purchase songs recorded in the studio.

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There is also an interactive audio tour featuring Abbey Road head of audio products and engineer Mirek Stiles, BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer (and unofficial 5th member) George Martin. Giles, a producer in his own right who now mans the desk for acts such as Paul McCartney, said “Abbey Road Studios has been a hive of creativity and source of world-class recordings for more than 80 years and the artists using the studios have sold countless millions of records,” helping to create popular culture as we know it today in the process! He adds that “This collaboration with Google gives the outside world a great insight into the everyday workings of the studio and allows anyone to glimpse the magic that goes on inside the world's most famous recording studio.”

Visitors to the virtual control room get to play with the J37 4-track recorder that was used to record Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Tom Seymour, the project lead from Google’s Creative Lab said their team is “Always looking at to use technology to bring people closer to cultural icons and institutions around the world.” With Inside Abbey Road, they wanted to “Open the doors to the iconic music studio for anyone in the world to step inside and experience the stories, the sounds, the people and the equipment that make Abbey Road Studios what it is today.” Abbey Road managing director, Isabel Garvey adds that whilst the studios are best known for the music created at the studios “Inside Abbey Road gives music fans and musicians unprecedented access to find out a lot more about the studio’s role in unleashing some of this creativity, whether that’s with legendary artists known all over the world or those just starting out.”

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These kind of interactive virtual experiences are becoming more common, and many might argue it's a little sad that we're now exploring these places from the comfort of our own homes. I half agree when it comes to virtual recreations of famous tourist destinations, but in this case I'm going to play devil's advocate, as this is not a location accessible to the general public. There are few places as genuinely iconic for musicians as Abbey Road and as such, I'm genuinely thrilled to be given the opportunity to explore it, but are there any other iconic locations you'd want access to? Area 51 perhaps? Sound off below!

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Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK. This is probably the closest he'll ever get to actually stepping foot inside Abbey Road, but a man can dream.

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