Grammy Award winner Kid Harpoon has been announced as Abbey Road Studio’s first-ever producer in residence (Oct. 9).
The songwriter and producer, born Thomas Hull, will have complete access to Abbey Road as his creative playground and studio home in the U.K., as well as its collection of vintage gear, microphones and instruments, and cutting-edge tech including music production software Audiomovers. He will also consult on the studios’ music tech and innovation work.
Kid Harpoon’s songwriting and production career has included roles on critically acclaimed and commercially successful records. In 2023, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, which featured Hull in an executive producer role, won the album of the year prize at the Grammys; a year later in 2024, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” which he also produced, scooped the record of the year award. Elsewhere throughout his career he has contributed to music released by Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, Maggie Rogers, Florence + The Machine and, most recently, David Byrne.
“I’m beyond excited to become Producer in Residence at Abbey Road,” Hull said in a statement. “In this position, I’m hoping to use my experience to help guide some of the incredible up-and-coming talent we have in the UK while they navigate their way through what can be a difficult industry. Mark [Robertson, director of marketing & creative] and the team have a real desire to give back and develop new talent, which is something I’m really passionate about. To be able to contribute to the Abbey Road legacy in any way is an honour, and I can’t wait to get stuck in!”
Kid Harpoon is the latest resident of the iconic London recording studios, and joins artist in residence Jordan Rakei who has been in the role for 18 months. He will also contribute to the studios’ free educational programs, including Abbey Road Amplify, which is expanding to Manchester for the first time for a series of panels and studio workshops at Aviva Studios and the new adidas / Abbey Road studio in the Co-op Live arena (Nov. 18-21), as well as the London edition at the Abbey Road base (Nov. 5-8).
Speaking to Billboard U.K. managing director Sally Davies discussed her ambition to “turbo-charge” the next decade for the studios, which has hosted sessions by The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Oasis. “The music we make here is world-moving. It travels all over and makes people happy, and we should be shouting about that,” Davies said. “One of my main focuses is to share the breadth of what we do, and the level of ambition and innovation.”
