Here we meet the inner sanctum of Watershed studio, Fabian Kevorkian’s loyal production cadre during The Get Quick’s golden age of 1960s sonic experimentation and strange ascendance:
Thor Scully – Chief Sound Recorder
A monolithic presence with the temperament of a thunderstorm and ears tuned to divine discord. Former wartime radio operator turned avant-garde tape manipulator. Known for his ritualistic recording practices—saining before takes, running reels counterclockwise “to trap the bad frequencies.” Once claimed he could hear lies in a vocal take. Allegedly wore the same wool coat for ten years. Kevorkian trusted him with the key to the Quantitative Chamber.
Kip Leeds – Sound Engineer
Quick-witted, chain-smoking, jazz-obsessed prodigy from Leeds (yes, really). Trained under Delia Derbyshire, Kip brought a mathematical edge to the band’s madness. Known for building his own pedals out of discarded radio parts and recording through aquarium tanks “for viscosity.” Invented “The Kip Slap” — a reverb trick that’s still hotly debated. Once overdubbed 14 glockenspiels to prove a point.
Jerome Beesley – Sound Engineer
The studio stoic, with a surgeon’s hands and a priest’s silence. If Kip was the trickster, Jerome was the temple guard. Preferred mono, hated echo, and believed all great music should “feel like a punch to the lungs.” Would stare at meters for hours without blinking. Rumored to have once stopped a séance in the studio by flipping a breaker and muttering, “We’re here to track. Now grab your gear and summon some songs.”
Tariq Mahmood – Assistant Sound Engineer
Quietly brilliant and meticulous, Tariq (affectionately known as “Reek,” to his friends) arrived in London in 1963, having trained in radio transmission and electronics at Lahore Technical College. Recruited by Kevorkian for his precision and his knack for salvaging corrupted magnetic tape, Tariq was especially valued for his ability to reverse-engineer faulty circuitry in antique preamps and prototype delay units, often modifying BBC equipment in secret.
Samir Jones – Assistant Sound Engineer
Raised in Kingston but shaped by the pirate airwaves of Brixton, Samir brought rhythm, wit, and an instinctual understanding of sonic space to the Watershed. He began as a BBC apprentice filing acetate sleeves but was poached by Kevorkian after singlehandedly fixing a broken spring reverb tank using spare parts from a break room toaster. Samir had a gift for sculpting low end—his hands-on dub sensibility and deep respect for bass frequencies later made him a favorite of adventurous producers. All cool focus and sly grins behind the boards, Samir was rumored to plant subliminal Morse rhythms into tracks “just to see who was really listening.”
La Maga – Photographer
The barefoot enchantress with a camera. See earlier dossier — she saw the soul of The Get Quick and captured it on spectral film stock. When not shooting, she’d sit in the vocal booth reading Lorca and feeding pigeons from her coat pocket. Kept a crate of film rolls and keepsakes labeled “DO NOT DEVELOP” — now believed lost in the fire of 1974.
Thatcher Humphries – Photographer / Graphic Designer
Posh mod with Bauhaus glasses and a velvet blazer full of razor blades. Created all the band’s album covers between ‘65 and ‘69 using collage, silk screen, and “found occult geometry.” Believed typography was a form of divination. Allegedly took LSD every Tuesday at 10 a.m. to maintain a “rhythmic aesthetic threshold.” Designed the original TGQ logo based on a glyph he saw in a dream.
Frampton Gwenette – Intern / Janitor
The boy who swept up the spores of genius. Seventeen when hired, Frampton became the unofficial chronicler of studio lore. Kept a secret diary (lost), erased side B reels by accident (legendary), and may be one of only five people to ever have heard “Aetherflux” in its entirety before it was destroyed. Later claimed in a fanzine interview that “the walls at Watershed were alive — and they spoke, and sang, to me at night. Even after all these years I still hear them. Still cherish their song.”
— abridged from OBLIVION REPORT by Mark Question
