The Farm & Åsen BlackBox

A creative studio on a historic farm in Åsenfjord, Norway – built for music, film, rehearsals, residencies and artistic collaboration.

Our home, Leangan Austre, is a historic Norwegian farm in Åsenfjord, Trøndelag, with buildings dating back to the 1830s. Surrounded by farmland, forest and open landscape, the farm has gradually developed into a working environment for music, film and other artistic projects.

At the centre of this is Åsen BlackBox, a 170 m² flexible studio and production space. Originally developed as a space for performance and creative work, the BlackBox is increasingly used for music rehearsals, recording sessions, pre-production, live sessions, filming and artistic development.

The room offers enough space for a full ensemble to work and record together, making it particularly well suited to acoustic music and productions where interaction between musicians is important. Its flexible setup also allows the space to move easily between recording, rehearsal, filming, workshops and small performances.

For us, the advantage of the BlackBox is also everything surrounding it. Artists can stay and work on the farm over several days rather than moving between accommodation, rehearsal rooms and studios. We have private guest accommodation with kitchen and bathroom, additional accommodation options, communal spaces and access to the farm and surrounding landscape.

This makes the farm particularly suited to residential recording sessions and artistic residencies, where musicians and collaborators can live, rehearse, record and develop material in one place.

The location itself is often part of the work. The old farm buildings, landscape, animals, forests and changing seasons provide possibilities for photography, film and field recording alongside the studio production. Documentary film and photography are also an established part of our professional practice, allowing music, visual material and documentation to be developed within the same environment.

Åsen BlackBox is both our own creative base and a space we make available for selected collaborations with other artists, musicians, filmmakers and cultural projects.

Recording & Music Production

Åsen BlackBox can be used as a standalone rehearsal and recording space or as the base for a larger residential production.

The studio is particularly suited to projects using mobile recording setups, where producers and engineers bring the equipment required for a particular production. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial recording studio with a fixed technical package, the BlackBox provides the space, acoustics, working environment and infrastructure around the recording.

This allows the technical setup to be adapted to the music rather than the other way around.

The farm can also accommodate musicians and collaborators during longer sessions, with meals, accommodation and production logistics organised on site. For international collaborations, we can assist with local transport and practical coordination.

Our own productions increasingly use the farm in this way, bringing musicians, producers and visual collaborators together for concentrated periods of recording and creative work.

Film, Photography & Live Sessions

With its large open floor and flexible layout, the BlackBox can be adapted for live sessions, music videos, interviews, photography and documentary filming.

Beyond the studio itself, Leangan Austre offers a distinctive visual environment: a traditional Trøndelag farmstead, historic wooden buildings, agricultural landscapes, forest and the changing Nordic seasons.

This makes it possible to develop the visual side of a music project alongside the recording itself – from simple documentation and press photography to live performances and larger film productions.

Workshops & Residencies

Since 2022, the farm and BlackBox have also hosted workshops, seminars and immersive learning experiences with participants from Norway and abroad.

Among the facilitators we have welcomed are Kai Uwe Faust (Heilung), who has led workshops in Core Shamanism and Nordic spiritual traditions, and Týr Torsteinsson (Australia), whose work has attracted an international group of participants.

For workshops and residencies, we can provide the venue, accommodation, meals, participant administration, local transportation and practical production support. The combination of the 170 m² BlackBox, accommodation and surrounding landscape makes the farm particularly suitable for small groups who want to work intensively together over several days.

We are interested in collaborations with musicians, filmmakers, artists, producers, researchers and other creative practitioners looking for an unusual setting for recording, rehearsals, artistic residencies, workshops or interdisciplinary projects.