African Nova Scotian Music Association opens production hub in downtown Dartmouth

The African Nova Scotian Music Association has a newly renovated studio where members can work on their craft.

The African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA) has opened a studio space in downtown Dartmouth, creating what it hopes will become a central production hub for Black artists and community members across the province.

The organization has spent the past two years preparing the space on Ochterloney Street for members to record, rehearse and develop professional projects using industry-standard equipment.

“Our goal is for this to be a production hub that our membership and our Black community can come and enjoy and have access to high-quality equipment, professional-level equipment,” said executive director Julien Matwawana. “Record, create music, rehearse their sets, rehearse their original music, or whatever it is that they want to aspire to do in the music space.”

The studio includes recording and mixing capabilities, rehearsal space and podcasting equipment. Matwawana said artists can create a song from start to finish in the facility, something that was not possible in the organization’s previous studio.

ANSMA operated for about 13 years out of the Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, where it maintained a smaller demo studio. Matwawana described the former space as suitable for laying down ideas but not for full production.

“You can create a song from start to finish in here,” he said of the new facility. “You can create a beat or rehearse a live set in here. So there’s a lot more that you can do in this space versus what we had before.”

The move downtown was intentional to provide a more central location for members who live across Nova Scotia and other Atlantic provinces. ANSMA has approximately 200 members.

So far, a select number of members and staff have tested the space and equipment. Matwawana said feedback has been positive.

“Everybody is super impressed by what the studio can actually do from the capabilities, the plugins, the different types of mics that we have,” he said. “You can create any sound that you want with the gear that we have.”

Beyond recording, the organization plans to expand services in the space, including podcast production and affordable headshots for artists seeking to build their professional profiles.

Matwawana said the studio is also intended to serve as a revenue stream to support the organization’s long-term sustainability. He hopes established artists visiting Halifax will book time in the space.

“I see this as an incubator, a Black production hub,” he said. “If they’re performing at the Scotiabank Centre one night and they come in a day earlier or stay a day late and need a place to lay down some ideas, I want people to see this as a viable option.”

The studio is currently available for member bookings through ANSMA’s website, with plans to continue expanding access to the broader community.

“We want folks to see this as home,” Matwawana said. “A place they can feel creative.”

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