John Martyn — Basing Street Studios, London (Solid Air)

In late 1972, John Martyn recorded Solid Air at Island Records' Basing Street Studios in Notting Hill — a studio that also hosted Bob Marley, Traffic, Led Zeppelin, and many other artists from Island's remarkable 1970s roster. The album's title track was written directly for and about Nick Drake, a close friend of Martyn's whom he was watching slip into depression and isolation. Solid Air is now considered one of the greatest British folk-jazz albums ever made, and a deeply personal document of friendship, grief, and creative searching.

John Martyn (born Iain David McGeachy in New Malden, Surrey, in 1948) was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, using echo units and early tape delay to create a sound — often described as music melting at the edges — that had no obvious precedent. His voice was equally distinctive: a husky, intimate rasp that could be tender or ferocious. He was associated with the British folk revival through artists like Fairport Convention and Pentangle but always operated at a significant stylistic remove from them.

Basing Street Studios was sold by Island Records and has since operated under different names, most recently as Sarm West Studios. The building in Notting Hill remains a working studio. John Martyn was awarded an OBE in 2008 and passed away on January 29, 2009 in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Solid Air was voted one of the 100 greatest British albums in multiple polls.