The History of Dr. Lee Prebble & The Surgery – From Humble Beginnings to an Iconic New Zealand Recording Studio
How The Surgery Became a Leading Recording Studio in New Zealand
The Evolution of Dr. Lee Prebble’s Career & The Surgery’s Growth
Wellington’s Music Scene & The Surgery’s Impact Over the Years
OUR HISTORY:
LITTLE ATOMS, BIG WAVES
In the mid 1990’s while at high school, Lee was playing in bands and working weekends as a death to dawn radio announcer at Central FM in Hawke’s Bay, sneaking Stone Roses and The Orb tracks into the strict studio playlist.
After high-school, he studied Radio Broadcasting, seeing it as a practical way to work in the music industry. This included a 6 month internship at Marmalade Audio in Wellington, followed by a full time position as an Audio Engineer.
Lee’s role was mostly on the 11th floor, where the commercials for TV and radio were made. Barnaby Weir, who had recently formed The Black Seeds, worked at Radio Active and would come in to record the station’s ads.
Lee and Barnaby hit it off and Lee started engineering The Black Seeds’ live shows. He quickly established himself as a creative live mixing engineer and was soon working with bands such as Trinity Roots and the Phoenix Foundation.
Lee’s first album project was The Black Seeds’ debut album.
The album was recorded and mixed at Marmalade on a mixture of 2” tape and a Fairlight MFX3 digital system. In 2001, Keep On Pushing was released, which, despite a minimal marketing budget, reached platinum sales.
As the world, and Radio Active, transitioned into the digital era, Lee seized the opportunity to acquire a collection of analog gear from the station. He added these pieces to his expanding arsenal of equipment taking over his bedroom. It soon resembled more of a storage room with a bed than a bedroom with gear in it. However, his treasure trove of gear remained largely untouched due to the lack of space to connect it all.
That was soon remedied when friends in the recently formed band Trinity Roots set up a very basic studio in a sprawling basement on Tasman Street that had once housed OMW (Original Music Workshop). Lee helped the band by lending them equipment and recording them in the evenings after his day job at Marmalade. (His contract at Marmalade meant he couldn’t be credited for his work on the album).
The Surgery MK1 Rack EquipmentWhile recording 'True', Trinity Roots began calling Lee, "The Doctor" because he was able to make things sound better, a nickname that stuck.
Upon completing the album, Lee and the band took in their surroundings and realised their makeshift setup was, in fact, a recording studio worth hanging on to. It seemed only fitting to name it The Surgery.
Dr. Lee then resigned from Marmalade to focus all his energy on this new recording studio
In 2002, Trinity Roots released True which went platinum.
Trinity Roots & Dr Lee outside The Surgery. L-R Rio Hemopo, Lee Prebble, Toby Larmer (band manager), Riki Gooch, Warren Maxwell, circa 2001
“I still remember when we got a telephone hooked up and it was like, wooah this is flash!”
- Dr. Lee, RNZ, 2014
The basement was a windowless network of rooms they made work
Mike Fabulous and Dan Weetman from The Black Seeds had their own little studios within The Surgery, and Trinity Roots and The Black Seeds had practice rooms.
“You’re always getting people coming in and picking up their gear or stopping in for a cuppa tea, and it’s great because sometimes you’re in the studio for so long you don’t see anyone. Someone will walk through to get a cuppa tea, and I’ll be like, oh, you’re just in time to record a tambourine part, great!”
- Dr Lee, RNZ, 2004
The Surgery’s recording room , circa 2002Lee records boiling water in The Surgery's kitchenLee recorded and co-mixed The Phoenix Foundation's debut album, Horsepower (2003), earning critical acclaim. Both parties were deeply immersed in experimentation, recording sounds inside an oven and the building's fire escape stairwells etc. Lee and the bands he was working with would take breaks by playing rowdy games of cricket or soccer in the basement's vast hallway.
The Black Seeds 2006 double platinum album Into the Dojo was named after their practice room which was once a karate dojo, the album cover features The Surgery’s massive hallway. Into the Dojo boosted the bands International following when in 2009, One By One was used in AMC’s TV Series Breaking Bad, and featured on their official soundtrack.
The Black Seeds, 2006. L-R Jarney Murphy, Bret McKenzie, Tim Jarray, Daniel Wheetman, Mike August, Barnaby Weir, Lee Prebble.In 2004, The Black Seeds recorded their second album at The Surgery with Lee, On The Sun (2004), followed by Trinity Roots Home, Land and Sea (2004), and The Phoenix Foundation Pegasus (2005).
As more projects were completed, more gear was purchased, and more projects were completed and more and more gear was discovered, acquired, and hoarded. The Surgery continued to grow and gain recognition.
STRINGING ME ALONG, THE WOOLSHED SESSIONS, 2007
Band Members: Age Pryor (guitar), Al Fraser (vocals, guitar, bass), Jess Chambers (vocals, guitar), Peter Hill (bass), Andy Hummel (guitar), Brett Skinner (drums), Justin 'Firefly' Clarke (guitar, banjo), Lee Prebble (lap steel)In 2007, a group of Wellington musicians, including Dr. Lee and his lap steel, gathered in an old woolshed near Takaka to record some songs. The jam led to the creation of The Woolshed Sessions. Lee mixed the raw album at The Surgery, and the track Stringing Me Along went on to win the APRA Best Country Song award in 2009.
Luke Buda, Lee Prebble, Samuel Scott with the 2010 Tui Awards Best Producer & Best Engineer for The Phoenix Foundations’ album 'Buffalo'.
Photo: Recorded Music of New Zealand.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
FROM THE ARCHIVES
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![Dr. Lee working the racks]()
Dr. Lee working the racks
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![The Racks]()
THE RACKS
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![The Nudge in the control room]()
THE NUDGE IN THE CONTROL ROOM
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![Lee live mixing for Trinity Roots]()
LEE LIVE MIXING FOR TRINITY ROOTS TOUR, EUROPE 2001
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![Tessa Rain recording Dirt Poems]()
Recording tessa rain, dirt poems
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![Luke Buda in the Recording Room]()
LUKE BUDA IN THE RECORDING ROOM
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![Dr Lee's control desk in The Surgery, Tasman Street]()
THE CONTROL DESK
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![Dr Lee in the control room]()
THE DOCTOR
WATCH
DR. LEE SCRATCHES UP THE TAPE MACHINE WITH THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION, 2009
I.20 min
INSIDE THE SURGERY WITH DR. LEE & BARNABY WEIR, 2007
2.20 min
EXPLORE
Our good old interactive website didn’t survive the internet’s evolution, but the National Library archived it for a trip down memory lane. Best viewed on desktop.
Dr. Lee Prebble, circa 2011In 2012, the building’s owners finally decided to demolish building, taking the basement with it.
After many months of searching, Lee found an old warehouse in the southern end of Newtown. Potential was possible. Very possible.
Despite the warehouse being in critical condition, The Doctor armed himself with an array of tools and, with the support of friends and family, began the operation of designing and building the studio inside the warehouse. The plan involved, among other things, 3.5 tonnes of recycled sand as one of the sound absorbent layers in the control room's flooring, and a shelf in the kitchen for awards. Nine months later, his baby The Surgery (MK II), was born.
Before diving into full-scale operations, The Nudge settled in for a month of studio experimentation and tweaking. Gremlins were evicted, demons were exorcised and warts were thwarted.
“This looks like the kind of place Neil Young would have recorded in the 70s.”
- A Friend, 2015
The Surgery, over its two locations, has been in operation for over two decades. It continues to be a place where good people and good gear make things sound better.
Barnaby Weir and Lee Prebble at The Surgery, 2017. Photo: Monique Ford/Fairfax NZDub & Fire, The Black Seeds meets Scientist & Dr. Lee , 2024OLD SCHOOL
OLD SCHOOL
DR. LEE
ON RADIO NZ
2020
DR. LEE DEMONSTRATES HOW SONGS ARE MADE.
26 min
2018
Photo: Emma Smith/RNZDR. LEE ON THE ROLE OF RECORDING STUDIOS.
39 min
2017
Photo: Emma Smith/RNZA MIXTURE OF TOPICS SPLICE DR. LEE’S MIXTAPE.
62 min2014
A TOUR OF THE NEW STUDIO WITH A CHIPPER DR. LEE.
14 min 2004
Photo: Pat Sheppard/RNZDR. LEE’S FIRESIDE CHAT ON THE START OF HIS CAREER.
27 min