Dubrek Studios

Located in the heart of Derby city centre, Dubrek is a recording studio, rehearsal space, cafe, bar, art gallery and music venue. Working collaboratively with local businesses and artists, Dubrek’s mission is to encourage people to engage with music, by championing local artists, holding regular events and providing a space for musicians to rehearse and record. 

Partnership with the University of Derby 

Dubrek’s partnership with the University of Derby blends the curriculum with real-world experience by enabling opportunities for students such as work experience, mentoring, workshops, networking and technical support. BA Popular Music Programme Leader, Phil Baggaley believes that these opportunities have a real impact on student experience.

"The collaboration with Dubrek Studios has been a real success story and has very much added to the student experience for those studying music here at Derby. There are great opportunities for students to apply their knowledge in an industry setting. There are also many occasions for students to network and meet other musicians and get to perform in a ‘real world’ environment."

Jay Dean, owner of Dubrek, has played an active role in module and programme planning, embedding the industry within the curriculum and creating authentic case studies for courses within the Music Industry. Learning at Dubrek is an ideal way for students to experience an industry setting, demonstrating the value of their studies and how their knowledge can be applied to the workplace.

Dubrek provides opportunities for students from a range of courses, including Sound and Light Engineering, Music Production, Music Performance, Marketing and more.

For example, Dubrek held workshops for second year Music Production and Music Performance students about recording live music. Following this, the students ran a live music event, which was recorded by the Music Production students.

Jay describes this process:

"Firstly, we held several workshops to inform the students about recording live music. We then had the Music Performance students do their assessments at Dubrek, with the performers forming a band and playing a set of cover pieces. Their performance was recorded by the Music Production students who utilised our equipment and mixed a project as a part of their production course."

Being able to run and perform at a real live music event was a fantastic opportunity for Popular Music graduate Connor Turton.

"Experiences like this are vital in developing the industry skills needed when performing at, or organising your own gigs and events. Dubrek is an asset to the both the university’s Popular Music courses and Derby music scene."

Dubrek has also provided opportunities for students to work on commercial events. For instance, Jay oversaw a project by the Sound and Light Engineering students, who were provided with specs and a site visit before arranging the sound and lighting for a band's performance. Overall, Jay was impressed by the students' professionalism and quality of work.

Engaging across Derby 

Dubrek is ideally situated in the city centre and works with organisations across Derby. For example, Dubrek has worked with Derby Museums, Deda and Electric Daisy. By collaborating with local businesses, Dubrek is well-connected to support students with networking with external organisations.

Jay believes that collaboration with other business is key and says that “if there are any connections to businesses in Derby that can be made, I’ll make them as I believe in strength in collaboration.”

Student life

In addition to supporting students with their studies, Jay is passionate about encouraging young people to put on their own music performances.

Jay said, “Students who are interested in performing or holding an event and want some experience, help or guidance, can speak to me at Dubrek and I will assist. I want to see more students engage with music as it is the universal language. I would love to see a younger audience engaging with some of the great music, events and opportunities down here as there is something for everyone."

Located within close proximity to student accommodation, Dubrek is also a vibrant social space offering live music and events. With events on most days, Dubrek caters towards all interests, from Free Jam sessions and DJ nights to a Climate & Nature cafe to Drink and Draw nights.

Jay describes that saying, “There are events every night at Dubrek and they are super varied. We also have gigs that can be anything including punk, indie and folk as this is a blank canvas space so we are open to any genre of music.”

As well as music, the gallery at Dubrek provides an area where local artists can be represented. At the beginning of each exhibition, Dubrek holds opening events with music and drinks. If you would like to visit the gallery, it is open in the daytime, along with the cafe.