IT LOOKS like a little used 16th century parish church but Shireshead's tranquil exterior is deceptive.

Where once there were pews and an altar there's now a state of the art recording studio full of electronic wizardry.

This remarkable building, unused and unloved for the last 30 years, has been completely transformed by Lancaster-based Lowfold Audio.

Where once there were hymns, there's now a different kind of 'soul' music.

It's been a labour of love for the Lowfold team who have been on the look out for the perfect venue for many years.

"We were looking for the right place for ages and got a bit disillusioned when it seemed there was nothing out there," said sound engineer Martin Hughes.

"Then there were a series of amazing co-incidences and this redundant church building fell into our lap.

It was in a bad state of repair and had not been used since the seventies but I could see it had lots of potential.

That was a couple of years ago, and it's turned out to be the hardest two years of my life, but it's all been worth it.

"I think we've got something really special here."

Turning an old parish church into a recording studio is an unusual and potentially tricky business.

The graveyard at Shireshead is still in use, the local villagers were understandably concerned, there was the Church Commission to deal with and, as a listed building, the place was awash with restrictions and regulations.

"A number of developers had designs on the building but the local authority was unwilling to grant planning permission," explained Martin.

"But our ideas went down well because from outside you'd never know we were here.

We donated the land at the front to the parish council and also paid for an archaeological study, which is now in the local library.

In the end we only had one objection and permission was granted.

We were delighted."

And the move upmarket is already beginning to pay off.

They have a flourishing voice over business working with the likes of Alan Green of Radio 5 and big companies like Vodaphone and News International.

And they recently set up a special link to Beijing in China where a radio presenter helped them work on a worldwide learning project.

The immaculate recording studio, with separate booth for vocals and drums, has already led to 23 sessions with local bands.

And the converted church includes one hundred square metres of acoustically enhanced space which is perfect for brass bands, choirs and even a whole orchestra.

Lowfold has come a long, long way since chancing their luck from a small in dustrial unit in Galgate.

" It's been a total team effort," added Martin.

"We all love what we do and we're in a great position to increase our profile.

It will be great for Lancaster's profile too.

We're all looking forward to making this work."