The floor may not be made of dirt, but the philosophy of Dirt Floor Recording Studio is as down to earth as you can get. Tucked away in a little brick building in Chester, Eric Lichter records CDs and old school vinyl for musicians who travel to his studio from as far away as California and as near as down the road.

The word keeps spreading, particularly among folk and roots rock artists—some as high profile as Providence-based Brown Bird, Low Anthem, and Poor Old Shine.

In an increasingly high-tech, high-speed world, what makes Dirt Floor unique is Lichter's hands-on, traditional approach to the art of recording. All projects are done on analog tape. Equipment—reel-to-reel recorders and microphones—hark back to the early '80s.

Lichter also offers an impressive array of vintage instruments for musicians' use—from a Fender Stratocaster Relic to a Hammond M3 Organ.

His aim is to create as pure and natural a sound as possible by going the analog route, versus using computers.

"It's a really true, honest sound," Lichter says. "It's warmer—you can't manipulate the voices, do it once, repeat, click-click-click, cut and-paste—it's really a performance."

The other critical component to the recording studio's success is Lichter's own involvement every step of the way in the process.

A multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Lichter doesn't hire studio musicians, but instead sits in as needed on the numerous instruments lining the walls of the studio.

"I wear all the hats: musician, producer, engineer. I won't let something leave here if I don't think it's truly great. I listen and I'm involved every step of the way, sleeves rolled up."

Lichter lives in Killingworth, grew up in Madison, and has been making music since he was a kid. His brother, Jeremy, also a singer-songwriter, resides in Branford.

Lichter has played in a number of bands, worked in the music industry, and lived in New York City, L.A., and points in-between.

He found that whenever he went to a studio to record his own music, no one really understood what he was trying to do.

And so, six years ago, when a friend told him about a space that had just opened up in Chester, Lichter says, "I decided to throw my hat in the ring and get a tax ID number. I worked my [tail] off for a few years to develop a reputation with artists all over the country.

"I can help arrange a song and turn it into a gem," he adds. "It's a joy, the people I work with: bands, individual artists, big and small."

Lichter notes that his expectations for the musicians for whom he's working are as high as they are for himself.

"If I'm working for them, they're going to work, too," he says.

And that doesn't mean fun isn't a priority.

"Everyone needs to be genuinely having a great time," Lichter says. "It's a large factor in the creative process."

Notes From Local Musicians

Vince Tuckwood moved from London, England, to New London in 2003 and is completing a CD at Dirt Floor. This is the singer-songwriter's first experience recording in the U.S.

He says it wasn't that hard to find Lichter and his studio.

"Despite the size of Connecticut, there's quite a connected network of musicians here," Tuckwood says. "Eric popped up in the network through mutual friends [on] Facebook. Listening to his stuff, I thought it was really cool."

Tuckwood says what impressed him about Lichter was "getting an initial reaction from someone with capability and credibility, who had never heard these songs [versus] feedback from a bunch of drunk people in a bar.

"Eric knows what he's talking about and is passionate about this, both as a business and as an offering to the community," Tuckwood adds. "So I trust and can accept his opinion. I don't accept everyone's opinion of my work."

Jack Caldwell, a performing and recording artist and owner of The Frame Shop on Wall Street in Madison, describes the studio as "an analog island in a digital world, and says Lichter is a throwback to the 1970s "when musicians had a passion for what they did, and believed music—their music—-could change the world."

Caldwell, who grew up in Clinton, says people he knew from high school are often amused that he still writes songs. They ask him why.

"Music is something I have in my head all the time—24/7 as they say. Writing for me is just trying to get what I hear in my head out and into some form where I can listen to it from the outside in," he says.

Dirt Floor allows him to tap into his creativity.

"Dirt Floor is a very supportive, creative atmosphere for musicians, whether they're beginners or seasoned pros," Caldwell says. "I've seen Eric work with young players in a compassionate and supportive way that draws out confidence and enables the artist to do what he or she does best…I've also seen Eric put overly zealous guitar players in their place by out-playing them to a point where they realize it may be a good idea to listen to this other guy in the room—but never with a discouraging word," he adds.

Hannah Fair of North Haven is one of the young performers to whom Caldwell refers. An acoustic singer-songwriter, Fair is playing all over New England with her newest CD, recently recorded at Dirt Floor.

Fair says she and her family had been researching places for her to record and found nothing appealing until they "stumbled upon" an interview featuring Lichter on WNPR.

"We were on a shoestring budget with no experience whatsoever when it came to the recording process," Fair says. "Eric was honest, supportive, and truly had a heart to be helpful to me as an emerging artist. I recorded my first six-song EP with him. Two years later, and with much growth, I was ready to make my first full-length CD."

Fair describes Lichter as an advocate for her music, saying, "Eric becomes like family to the people he opens up his studio to. He goes out of his way, and above and beyond, in many instances."

That level of support is what enables Fair to pay attention to the most important part of her music—-the bonds it forges with others.

"What inspires me to play music…is the connection that is made between you and your listeners," she says. "When you put out a song or an EP or album, you're making yourself vulnerable to so many people you don't know, but that is what's beautiful about it. That is what draws people to music: that you can connect to people that have gone through what they've gone through—-maybe when they thought no one understood."

For more information about Dirt Floor Recording Studio, including a live monthly concert series held at the studio, visit www.facebook.com/dirtfloorstudio or call 860-750-8363.