What used to be just another apartment bedroom is now the home of a student-run recording studio.

Max Barkell, University alumnus, and Saied Toossi, senior in LAS, collaborated with a Columbia College student last semester to create Ill Music Records, a record label and production company on campus.

Ill Music Records is a company that helps artists produce beats, record vocals, mix and master songs into polished recordings, Barkell said. Their goal is to take artists’ ideas and form them into a finished product. The recordings can then be released and distributed.

Ill Music Records was started as a way to give talented artists in Champaign-Urbana a resource to record music.

“There are a lot of kids who are interested in producing music, but just don’t have the facilities and technical skills to do it,” Toossi said.

Toossi handles the marketing and managing of the company, while Barkell works on audio engineering.

Ill Music Records provides the necessary equipment for students to record tracks at an apartment studio on campus. The studio includes a MIDI Keyboard Controller, guitar and bass guitar, soundproof vocal booth, Pro Tools and Reason software and more.

The company is open to artists of all genres. Barkell is able to use software to produce beats and program drums, violin and other instruments to make songs.

The cost of recording is $20 per hour for a three-hour session, or $150 for a full-day booking, which is nine hours.

Since starting the company in December 2010, Ill Music Records has been mainly focusing on one client, RobKilla, or Robert Moore, senior in LAS. The company is helping Moore work on his EP, “The Killer’s Back,” while also promoting his music.

Moore said working with Ill Music Records is mutually beneficial.

“We’re learning to become a pretty good team,” he said. “I’m using my music to help their company get off the ground, and their company is helping me get off the ground.”

The company wants to maintain their focus on promoting a few individuals, but welcomes students looking to record demos for cheap.

“We can provide anything that an expensive studio can provide right here on campus,” Toossi said.

Ill Music Records has also worked with a female singer-songwriter, parodists and other musicians. They are not limited to University of Illinois students — they also work with Chicago artists.

In the future, the company hopes to grow and expand within the Champaign-Urbana community. Barkell said that they aim to be a part of anything media-related that has to do with audio in the area. They also plan to continue taking advantage of social media websites to promote clients.

Right now, they are focusing on making RobKilla’s EP a success. Ill Music Records is also beginning to plan a philanthropic show at the end of the year featuring all of their clients.

Students interested in recording and working with Ill Music Records can contact them via their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/illmusicrecords.