Studios and its "sound magician and wizard of tunes" Dieter Dierks as well as a "special thanks" for the creative environment and the great catering by "Mother Dierks" who would cook for the musicians till 2 o'clock in the morning if necessary. Another benefit was the fact that Dieter Dierks had continued fitting his studio facilities with the latest high tech equipment, thus turning them into one of the leading German production sites. Self devised reverb effects, additional experimental instruments like the mellotron, a keyboard that could replay regular tapings of orchestra sounds. Studio expansion and international clientele Around 1972 Dieter Dierks expanded further. In order to enable cost-effective pre-productions, the basement of the studio hotel was turned into three small recording studios and a control room bundled as Studio 2. In late 1973 a lounge called "the canteen" planned to be used as a conference room was built in front of Studio 1 as an annex. Eventually the excellent reputation Dierks Studios enjoyed for being a first class recording location had also spread internationally. The company had become an important economic factor for the small town of Stommeln. Bands would often stay there for months, spend money in the shops and in the evenings go to local restaurants and pubs. Journalists would arrive to take photos and do interviews. The first international band to come from England was Nektar. Between June and August 1971 this quintet recorded their debut album Journey to the Centre of the Eye in Stommeln. They came back to record the albums A Tab in the Ocean (October 1972), the studio live recording ...Sounds Like This (February 1973) and, Remember the Future which in July 1974 reached No. 19 in the US album charts. At the time this album was considered to be the most successful Dierks production so far. In December 1974 Nektar went back to Stommeln for the last time to record Down to Earth. The album went to No. 32 in the US charts and was awarded gold in February 1975. In 1974 the first audio recording mobile was added to the company's portfolio. Consequently, live performances of renowned international artists such as Al Jarreau, Fats Domino, Oscar Peterson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Chapman, Ella Fitzgerald, The Platters, Brian Auger, Lou Reed, Nana Mouskouri, Santana or Chicago could be recorded. Thanks to his experience with major international artists, their managements and their record