Converse, a footwear fashion brand recognized around the world, has become an increasingly influential cultural force through its healthy sideline in music, hooking up bands with choice concerts and enviable recording-studio time under its Rubber Tracks aegis. The company, now owned by Nike Inc. and long based in North Andover, put a fresh stamp on Boston proper this year when it opened its new headquarters at Lovejoy Wharf, complete with an adjacent Rubber Tracks studio
Now Converse is poised to extend its musical reach as far as its signature footwear has traveled, mounting what it has termed a “studio takeover” on a global scale. Starting on Sept. 14, 84 bands representing 28 countries — winnowed down from more than 9,000 applicants — will be provided with free studio time not only at Rubber Tracks studios in Boston and Brooklyn, but also at such storied spaces as Abbey Road in London, Stankonia in Atlanta, Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica, and Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, Iceland.
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Included among a range of winning acts that span the globe from Los Angeles, and London to Santiago, Chile, and Jakarta, Indonesia, are four bands from close to home: Worshipper (Boston), Aziz the Shake (Waltham), Sparhawks (Hudson), and DAP (Providence, R.I.).
“We’re thrilled to have reached so many local music communities worldwide in just the registration period alone,” said Jed Lewis, Converse global music marketing director, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to providing this unique platform to new, diverse acts from all over the globe within these 12 iconic studios.”
Before the studio takeover commences, Converse will host the first in a series of concerts at Lovejoy Wharf on Wednesday night. Presented free of charge and open to all ages, the show is set to start at 5 p.m.; featured on the bill are Caveman, a popular electro-pop band based in Brooklyn, and Somerville alt-folk act the Eternals.
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Steve Smith can be reached at steven.smith@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nightafternight.