Brad Pitt Helps Reopen Legendary Recording Studio on French Estate amid Legal Battles with Angelina Jolie

Helene Hadjiyianni

A legendary recording studio has been brought back to life, thanks in part to Brad Pitt.

Studio Miraval was the site of dozens of classic recordings including Pink Floyd's The Wall and WHAM's "Careless Whisper." It sits on the sprawling grounds of Château Miraval, a French villa owned by Pitt, 58, and Angelina Jolie, 47, and the site of their 2014 wedding. It's now a cause of legal strife amid their ongoing divorce.

In a new Billboard cover story, Pitt and French producer Damien Quintard reveal the studio, which has been used by music icons like AC/DC, The Cure, Elton John and Sting, has been completely revamped just one year after Pitt announced that it would be reopening, and give an inside look at the process of upgrading the state-of-the-art space now known as Miraval Studios

The facility was built in 1977 by then-owner Jacques Loussier, a French jazz pianist and was ahead of its time, housing the first solid-state mixing board in France. Built to reproduce the sound Loussier heard in concert hall performances, the large secluded facility also contained a separate drum chamber.

It remained in frequent use through the early 2000s, but gradually slowed down after Loussier sold the property in 1992. When Pitt and Jolie first discovered the villa in 2008, the studio, including its in-house instruments, synthesizers and gear, remained available.

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It wasn't until last year that Pitt finally decided it was time to tackle the studio head-on. "There were always plans to revamp the studio," he told Billboard. "It has great historical provenance and so we didn't want to do it until we could do something special."

Quintard, 31, was exactly that something special for the Bullet Train star, who told Billboard it was a "matter of instinct" to hire the producer for the job.

"As a French engineer, it was a holy grail," Quintard said of the experience redesigning the space. "Miraval is one of those legendary, iconic studios. But it wasn't until I came to Miraval that I understood how deep the roots go."

As he undertook the revamp project, Quintard made sure to keep much of what gave the legendary studio its rich history.

"It was important for us to preserve all the analog technology that was here, but to also fully incorporate the best digital technology of today," he said. "We're not here to just build a new studio: We're here to honor a legacy."

The guidance Pitt gave the young producer was to keep the focus on what musicians would come there to do: create. "Let's make a sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing."

RELATED: Angelina Jolie Claims Brad Pitt Choked One of Their Kids; Pitt Source Calls Allegations 'Untrue'

In 2008, Pitt and Jolie signed a long-term lease on the 1,200-acre estate before officially purchasing it in 2012 for an estimated $60 million. It was an often-visited vacation spot for the pair and their six kids, and they hosted their wedding on its grounds two years later.

Since the news of their split in 2019, the French vineyard has become a hot topic, as it is not only a property matter, but also involves the wine brand the couple launched in 2013, Miraval Wines.

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In October 2021, Jolie sold her interests in Château Miraval to Tenute del Mondo, whose parent company is spirits manufacturer Stoli Group. According to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE in February 2022, Pitt alleges that Jolie made the sale despite their prior agreement that neither would do so unless the other person approved.

In the lawsuit, the Fight Club actor claims that Jolie's business, Nouvel, owed his company, Mondo Bongo, the right of first refusal and that the sale infringed on that right. Pitt's lawyers have also claimed their belief that Tenute del Mondo is "bent on taking control of Miraval."

The move was one that Pitt believed was purposefully meant to inflict harm on him, as legal documents obtained by PEOPLE demonstrated.

The actor accused his ex-wife of contributing "nothing to Miraval's success," while the wine company became his "passion" project that grew "into a multimillion-dollar global business" because of his work.

A cross-complaint Jolie filed in October says that Pitt's claim is "false" and "no such agreement ever existed." The filing also claimed that Jolie did offer to sell her portion to Pitt but he allegedly "demanded" she sign a non-disclosure agreement barring her from "speaking outside of court about Pitt's physical and emotional abuse of her and their children."

"Jolie refused to agree to such a provision, and Pitt walked away from the deal," the lawyers say in the documents.