Watercolour Music, the award-winning partnership of producer Nick Turner and his broadcaster-musician wife Mary Ann Kennedy, is to set up a top of the range recording and multi-media studio in the tiny lochside village of Ardgour, near Fort William.

The creative studio will offer a contemporary facility for writing and pre-production, acting as a musical catalyst for Scottish and international artists and providing the music industry with a well-appointed venue for recording, mixing and mastering.

"The land purchase at Aryhoulan is now complete, thanks to the support of local estate owners who are keen to see the development of local business within the community," said Nick. "We can't wait to cut the first turf at the end of September."

Visiting artists and their production teams will be able to unwind and make themselves at home in self-catering accommodation which is an integral part of the development. The comfortable suite will also provide a quiet space to take time out from the highly-focused environment of the multi-media studios.

"The west coast of Scotland is achingly beautiful and can be the most peaceful place in the world, but sometimes also the wildest. Either way this is the inspirational environment that we want to share with visiting artists; that sense of energy it brings to our writing and performance. We will be welcoming artists to the Highlands, where they can be revitalised and tap into their creative energies," said Mary Ann.

The state-of-the-art broadcast facility will follow on from Watercolour's existing radio suite in Ardgour, from where Mary Ann regularly broadcasts live on BBC Radio Scotland. The set-up will also enable visitors to broadcast radio sessions or interviews anywhere in the world, even while working in the rural Highlands.

Nick first established Watercolour in London over twenty years ago, to provide a song-writing suite with an intimate environment for small recording projects and song-writing demos. The business relocated to Lochaber in 1994, merging his and Mary Ann Kennedy's music and broadcast production companies in 2006.

John Renbourn, the legendary British acoustic guitarist, commented: "Nick Turner is a world-class engineer. The sound he gets is the best I have ever had. His studio is a dream and the surroundings are beautiful. It is a pleasure just being there. And that, in a nutshell, is that."

HIE's creative industries manager Iain Hamilton said: "The music industry is the UK's third largest industry and selling music on-line has created great opportunities for performers. The rights to a song are potentially worth far more than the recording. They can generate an income stream for the singer songwriter that carries on long after their playing career has ended. If lucky, the rights can be pretty lucrative during their performance years as well!"

"The music sector has seen huge moves towards digital technology in the last decade, which is a great opportunity for the industry in the Highlands," added Mairi Adam, a development manager with HIE Lochaber. "Watercolour has worked hard to create a studio that can compete with any facility in the country, which will help to firmly establish Lochaber as a creative centre of excellence for the Highlands and Islands."