The Division Bell was largely recorded on a boat.

The Division Bell.

Pink Floyd set up their own floating studio on a houseboat called the Astoria, moored on the River Thames. It’s about as Pink Floyd as you can get—a converted barge with a control room and a live room, right on the water.

The band used it for most of the writing and recording in 1993. It gave them privacy and a vibe that a regular studio couldn’t match. You can hear the space in the album—lots of ambient sounds, open air, and that slightly damp, atmospheric feel.

(They also used the Astoria for parts of A Momentary Lapse of Reason and later The Endless River, but The Division Bell is the one that lived there.)