Rush recorded "Hemispheres" in June and July 1978 at Rockfield Studios with longtime producer Terry Brown, also credited as co-arranger, and engineer Pat Moran. It marked the longest studio time booked for the band. In comparison, "2112" (1976) was recorded in five weeks and "A Farewell to Kings" was complete in four. After the music was put down, the group settled in Advision Studios in London to record the vocals. The album was then mixed in August at Trident Studios in London by Brown and assistant John Brand. In the three-month period of putting the album together, Rush took just one day off. Costs of the album were calculated to be around $100,000, making it the band's most expensive album at the time. Drummer Neil Peart recalled the band were exhausted by the time of completion and took a six-week vacation to recover., while Lee explained that they "greatly underestimated the level of overachievement that were shooting for".