Konk (recording studio)

Konk Studios
FounderRay Davies, Dave Davies, Mick Avory
Headquarters84-86 Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London, England
Key people
Sarah Lockwood (manager, 1976–present)[1]
Matt Jaggar (engineer, 2016–present)
George Chung (engineer, 2018–present)

Konk is the name of a recording studio[2][3][4] established by members of English rock band the Kinks.[4]

Konk Studios

Front entrance to Konk Studios

In 1971, the Kinks left Pye Records for a five-album stint with RCA, who offered them a million-dollar advance.[5] Ray and Dave Davies put this and money from recent hits like "Lola" towards a new studio of their own in Hornsey, a mile down the road from their home territory of Muswell Hill. In the past few years the group had mainly been recording at Morgan Studios, in Willesden, London.[4] Albums recorded there included Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970), Percy (1971), Muswell Hillbillies (1971) and Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972).[6]

The Kinks began recording full-time at the studio in about 1973. The group recorded the massive Preservation: Acts 1 & 2 (1973 & 1974) project at Konk, and it would remain their main studio until the group disbanded in 1996. It received a considerable amount of attention in 2008 when English Indie rock group the Kooks recorded an album there, titled Konk (2008),[7] which topped the UK albums chart in April that year.

In 1989, Big Audio Dynamite recorded Megatop Phoenix, their final album together, at Konk, and in its liner notes stated that they considered the Kinks an inspiration.

In 1991 the studios were used to record tracks for Rumor and Sigh, the sixth solo album by Richard Thompson.

In July 2010, Ray Davies put the studio up for sale as a redevelopment property, presumably to be demolished. In June 2011 Davies announced a delay in the sale saying "It was up for sale but I've got another record I've got to do so we're debating what to do now. It's open for discussion".[8]

In 2012, the Fall recorded tracks for their album Re-Mit at Konk Studios.

Rooms

Studio 1's Live Room

The main room of Konk is the Neve Room, which was featured in the Kinks' 1983 "State of Confusion" music video. The other important room at Konk is the SSL room, opened in the early 1980s, used mainly for mixing and editing tracks.[9]

References

  1. ^ Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879307653. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Tales of Drunkenness and Cruelty". Kindakinks.net. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  3. ^ [1] Archived 15 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Complete Guide to the Music of the Kinks. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780711963146. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Kinks Discography". Kindakinks.net. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Kooks, The – Konk (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. ^ Geoghegan, Kev (6 June 2011). "Ray Davies delays sale of Konk studio". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Konk Studios". Konk Studios. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2014.

51°35′07″N 0°06′53″W / 51.58535°N 0.11473°W / 51.58535; -0.11473