Konk is the name of a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

established by members of English rock band

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

Konk Studios

In 1971, the Kinks left

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

for a five-album stint with

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, who offered them a million-dollar advance. Ray and Dave Davies put this and money from recent hits like "

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lol ...

" towards a new studio of their own in

Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...

, a mile down the road from their home territory of

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

. In the past few years the group had mainly been recording at

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Ki ...

, in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

, London. Albums recorded there included ''

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One ''Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One'', commonly abbreviated to ''Lola Versus Powerman'', or simply ''Lola'', is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released on 27 November 1970. A concept album, it is a s ...

'' (1970), '' Percy'' (1971), ''

Muswell Hillbillies ''Muswell Hillbillies'' is the tenth studio album by the English rock group the Kinks. Released on 24 November 1971, it was the band's first album released through RCA Records. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, w ...

'' (1971) and ''

Everybody's in Show-Biz ''Everybody's in Show-Biz'' is the eleventh studio album released by the English rock group the Kinks, released in 1972. A double album, the first disc features studio recordings, while the second disc documents a two-night Carnegie Hall stand. ...

'' (1972). 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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

group

the Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

recorded an album there, titled ''

Konk Konk or KONK may refer to: * KONK (AM), a community radio station (1630 AM) in Key West, Florida, United States * ''Konk'' (album), an album by The Kooks * Konk (band), a 1980s band * Konk (recording studio), the recording studio and record lab ...

'' (2008), which topped the UK albums chart in April that year. In 1989,

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

recorded ''

Megatop Phoenix ''Megatop Phoenix'' is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Konk ...

'', 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 ''Rumor and Sigh'' is a 1991 album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, his thirteenth album since leaving the band Fairport Convention in 1971. Released on the Capitol label, it was a commercial success for Thompson, featuring his bi ...

'', the sixth solo album by

Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s * Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator * Richard Tho ...

. 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". In 2012, the Fall recorded tracks for their album ''

Re-Mit ''Re-Mit'' is the 29th studio album by the English post-punk group, The Fall (band), The Fall. It was released on 13 May 2013 via Cherry Red Records. The album features Mark E. Smith (lead vocals), Peter Greenway (lead guitar), Keiron Melling (dr ...

'' at Konk Studios.

Rooms

The main room of Konk is the Neve Room, which was featured in the Kinks' 1983 "State of Confusion"

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

. The other important room at Konk is the SSL room, opened in the early 1980s, used mainly for mixing and editing tracks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konk (Recording)

Record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

British record labels Recording studios in London Hornsey