Konk Records/Konk Studios

Founder(s)	Ray Davies, Dave Davies
Headquarters	84-86 Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London, England[1]
Key people	Ray Davies (Founder, Owner, Producer, Mixer) Dave Davies (Co-Founder, Producer, Engineer, Technician, 1973-1980) Tony Dimitriades (Business Manager, Konkwest, Ltd, 1973-1976)[2] Roger Beale (House Engineer, 1973-76)[2] Roger Wake (House Engineer, 1976-?)[2]

Konk is the name of a recording studio^[1] and record label^[3][4][5], established and managed by members of British Rock group The Kinks.^[5]

[edit] Konk Studios

In 1971, The Kinks left Pye Records for a five-album stint with RCA, who offered them a million-dollar advance. ^[6] 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.^[5] Albums recorded there included Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, Percy, Muswell Hillbillies and Everybody's in Show-Biz. ^[7]

The Kinks began recording full time at the studio in about 1973. The group recorded the massive Preservation project at Konk, and it would remain their main studio until the group disbanded in 1996. The studio is still running and active.

It received a considerable amount of attention recently when English Indie rock group The Kooks recorded an album there, entitled Konk, ^[8] which topped the UK albums chart in April 2008.

[edit] Konk Records

Konk the label was most prolific for a few years in the late seventies. It released a handful of unsuccessful 45s and LPs before it ceased in about 1976, with the departure of business manager Tony Dimitriades. Artists in the roster included a young Claire Hamill and Cafe Society.^[4] Ray Davies secured the fledgling label a licensing deal with ABC Records. Davies later commented in a 1983 interview:

- Ray Davies, Time Out, December 17, 1982^[9]

The label continued to release records off and on in the next few decades. Kinks re-releases are sometimes under the "Konk" name, although the distribution is handled by larger labels like Velvel, Reprise (US), and Castle/Sanctuary (UK). The Kinks fell back to their old label when Columbia records dropped them in 1994, releasing their last record together, To The Bone. To The Bone was recorded at Konk studios in front of a small invited audience, where the group performed some of their old classics, as well as two new compositions by Ray Davies.

[edit] Rooms

The Neve Room, in The Kinks' music video for "State of Confusion"

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.^[10]

[edit] Clients

Over time many artists have recorded at the studio. Some of these include The Kooks, Blur, Elvis Costello, Steve Winwood, and The Bee Gees.^[10]

[edit] References