Development on Denmark Street

The studio space at 22 Denmark Street in London has been given a new lease of life thanks to the recently opened Denmark Street Studios. Producer and mix engineer Guy Katsav launched the studio in November and brought along former Metropolis Studios sales manager Elliot Shand and producer/engineer Itay Kashti. Earlier tenants in the studio’s history include EMI Music Publishing and Acid Jazz Records.

Katsav was motivated to buy the space when his former facility, Soho Recording Studios, where he had spent the past 10 years, closed for refurbishment. He found the Denmark Street space off the market and knew he was going to take it immediately.

“Pretty much all the basics were there but it was in very bad condition,” said Katsav. The studio’s previous occupier, Tin Pan Alley Studio, had abandoned it for a number of years: “There was rubbish here from the 60s or 70s.”

Katsav said he could see the potential when he walked in, and a control room, live room, drum room, dead room, and guitar room now comprise Studio 1. The control room centres around two consoles: an AMEK BC2 and a Sony DMX100 with outboard gear from SSL, Universal Audio, Urei, Drawmer, Lexicon, and more. One of the highlights of the live room and a testament to the studio’s long history is the Blüthner Leipzig Grand Piano left behind by previous tenants.

Resident producers Down and Left and Rui Da Silva occupy Studios 2 and 3 respectively. “I knew Rui from Soho Studios and I knew Down and Left because we play together and we help each other on things,” said Katsav. “As soon as they realised that the whole thing was taking off they just jumped in.”

While much of the studio’s time is taken up by Katsav’s own projects, including writing and production for his group Tigermonkey, recent projects that have been through the studio include a track for Showtime series House of Lies, a significant amount of Roses Gabor’s forthcoming Ninja Tune release, UK rappers Sway and Skepta, BRITs Critics’ Choice nominee Chloe Howl, and Etta Bond.

By Jake Young

www.denmarkstreetstudios.com