Time
Out New York / Issue 596: March 1-7, 2007
Music
studio
A former pop star operates a music studio in his 700-square-foot
apartment.
By Elise
Loehnen
Scandal,
a gold- and platinum-record-earning '80s band (fronted by
Patty Smyth)-most famous for catchy tunes like 'Goodbye to
You' and 'The Warrior'-was an early favorite on MTV. In the
same trailblazing vein, former Scandal member Benjy King just
might be the first person to multitask an eensy Murray Hill
apartment as a fully functioning music studio. "I'm old-school",
King explains. "I believe in preproduction: You write,
rehearse and then record the song." Contrary to the process
today, where bits are recorded on computers and then spliced
together, fixed and adjusted as needed, he holds that the
soul of the song "lives in the performance." During
the day, King-whose apartment is propitiously located over
a garage-works with small groups creating their first albums.
Outfitted with a Sony DMX-R100 console, an electric sitar,
more than 20 guitars-including a rare 12-string baritone guitar,
of which there are only about seven in the world-a Hammond
organ, a Fender Rhodes piano, a harmonium and two '60s Slingerland
drum sets, the arrangement doesn't leave a lot of room for
living. But King holds that he doesn't need much outside of
music. His bed, complete with a Norwegian mountain-goat-skin
blanket (a gift from an ex-wife), occupies the entryway, and
the dining-room table doubles as a desk. "The beauty
of living here is that I can work when the muse strikes, even
if that means I'm at the console in my pajamas."
Photos:
Patrik Rytikangas
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