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| Conny's Studio | |
|---|---|
| Name | Conny's Studio |
| Established | 1970s |
| Location | Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Founder | Conny Plank |
| Notable | Kraftwerk, Neu!, Cluster, Can, Ultravox, Einstürzende Neubauten, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ultravox, Brian Eno |
Conny's Studio was a private recording facility founded and operated by Conny Plank in the 1970s near Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The studio became a focal point for experimental rock, electronic music, and post‑punk production, attracting artists from United Kingdom and West Germany as well as international acts linked to Polydor Records, Island Records, and Mute Records. Its reputation rests on Plank's technical innovation, collaborations with producers and engineers, and sessions that influenced movements including Krautrock, New Wave, and Industrial music.
Plank established the studio after early work at WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), collaborating with acts connected to Neu!, Kraftwerk, and Cluster; he later recorded seminal albums for Can, Harmonia, and La Düsseldorf. The rural location near Höxter contrasted with urban studios such as Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin and Trident Studios in London, creating a retreat for artists like Ultravox, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Einstürzende Neubauten. During the 1970s and 1980s the studio bridged scenes tied to Roxy Music, Brian Eno, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop, and hosted sessions for labels including Sky Records and Virgin Records. Plank's sudden death in the mid‑1980s marked the end of the studio's heyday, after which the building's use shifted away from high‑profile commercial recording.
The studio combined custom wiring and modified consoles inspired by technology from Neve Electronics, Helios, and early Solid State Logic designs, alongside German gear associated with Telefunken and Siemens manufacturing. Outboard units included compressors and reverbs similar to units used at Abbey Road Studios and effects favored by Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera; tape machines reflected standards from Studer and Ampex. Synthesizers and modular systems used by visitors ranged from instruments by Moog Music and ARP Instruments to European gear from EML and Korg. The studio's acoustics were tailored for live tracking and experimental setups akin to those at Rockfield Studios and Berlin Hansa Studios, accommodating bands with unconventional instrumentation such as Einstürzende Neubauten and producers like Martin Hannett.
Sessions at the studio produced landmark records and influential tracks for artists across genres. Plank engineered or co‑produced recordings associated with Kraftwerk offshoots, albums by Neu!, collaborative projects with Cluster and Brian Eno, and material for Can during their post‑1970s era. Bands including Ultravox, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, XTC, Simple Minds, The Human League, Throbbing Gristle, Killing Joke, and Front 242 utilized the studio for tracking, overdubs, or mixing. Notable producers and artists such as Giorgio Moroder, Daniel Miller, Colin Thurston, Martin Rushent, and Hugh Padgham either visited or sent projects that were finished at the facility. The studio's sessions are cited in the production histories of albums tied to Virgin Records, EMI Records, Polydor Records, and Mute Records.
Conny Plank was the principal engineer and producer, working alongside visiting engineers and collaborators like Dave Hutchins, John Fryer, Daniel Miller, Martin Hannett, and session producers connected to Midge Ure, Giorgio Moroder, and Colin Thurston. Musicians and arrangers who worked there included members of Kraftwerk, Neu!, Cluster, La Düsseldorf, Can, and session players associated with Roxy Music, David Bowie, and Brian Eno. Label figures and A&R representatives from Polydor Records, Island Records, Virgin Records, EMI Records, and Mute Records frequented the studio for artist development and preproduction. Technical staff sometimes collaborated with designers linked to AKG Acoustics, Neumann, and Studer to customize signal paths and microphone setups.
The studio's techniques and Plank's production style influenced generations of producers and bands across scenes tied to Krautrock, New Wave, Post‑punk, and Industrial music. Artists and producers citing the studio's sound include names connected to Brian Eno, David Bowie, John Foxx, The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and Einstürzende Neubauten. The aesthetic fostered at the studio informed later work at Hansa Tonstudio, Rockfield Studios, and independent studios associated with Mute Records and 4AD. Scholarly and journalistic accounts of Krautrock and European electronic music repeatedly reference sessions and production approaches developed there, linking the facility to broader narratives involving Roxy Music, Giorgio Moroder, Brian Eno, and multinational labels like Virgin Records and Polydor Records.
Category:Recording studios in Germany