KOKO

KOKO and The House Of KOKO offer a fully immersive 360-degree entertainment and members’ experience across four floors and 50,000 square feet of beautifully designed spaces.

At the heart of the House Of KOKO is a new recording studio, designed to transform the members’ house and theatre into a large-scale, one-of-a-kind creative facility.

The brief was to deliver a studio capable of broadcasting and recording cinematic quality and exceptional sounding music performances from any space within KOKO Theatre and The House Of KOKO, whilst also providing a world class space for artists and members to create and record.

With a digital heart, the all-new recording studio is built upon an expansive Dante network that spans across all 50,000 square feet of the KOKO Theatre and The House Of KOKO.

The SSL System T S500 32-fader surface, equipped with a TE2 engine, perfectly complements the studio’s Dante first approach. Paired with an SSL Network I/O A32 that provides 32 line inputs and 32 line outputs of SSL SuperAnalogue™ I/O with redundant AoIP network connectivity, the system integrates seamlessly into the wider studio infrastructure. Networked with DAD interfaces, the studio can interface with touring productions of any scale, as well as internal productions, providing 256 redundant channels of recording and playback into any DAW, all controllable from any screen through the studios private KVM network.

Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, KOKO has a rich musical and recording history, having lived through and contributed to the birth of the mixing console and analogue recording when the building was BBC owned and its first ever broadcast centre from 1945-75. To pay respect to that heritage, the class leading digital core of the studio is paired with eight Harrison Audio 32Classic MS Mix Strip channel strips for analogue summing, alongside two SSL THE BUS+ and an SSL Fusion analogue processor. This combination gives engineers the flexibility of a digital workflow with the character and depth of analogue tools, enabling them to create mixes that best serve the artists they work with.

Within the Munro Acoustics-designed control room, monitoring is delivered through Bowers & Wilkins 801d’s calibrated with a Trinnov Nova, giving engineers confidence that their mixes will translate accurately across listening environments.

For artists who prefer to work on their own laptops, an SSL 18 interface and SSL Alpha 8 AD/DA converter are available at the console and can be easily patched into any part of the wider system, enabling producers to access the full studio specification directly from their laptop.

The new recording studio gave KOKO the opportunity to significantly elevate the quality and capability of its existing video production and streaming studio infrastructure. Built around an NDI network and Tricaster Elite 2 system, the new fitout introduced new Blackmagic Cinema Camera kits, rewired patching and control infrastructure, and a redesigned vision gallery.

The main challenge with this studio build was the rapid deployment required from CapEx approval to installation completion, as KOKO was preparing to launch a new content series.

The full timeframe was eight weeks, with only four weeks of downtime possible for the entire build. Because the project was managed and delivered internally, the team was confident that this timeframe was possible due to the familiarity of the existing infrastructure and reduction of most extraneous factors.

Early planning discussions with suppliers and Solid State Logic meant that, even before CapEx approval, all orders were ready to be placed. This ensured stock availability and allowed console manufacturing to be scheduled for immediate delivery on completion of the space.

A further challenge came from repurposing the existing radio studio into a new recording studio specification, adding another layer of complexity to the build.

The former audio mix booth was converted into a dedicated machine room, allowing for all computers, processors and switches to be relocated out of the control room to create a cleaner and more functional studio environment. This required a partial re-wire of the studio but also created the opportunity to introduce additional patching flexibility alongside upgraded analogue, network and fibre tie lines.

The new studio and new machine room were completed days before the delivery of the 32-fader SSL System T S500 Console and Network I/O, with the full studio commissioned and ready for use just ahead the eight-week deadline.

KOKO’s always been one of London’s most iconic venues and now, with its visionary redesign (which Forbes called “live music redefined”), it has seen it become the most innovative venue model in the country. KOKO’s one-of-a-kind building has four stages for live music and seven stages for DJs. In total, in 2025, KOKO hosted approximately 300 live events a year and 1000 DJs, paying 2000+ musicians.

Since reopening in 2022, KOKO and The House Of KOKO has been at the forefront of countless cultural moments for the artists coming through their doors, from Burna Boy, Arcade Fire, Olivia Dean, The Fugees, Stormzy, to Rachel Chinouriri, Maverick Sabre, Jorja Smith and many more.

At the core of the model are eleven interlocking vertices: ticketing; food & beverage; private events; membership; sponsorship; broadcast and live streaming; creative agency services; off-site luxury stays; VIP concierge services; and the recording studio.

The new recording studio, with its class leading approach, enables artists to record and broadcast performances from anywhere within its 50,000 square feet of stunningly designed space, without compromise. At the heart of that capability is the SSL System T S500 console, chosen for its flexibility, creativity and uncompromising quality. Its native Dante architecture, highly efficient routing, recallable workflows and scalable DSP make it possible to respond quickly to changing production demands, simplify complex setups and deliver consistently exceptional results, even with small teams.

Just as importantly, System T brings SSL’s heritage in music production into a contemporary broadcast environment. Its sonic quality, intuitive operation and comprehensive processing tools allow engineers to move quickly without sacrificing control, while delivering professional mixes efficiently. Combined with analogue outboard gear from Harrison Audio and Solid State Logic, the studio gives engineers the best of both worlds: the speed and flexibility of advanced digital production, and the musicality, depth and character of analogue tools.

The recording studio creates one of the most compelling destinations in London for recording and broadcasting live music, while also offering artists and members an inspiring space for recording, songwriting and podcasting – the creative community at the beating heart of London culture.