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Kenny Larkin Adds API BOX Console To Tedra Studio

Electronic dance music studio in Detroit returns to analog roots with API console.

Many people know Kenny Larkin as an artist—but few know that he is also a producer and studio owner, and his studio just got some familiar new gear.

After his older digital mixer broke down, Larkin knew it was time to return to analog, and knew API would be just the ticket.

“I had to look for something new, and I had that analog itch again. I wanted more warmth in my recordings without having to keep going through outboard gear. What I got after buying the BOX was warmth and PUNCH. I call it my ‘mojo BOX. I’ve had a few analog consoles during my career, but nothing sonically on this level.”

Larkin owns Tedra Studio in Detroit, Michigan. He opened Tedra twenty years ago at the beginning of his career.

“Techno started in Detroit back in the late 80’s, so my style or genre is specifically Detroit Techno. EDM is the commercial side of dance music, which is totally different than our sound. DJs from the EDM scene often grew up listening to our stuff.”

Two decades later Larkin knows what works for him and what doesn’t, which is why he turned to API to move beyond his old mixer. “The BOX is the centerpiece of my little studio, which is comprised of the typical DAWs and a small amount of high-end outboard pieces.”

Tedra is used exclusively to record electronic dance music, and Larkin has managed to keep the studio for his own private use. When he saw the BOX announced by API in 2013, it was not long before he was ordering one of his own.

“I did a demo at Vintage King, and I was sold.” Although he knew about API for years, it was the first-hand experience that closed the deal. “That’s when I first heard the classic API ‘punch’ everyone talks about. I loved the form factor, how it was small yet powerful. Not a toy, but not a monster to learn to use.”

And since then, Larkin has continued to find things he likes about his console. “Everything about the board is amazing. Any pro user would be giddy knowing that each channel has inserts and effect sends. The compressor is also fantastic across the stereo buss. I also like that I can assign it to different input channels. With the BOX, I find it’s quicker and much easier to get things sounding fat.”

While his work takes him around the world, Larkin was pleased to return to Detroit and finish off two long-term projects. The difference in his workflow, he says, is undeniably the BOX. “The most important thing it did was get me excited about recording music again. It inspires me to make amazing recordings.”

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