Ken Rich and Grand Street Recording-Building Brooklyn’s Sonic Sanctuary

Ken Rich /photo courtesy of Grand Street Recording

In the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sits a music haven that has become one of New York’s most respected creative spaces: Grand Street Recording. At the center of it all is Ken Rich, a bassist-turned-producer and engineer, whose 25-year journey in Brooklyn is a testament to community, craft, and staying true to the music.

Originally from Seattle, raised in Boston, and further shaping his musical roots at Oberlin College in Ohio, Rich moved to New York City in the ’90s to pursue life as a bass player. A natural collaborator, his early days recording commercial music and producing albums for fellow artists quickly expanded his creative palette. “Having been a freelance musician, producer, and engineer through the 90s, I was able to work in many legendary NYC recording studios,” Rich tells BK Roads. “Through that experience, I got a real sense of what sort of space I liked and what would lend itself to inspire the creative process.”

Keyboards Galore !/photo courtesy of Grand Street Recording

After being priced out of Manhattan during this time, he found his footing in Brooklyn. What started as a home studio in a Cobble Hill apartment evolved into the full-fledged Grand Street Recording. Celebrating its 20th year of operations, the studio is a warm, musician-first space built in the basement of a Williamsburg building he purchased with a friend.

Grand Street Recording isn’t just another studio, it’s an extension of Rich’s deep musical ethos. Rich says his mission is to bring out the best in all the artists he works with.

“In 2005 I set out to create a space at Grand Street that would encourage people to feel at home by making the recording process as transparent and effortless as possible. I want musicians to be able to focus on music and not worry about the technical aspects of the process.”

Guitars! / photo courtesy of Grand Street Recording

The studio contains world-class equipment and a unique library of curated instruments worldwide, encouraging unexpected sonic combinations that often push artists into new territory.

His experience spans genres and roles, including engineer, composer, musical director, and producer, with highlights including collaborations with Dar Williams, Ingrid Michaelson, and Justin Hicks. For a decade, Rich also served as musical director for Nigerian drumming icon Babatunde Olatunji and has played on as well as mixed scores for film and television, including FOX’s Bless The Harts.

In accordance with his success, Rich’s passion remains rooted in collaboration. “I am most at ease in a supporting role,” he explains. “The studio identity is really based on our openness to different styles and our enthusiasm for creating something new.”

What makes the space so great is also the small yet well-equipped staff. Ken says “the staff here embrace every recording project with great enthusiasm and support,” and that “all of the engineers that work at Grand Street are musicians who truly enjoy working within many genres of music—you’ll never find the jaded, grumpy engineer here!”

Two decades in, Grand Street Recording thrives not by chasing trends, but by cultivating a welcoming, genre-fluid environment where artists feel at home. “[Grand Street] is not like any other studio,” Rich says. ‘When people find that it’s a good fit for their music, they keep coming back.”

In a city bursting with noise, Ken Rich has built a sanctuary where the music and the people who make it come first.