Channel One is a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

in Maxfield Avenue, West

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

.Campbell, Howard (2014)
Making magic at Channel One
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014 The studio was built by the

Hoo Kim brothers Joseph "Jo Jo" Hoo Kim (10 December 1942 – 20 September 2018) was a Jamaican reggae record producer best known for his productions in the 1970s at his Channel One Studios. Career Born to parents of Chinese heritage, Joseph Hoo Kim grew up in ...

in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music.

History

Joseph Hoo Kim's parents ran a bar and ice cream parlour in Kingston, and Kim became interested in opening a studio after visiting Dynamic Sound with John Holt.Campbell, Howard (2013)
Revolutionary Sound: 40 years of Channel One Studio
, ''

'', 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013 He purchased the API studio console for $38,000 and allowed other producers to record at Channel One without charge after it opened to build up custom. When it opened Channel One's

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

s were capable of recording on a maximum of only four tracks. There were early problems with the studio's sound, with

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

recording an album there with

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

which he didn't release due to these issues. The problems were resolved within a year, and the first hit single recorded at the studio was

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

's 1973 recording of "It's a Shame". In 1975, the studio was upgraded to a 16-track recorder which enabled engineers to record each instrument distinctly, lending intricacy to dub mixes and giving rise to the " rockers" sound. According to 2006's ''Caribbean Popular Music'', the studio became widely known after the 1976 release of

The Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, ''Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

' ''

Right Time ''Right Time'' is the 1976 studio album debut of influential reggae band the Mighty Diamonds. The album, released by Virgin Records after they signed the Mighty Diamonds following a search for talent in Jamaica, is critically regarded as a regg ...

''. Other artists to have successful recordings at the studio include

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...

Leroy Smart Leroy Smart (born 1952), is a reggae singer-songwriter and record producer from Kingston, Jamaica. Biography Smart was born in 1952 and orphaned at the age of two. He was raised at Maxfield Park Children's Home and educated at Alpha Boys Scho ...

The Wailing Souls The Wailing Souls (originally The Renegades) are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only c ...

The Meditations The Meditations are a reggae vocal harmony group from Jamaica formed in late 1974. They have released several studio albums and are still performing in the 2000s and today. History The Meditations were formed in late 1974, when Danny Clarke le ...

, Ernest Wilson,

The Jays ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, and

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

, whose ''Follow My Mind'' album was recorded there. The studio's house band,

The Revolutionaries The Revolutionaries (sometimes known as "Revolutionaires") was a Jamaican reggae band. Career Set up in 1975 as the house band of the Channel One Studios owned by Joseph Hoo Kim, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on drums and Bertram "Ranc ...

, were one of the top studio bands of the 1970s. Joseph ran the studio and was credited as producer, Ernest acted as studio engineer, and Paul ran the sound system associated with the studio. Kenneth began producing in the 1980s. They became less involved after the second oldest brother Paul was killed in 1977, but it remained popular with other producers into the 1980s, with

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

and

Henry "Junjo" Lawes Henry "Junjo" Lawes (1960 in Kingston, Jamaica – 13 June 1999 in London, England) was a highly influential Jamaican record producer and a sound engineer. Biography Born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica, Lawes began working ...

recording many of their productions there. The studio closed in the early 1990s. Kenneth Hoo Kim died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in October 2013, aged 66.Campbell, Howard (2013)
Kenneth Hoo Kim Is Dead
, ''

'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 Channel One is also the name of the brothers' sound system and

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

References

{{coord missing, Jamaica Reggae Recording studios in Jamaica Buildings and structures in Kingston, Jamaica