Wild Turkey Studio

Studio Owner John Hopen (R) with Grammy-winning Engineer/Producer Khaliq Glover

Wild Turkey Studio is home of Love Conquered Records.
Passion for music is above all else, according to founder John Hopen, "LCR is a true haven for the heart and soul of creativity in music."
How? "We’re nurturing imagination and artistry – knowing that we can be something greater together than we can be on our own. We’re a true community that just really loves collaborating to make awesome music… that’s why we are Partnership in Artistry," adds Hopen.
Where? Welcome to NorCal's Wild Turkey Studio.

Back in the 80s, John Hopen had a vision to build a digital studio that could help artists record at a lower budget. Fast forward 25 years, post his successful career in aviation (John’s second love), he has opned Wild Turkey studios to his growing artists along with musician, engineer and songwriter Patrick Ballard. The studio has been built from ground up with the same original desire to help true artists record their best work.
For the past three years, John and friends organically have morphed the studio efforts into a record label.

Industry expert Jacqui Thompson (formerly of Paisley Park) joined the label, bringing years of experience and passion for the craft. "Jacqui has honed her skills – not only as an artist manager, producer and influencer, but as a steward for the music. Her talents for promotion and building music brands are second to none," says Hopen.

"When you visit our space, the first thing you’ll understand is our respect for the craft," says Hopen. The leadership team is comprised of music industry veterans. "We're proud of what we’ve accomplished in this highly-charged industry, and we’re a little more chill up here in Sonoma. We work with our artists as true partners – with transparency and collaboration – so we can bring out their own unique sound," adds Hopen. Indeed the environment is artist-friendly where they have a support team to succeed and build sustainable careers while doing what they love best – making music.

John has partnered with Grammy-winning engineer, producer and songwriter Khaliq Glover. Khaliq brings 30+ years of experience mixing with credits to include: Michael Jackson, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Herbie Hancock, Christina Aguilera, Angie Stone, Jeffrey Osborne, & Marcus Miller. Khaliq is also a mentor to over 15,000 aspiring audio engineers, musicians, and songwriters throughout the world with his online music and audio engineering tutorial sites. For Wild Turkey Studio, he has specified the following gear, among them: PreSonus Studio One, as his new DAW of choice. PreSonus StudioLive 32 Series 3 mixer, Universal Audio Apollo x8p audio interface,
Manley Massive Passive EQ (hardware) and SSL SiX analog portable mixer.

Burgeoning West Coast songsmith Love Conquered's Stav (above) explains his artistic journey: "Tending to focus on what brings people together, as opposed to what tears people apart. And I think that starts with allowing myself to be vulnerable in my songs." This is evident in the personal and creative philosophy that has driven the journey towards his debut EP Borders, which is due out mid in 2020. "He's just 21, but has actually been performing in front of an audience for nearly a decade, having made his first open mic appearance all the way back in 6th grade," says label CEO, Jacqui Thompson. Stav's own journey is about to take him to Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he hopes to add "technical proficiency" to his arsenal of talents. He also hopes the experience will help him to develop and discover a deeper sense of himself as an artist and songwriter. "I'm still searching. But it feels like with every song I write I get closer and closer to my true music identity." Earlier this year Grammy-winning arranger Brent Fischer was enlisted to orchestrate one track "HOLD ON" for Stav's upcoming EP due out later this year. Stay tuned!

Studio contact: John Hopen [email protected]
Label contact: Jacqui Thompson [email protected]

Love Conquered Records Official