World Traveler Karl Henkell Created Record Magazine to Highlight Unique Music and Subcultures
Karl Henkell makes things happen. If you don’t believe us, track down an issue of Record, the biannual magazine he founded in 2016, where you can read about how unique music and cultures from around the globe intersect with the worlds of fashion and art. To talk about Record, his multinational life, and what it’s been like to go from freelance writer to Editor in Chief, we recently caught up with Karl at Commend on the Lower East Side. Read on and learn about Karl’s most creative life. 
It was a winding road from freelance writing for online publications that now mostly no longer exist, to being online editor at a few places. It was a good training ground to try things out and play around, but there was something about print that always drew me to it. I love how magazines make a powerful statement and linger around. It got to the point where I had all the elements I needed to start the magazine, and couldn’t believe no one had done what I was trying to do yet.
You seem like you’ve moved around a bit and are comfortable being an urban transplant in different cities. What’s it been like to move from Melbourne to New York and then to Madrid?
You’re right. I think it’s my comfort zone, staying put is probably less comfortable for me. I grew up in Melbourne with German parents, so I actually spoke German before English, and we would visit family over there for Christmas most years. So I’ve always been between two continents growing up. That’s kind of interesting psychologically; I like trains and the freedom of being in transit generally, being in-between where you came from and where you’re going.
Melbourne is still home. It’s a great place, with a high quality of life, somewhere I’d like to live again someday. Moving to New York was a challenge, but one that after 5 years there really paid off. I met great people and the music scene is really unique. It’s a great city to move to in your twenties, when you have the energy to handle the hustle. And in terms of starting the magazine there, I couldn’t have been in a better place. I have to agree with people when they say, “If you make it in New York, you make it everywhere.” New York is unique in how it projects things out into the world.
Moving to Madrid was a way to be in Europe again, and hop around to places like Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and London, where a lot of the activity of the music scene we cover is happening. It’s a step down energetically, Madrid is a lovely place to live, as a capital city in Europe it is still affordable, it is really active culturally, with excellent museums and a thriving music scene.
Which of those cities has been best for your creativity?
That’s hard to say. Melbourne has a strong creative community, and certain editors allowed my early writing efforts to be published. That early support is really invaluable when you’re starting out as a writer.
New York was like a kick in the butt to actually realize my ideas. It was freeing to be in a city where so much is happening, where you are given a kind of cloak of anonymity, which I found really helpful. New Yorkers are very supportive of new ideas, and I could feel the groundswell quite directly from packed Issue 1 launch parties at Elvis Guesthouse (R.I.P.) and Hotel Americano, that really gave me the feeling that this project could become something. New York also encourages you to think big, in a way I haven’t felt elsewhere. With some effort, crazy ideas can become reality. After publishing five issues, I think people are now accustomed to encountering the magazine, but I think when you’re publishing a first issue, things feel a lot more precarious. My eyes light up when I walk into McNally Jackson now and see first issues of magazines on the shelves.
As a magazine founder, what do you think independent print media can do that bigger publishers or online media can’t do?
I think independent magazines can take more editorial risks. They can operate in in-between spaces, and shine a spotlight on things or people that don’t get much attention in traditional media. Like with anything, you can have too many cooks in the kitchen, and ideas can be watered down when there are too many decision makers. Independent print media also relies on a dedicated community of readers, so their means of survival is also a point of their strength, connecting directly with readers. I imagine that’s more difficult as a bigger publisher.
What’s your mission with Record Magazine?
To document niche music communities around the world and their intersection with art, fashion and culture. To share each person’s story and illuminate a far-reaching musical world.
Through the magazine, have you gotten to work with any of your heroes or anyone you’ve looked up to?
Totally. That was an unexpected side effect. One such person is Tim Sweeney who has hosted his radio show Beats In Space from NYU every Tuesday for close to two decades. He has international guests on most weeks and takes polaroid photos of them when they visit. Tim is a cornerstone of the dance music world, and if I had to choose only one show to listen to each week, that would be it. On October 27 in 2017 we held a one-night-only exhibition of over 700 unseen polaroids from his archives at White Columns, the oldest alternative non-profit art space in New York. This was an extension to the Beats in Space Photobook, a supplement booklet that came with Issue 3. It was an overwhelming success with around 500 people attending the opening, and it underscored the importance of community to the magazine, and how Record can further bind an existing community in unexpected ways.
Now that you’re in Madrid, what’s next for you and Record Magazine?
We are putting the finishing touches on Issue 6 which will be released in July 2019, and are working on Issue 7 which will come out later in the year. We also just launched our first line of sustainably-made merchandise that is available through our online store and select shops. In the coming months, we’ll be announcing launch events and other surprises. After a hiatus, it’s time to make some noise again.
If you liked this story, check out more from our Urban Transplants issue.
