After opening a record shop, Davies became a recording studio intern/engineer at Island Studios. His first full session was on Brian Eno's 1973 LP, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy). An appreciative Eno granted Davies a royalty on that album and his subsequent innovative releases with Davies. The two pioneered the "playing the studio like an instrument" concept: tape loops in pop music and using a rhythm box to lay down the beat during basic recording, then adding a live drummer later.
In 1990, Ray Davies left the music business to pursue other business interests, while still privately creating music.