PHIL SPALLINA Jungle City Studios Studio: Jungle City Studios Clientele: Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Beyoncé Web: junglecitystudios.com
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Phil Spallina started at Jungle City in late 2012, 18 months after the studio’s launch. Like many in the business, he started as a runner: cleaning, making coffee and so forth. His entrée to the studio came through his aunt, Grammy-winner Ann Mincieli, who happened to engineer for Alicia Keys and is the studio owner and operator. He soon found that he loved the environment. His passion fueled his performance and it wasn’t long until he became the manager. Interestingly, Jungle City was designed by noted studio architect John Storyk, whose first commission was Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios.
What sets Jungle City apart from other studios? Since 1995, Ann’s [Mincieli] vision for Jungle was to make it the best studio possible, sonically. So, she brought in John Storyk, who’s one of the strongest studio designers. She worked alongside him to build this, along with a five-star hotel vibe. She wanted to make the room sound as good as possible, but also to make the artists and clients as comfortable as possible. She wanted anyone who came in here to make Jungle City their base. What are some of the biggest challenges that face studios today? COVID-19 threw a curveball into everyone’s plan, especially in New York where we were doing great in the years leading up to 2020. The challenge now is to pick up
