Music in the Walls

Recording studios are often not the most inspiring rooms. Stuffed with gear and lacking natural light, they can be full of distractions. Emile Haynie, who has worked with everyone from Lana Del Rey to SZA and Lady Gaga, has always taken a more mindful approach to the space he makes music in, combining a sharp eye for design with all the equipment necessary to make compelling records.

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“There’s no art. There are no personal items. There are no books, there are no posters,” Haynie, 44, says of his own Los Angeles studios, which adhere to a distinct design language and color palette—think 1980s Japanese offices— designed as places to work with minimal distraction. “When you’re actually working and recording, nothing is intruding,” he adds, noting that the spacious layout also offers ample space to entertain post-sessions, from a listening room to a kitchen.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Haynie started spending more time in LA in 2014 and eventually bought a house in the hills of Los Feliz. There, he situated his first studio in his living room. The sheer spaciousness of the city helped him make the decision, but the convenience didn’t hurt. I’ll roll out of bed and make music, he recalls thinking. The idea stemmed from his six-month stint living at the Chateau Marmont, where he had a studio professionally installed into a suite to record his debut solo album in 2015, We Fall. Eventually, it was time to make a more permanent change.

Haynie’s resourcefulness and adaptability led him to transform a sprawling multi-use commercial space into a haven for music production and entertainment. Two of the buildings now house thoughtfully designed recording studios. The third has been converted into a restaurant-level kitchen. The previously mundane parking lot has been reimagined as a Jacques Grange-inspired outdoor courtyard, showcasing Haynie’s ability to see potential in every space.

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The new property offers everything its owner needs to make music and to entertain, too. Haynie is the master of the casual dinner party and usually pieces together a cool crowd, including many of his own collaborators and the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy and A$AP Rocky. From the wine he pours to the ceramic dishware he sets, these moments feel considered but never fussy. In the front building, Haynie’s extensive vinyl collection serves as a listening room, helping the producer discover different ways of creating. “When I’m recording with artists, we always go into the listening room and play records,” he says.

Haynie’s close-to-home approach eschews the trend of city artists decamping to, say, upstate New York, West Texas, or Hawaii to make an album. “If I’m working, I want to then go out to eat and be surrounded by people,” he says. “I don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere.” The lines are blurry, sessions bleeding over into dinner parties, but all of that is part of the plan.