There's always magic brewing behind the doors at Line In Records. Whether it's the intricate, often unseen process of putting a record together or a live performance session being set up, the homey South-based studio is a remarkable place for the local music scene. 

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Founded by sound engineer Nik Amarnani, the studio centres itself around comfort, trust, and creative freedom. In an industry that runs on deadlines and trends, Line In places importance on creating a safe space for artists to explore and experiment—while of course, getting their songs in on time. 

"It's all about us building relationships together wherein I'm able to really see what their soul needs and so I can understand where we're going to move forward in the production process," Nik tells Bandwagon. 

Line In Records first opened its doors in 2019 and has since worked with some of the Philippines' most exciting acts. In three years, even with most of that time spent in a pandemic, the studio has continued to grow as they continue to open their doors to more artists across the region. 

Bandwagon caught up with Nik Amarnani to talk about how Line In Records adapted to the pandemic, the process of creating a home in the studio, and what's next.

Hi, Nik! What does a typical day Line In Records look like?

Normally, there are two types: sessions and then my personal mixing and editing days. When I have a recording session, we have several people in depending on how big the session is. Sometimes if, let's say, we're working on an album or a single, it's more intimate—it's more of me, the artist or the band, and sometimes the label heads come in. So, it's a smaller group.

We also have the live recording side of things, where we have more of a bigger production. We'd have the video team, the artist, sometimes the makeup artist as well, and you have several other better people coming in. Then, my mixing side is just basically me, sometimes the artist comes in. That's more intimate.

Normally, let's say in a week, I'll have three or four days that are mixing, editing and the others are recording. It really varies; sometimes in a month, there's more mixing or less so it really varies.

You really put an emphasis on creating a very homey and encouraging environment at Line In. Could you tell me more about that and how that translates into the music you guys make?

I'm a heavy believer in taking your time, for records especially. The global standard will always be to charge hourly but for me, I wanted to go against the grain and incorporate more of a package deal with artists where they can stay in and record for three, four days depending on the song. Sometimes, you have artists coming in and they just don't feel like it so that also helps them not get pressured in a way wherein they know that they can come back later in the day or even tomorrow. 

I wanted to make it so that you're comfortable, you're able to really explore, and that really translates into the record itself. At the same time, I wanted to make the studio feel like you're in a spa, it has a very homey feel. We have windows that are very open so there's a lot of light coming in, but at the same time, sometimes you have artists that like the dark so we have blinds, as well as lighting and rock wall to add to the vibe. Basically, we're creating a place artists can really explore and feel comfortable and like there's no pressure. They're able to really go crazy in the studio and let their imagination flow.

What are some challenges that you face in this line of work?

There's just one really: deadlines. With labels, you have a lot of tight deadlines so it's just about being efficient. But for me, it's all about getting things sounding great when they go out so this is why I have a mastering engineer in Singapore who does all my mastering for me. We have kind of a dual workforce where I'm doing the recording and mixing and then once everything is approved, it's being is being sent out there. There are basically two people working on the project in the production side.

But yeah, it's mainly the deadlines but it's also not such a big challenge. I would say the more intuitive we get with working, it kind of gets better. We just have to find ways to adjust. 

 

 

 

 

 

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The last time we talked to you was in 2020, just before the pandemic started. A lot has happened since then. Since then, how has Line In evolved and adapted to everything?

It's been a crazy almost three years. The studio started getting a lot more artists just recently actually, just late last year—basically through word of mouth and we just started realising that everyone's talking about it. My main label work actually started with Lola Amour, I started working with them early on. Then from there,  people started hearing about the studio, they start hearing about me, and it started to evolve. 

So in the last three years [since we've opened], we've seen our opportunities grow. There's a lot of new talent coming in, I'm working now more with record labels, with people from Universal Music so there's a lot coming in. Then around May last year, I decided that I needed to make our space bigger and better so that's also brought it in more people.

Line In has been continuing to grow, both in terms of projects and space. It's been great so far, a big jump from very small and independent projects to more labels and even some international projects as well. It's been good. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Did the pandemic affect that growth in any way, whether positively or negatively?

For a while during the height of the pandemic, we entered the distribution and retail business. We're actually in partnership with SSL Asia, which is based in Singapore as well, and I decided to import products to sell because there was a time where audio interfaces were getting popular, a lot of people were looking for it so that's where we shifted last year. 

I remember importing cables—we had this part of the pandemic where people were rushing to buy cables—interfaces, preamps, and microphones were going crazy as well. We kind of shifted there, and then once everything was slightly opening up, we shifted back into production. We were still doing a bit of production during the pandemic but it was very slow. 

 

 

 

 

 

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What's something you never expected to learn from running a studio?

You never stop learning. I've actually shared this with some of my clients but with every new person I work with, I've learned something and kind of take that into the mix. I just keep on evolving, the studio keeps on evolving, and there's really no stop to learning. There's always something new, it's always changing.

And that's why I also like working with new people because you just learn something. For example, I'm known for rock and folk but I've recently been delving into that pop scene and I'm learning so much about how things are done. It's exciting how I can kind of incorporate some of that into what my speciality is and it just gets intertwined. And as an engineer, I'm slowly building an identity as well. It's great. 

What would you say is something you need to know when you start a studio from the ground up?

Oh, interesting question. I guess one is that networking is very important; you just got to get out there. 

Another is—and this is something also that that kind of also adds to the last question... I'm a very big audio guy so I love buying gear but once you're in that realm, you need to start striking a balance between purchasing instruments and gear that you want and what musicians will actually use. Don't put all your money into buying everything because you might not know exactly what you might need, so you want to kind of build slowly.

The way I look at things is that I'll buy gear because I feel like it will add value to the studio and from there, I'm slowly building up. It's a gradual thing. 

That makes sense because sometimes you get too excited so you buy a lot of things. 

Exactly! In the beginning, there's obviously a lot of excitement—and of course, marketing draws you in—and you buy all these things that you might not even use.

And the good thing about having less, in terms of gear, is you start learning these things very intricately and you get good at it. That's kind of how I think about it; when I'll buy something, I'll use it to its fullest advantage. I really subscribe to the idea of less is more, even with production. 

Who are some artists that you think people should start paying attention to?

I'm currently working with this artist, her name is dia maté. She's under Island Records and she has really good stuff. She actually has a [new single] that I mixed and that Quest produced, and I think her music's great and that she really deserves the limelight. Nameless Kids are another good one, from Tarsier Records. We're working on their album and it's just going really good, they're great. 

There's a lot actually. This region has been growing into a new realm, there's so much talent. I was talking to someone recently about how Asia's music industry has gotten to the point where it can compete with the US and Europe. It's really getting there, and it's super exciting. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Who are some artists you've been listening to lately?

I'm a big alternative rock fan, since I was a kid so everything kind of started with bands like Switchfoot. But lately, I've been exploring different artists. I'm listening now to Doja Cat, so it's gone to that extreme. I've also been listening to The Weeknd, and this band called Alabama Shakes who have really interesting music. There's your regular Arctic Monkeys, Cory Wong, and M1LDL1FE as well. There's Dua Lipa also, it's just a variety. 

What next can we expect from Line In Records?

A lot of releases in the next couple of months, like so so so so so many releases (laughs). We're actually also kind of shifting out of the commercial studio realm soo what I'm looking at doing is more of personal projects with artists...so basically, brand changing in a way. There's still going to be the live recordings, but it's going to slowly shift out to the commercial space to be more of my personal studio.

Also, more gear, more partnerships actually. We're slowly going global, starting with artists from the region. We're talking to some people from Singapore, from Thailand, and from different parts of the globe. So, there's a lot of exciting stuff. 

This is part 1 of Bandwagon's two-part interview series with Nik Amarnani and Line In Records. Check back in soon for part 2, where Nik takes us through the creative and technical process of some of his work with the Filipino music scene's brightest stars.