Month: January 2025

2025 is off to a tragic start for Southern California, as a series of wildfires in the Los Angeles area have been burning and causing significant destruction for the past couple days now. The Los Angeles Times reports this morning (January 9) that over 2,000 buildings have been destroyed so far, and one of them is Malibu’s Harbor Studios, where Nicki Minaj recorded Pink Friday 2 and Doja Cat worked on Scarlet (as Billboard notes).

Yesterday, studio founder Zach Brandon shared a photo of the building’s burned remains on Instagram.

He wrote in part, “Named after one of the most important memories from my childhood, Harbor Studios quickly grew from a big, dreamy concept to a beloved staple in the recording industry. I cried this morning, but not because Harbor burned down. I cried because it settled in with me that Harbor was taken from so many artists who cared so deeply about Harbor. It was a place of musical freedom… a sanctuary in the most literal sense of the word. I loved it.”

Read the full text from Brandon’s post below.

“I am profoundly sad to announce that Harbor Studios has been lost to the Palisades Fire. Harbor has been a staple in the music community since the 1990s – first, it was the recording studio for Joe Zawinul and his world famous Jazz Fusion group, “The Weather Report”. Then, in 2008, it became the home studio for esteemed film composer Paul Dinletir, where he worked on compositions for movies like Avatar, Avengers, and other record setting movies. Finally, in 2021, it became Harbor Studios. Named after one of the most important memories from my childhood, Harbor Studios quickly grew from a big, dreamy concept to a beloved staple in the recording industry.

I cried this morning, but not because Harbor burned down. I cried because it settled in with me that Harbor was taken from so many artists who cared so deeply about Harbor. It was a place of musical freedom… a sanctuary in the most literal sense of the word. I loved it.

I started Harbor from the ground, and since its official opening in 2022, it has grown into something I never could have even tried to conceptualized. I have had the luxury of working with the world’s best and brightest artists, managers, and label execs, plus the best assistants, day to day managers, and other support staff. I have been fortunate to make enough great memories for a coffee table book, and most importantly, I have developed the most fulfilling relationships and friendships I’ve ever had, both from a career standpoint and a personal one.

This is not the end of Harbor. We are restarting from scratch (again)… nothing we haven’t done before. Not only that, but I have gained so much knowledge and experience from Harbor 1 that I will be implementing into the rebuild. I’ve taken the initial steps forward – the original studio builder and I have already begun planning what the new Harbor Studios is going to look like. Thankfully, the magic that has been bestowed upon us by our clients is something that can never leave. It’s in the soil, it’s in the air, and it’s in our souls.

We will come back stronger from this.”