Phil Nicolo received a B.S. from Temple University in 1977. In 1980, Nicolo, with his brother Joe, founded Studio 4, a recording studio in Philadelphia. Nicolo’s early rock credits include The Hooters, Nighthawks, and Willie Nile. Other early credits include Kriss Kross, Teddy Pendergrass, and Taj Mahal. Mixes of Billy Joel’s River of Dreams, the Rolling Stones’ Love Is Strong, Aerosmith’s Falling In Love, and James Taylor’s A Little More Time are all Nicolo’s work. He recently co-produced and mixed Sting’s When We Danced and re-mixed Message In A Bottle for The Police. Other credits include John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Trent Reznor, Luscious Jackson, and Jon Bon Jovi.
In 1989, Ruffhouse Records was launched out of Studio 4 operations. Responsible for the careers of Lauryn Hill, the Fugees, Cypress Hill, and Wyclef Jean, Ruffhouse accounted for 12 of Columbia Records’ 39 Grammy nominations last year. Nicolo’s recent projects include Fragile’s debut album and also work with Shades Apart, mixes for John Lennon & Yoko Ono, and a Pete Yorn EP. Currently Phil is working with “Sly & Robbie” on demos for No Doubt and Fat Joe and a live Dishwala DVD.
Nicolo is on the Board of Governors for the Philadelphia chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences and has received two Grammy nominations.