WEEKS 5 & 6

Hope you guys have been enjoying these last weeks of July, I know I have, and this is because of four little things:

1. I’m in NYC!!! (surprise!)
2. The weather is finally showing some pity on me: for the first time since I moved here, I’ve felt like a human (and less like a puddle) for over a week!
3. The progress we’ve been making with these songs - I’m beyond excited, it’s amazing to hear how they come alive as we move forward with the production!
4. Aaaand, of course, MY MOM IS HERE!!

Having her here is obviously nice just because I get to hang out with her, but there are also plenty of other bonuses. Firstly, now I’ll have a reason to do some of the tourist stuff that I probably would never end up doing myself if she wasn’t here. It’s nice to be around someone who’s here on holiday - it gives you a lot of different kind of energy. But even more than that, it’s nice to have her here ’cause now I finally get to EAT! And by eating I mean Eating with a capital E, having dinners in restaurants and breakfasts in coffee shops, you know, getting a taste of the real NYC food culture. You see, there’s a side of this journey that I haven’t shared with you guys yet, probably because it’s a side that at times causes quite a lot of stress for me: money.

Everyone knows that living in NYC is not cheap to begin with, but when you add the fact that I’m paying for all the costs of this album release all by myself, that’s when it gets real. The reason why I chose to not even look for a label that could help me with these costs and other stuff, is that I don’t want to commit to anything long term at the moment, and this way I’ll be more independent and have more freedom to do this EP on my own terms. So I really am happy to pay, and besides, everyone I’ve worked with have been super flexible and extremely reasonable (a lot of exceptions have been made for me), so no complaints! But because of all this I have been living on a budget - so it’s nice to have a mom here to spoil me again! :D 

So I don’t know about you guys, but I’m off to pretend I’m a tourist in NYC and enjoy a day off with my mom!

This is what a happy daughter with the perfect breakfast looks like! (fear not - I did share it with my mom!)

<3

Peppina

WEEK 3: Progress and despair

While living in New York, you’ll definitely come across a bunch of stuff that’s new to you. This will happen no matter where you’re from, but especially if you’re a poor little Peppina from Finland making her first album release and living on her own. Although I absolutely love it here, I’d be lying if I said it’s only roses and sunshine! Here’s a brief list to give you an insight into some of the little things I’ll still need to work on:

Still learning…

• THIS HEAT: I. Am. Melting!!! Is there a trick for handling this? Will I get used to it in time?? Why does everybody just look at me with pity in their eyes and tell me: ”You don’t even know, just wait for August”???
• THIS COUGH: Very much connected to the problem above. The AC gives me a terrible cough that’s (figuratively) killing me, but I can’t turn it off for the night ’cause it’s still hot even when it’s on and without it I’d probably (literally) die. Am I the only one? Get me out of this vicious circle!
• ALL THIS CASH: Might not sound like a problem at first, but I’m not talking about huge amounts of money, I’m talking about huge amounts of paper. They all. Look. Exactly. The same. I’m telling you, one of these days all these damn one dollar bills (that never seem to end but are never enough at the checkout) will make me lose it for good.
• ALL THESE PEOPLE: Taking the subway in NYC during rush hour is something simply indescribable. That’s when you’ll truly feel the insane amount of people living in the city, and I mean that literally, on your skin, with your face in someone’s armpit!

But hey, you live and you learn, right? That’s what I try to do anyway, and now that some of this negative stuff is out of my system, here’s a bit more positive list about some of the little things that, after a bit of stumbling, I’ve actually learned to handle here!

Success!

• LAST NIGHT: Despite the earthshaking volume of my Air Conditioning, I was finally able to sleep trough a whole night without earplugs. The trick is to imagine it’s a waterfall!
• THESE STREETS & SUBWAYS: Everyone who knows me could tell you that, to say the least, I’m not the very best at navigating or finding my way to where I need to go. But just look at me in NYC after only 3 weeks: the other day a lady asked me for directions and I had the answer! I feel like I’m totally on the map and rocking the subways. It’s surprisingly easy here, even for a dummy like me!
• THESE BUGS: I am very pleased and slightly surprised to announce this; it appears I’m not scared nor specifically disgusted by cockroaches. I’ve met a couple already and didn’t freak out at all, actually, in my opinion, I handled the situations pretty smoothly!

And, to keep things on the brighter side, as a grand finale of this post I’m very happy to announce that, after finishing 7 new songs in only 3 weeks, we now have all that we need and more for the EP and are ready to go into production!!! I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like something to be happy about!

Stay tuned for more rambling, and check out my instagram (instagram.com/peppinamusic) for more photos! (Again struggling with uploading them on the computer… Me, my computer and my phone don’t really get along all the time)

<3

Peppina

WEEK 2: getting settled

So Peppina, what’s up with this blog, how come you didn’t post anything new sooner?

Well, dear reader…

Like I mentioned in the previous post, making an EP in NYC can make your days pretty eventful. So far, in 2 weeks, we’ve already written 7 new songs and started to sketch production for two of them. It’s been a loot of fun, but has also obviously taken a big bite off of my focus. But, what I didn’t mention was that life outside of work has been pretty colorful and different from my usual lifestyle as well. I was so lucky to be able to stay the first two weeks in the living room of these two wonderful girls, one of which I knew from hitRECord. Such generous, warm and lovely people! I had so much fun hanging out with them & other friends and, to be honest, I bet I would’ve felt much more alone during these first weeks if I had started this NYC journey by living on my own. However, not having your own space, your own place where you can go and get your thoughts together, it can be pretty unorganized and stressful.

With that being said, ladies and gents, I am very happy to announce that I HAVE A ROOM! For the next two months I’ll be living in Spanish Harlem, right next to central park… I’m super stoked, the place is great and the neighborhood looks lovely. No more using my luggage as a closet!!!

Also, in addition to all that, this means I’ll have more time, focus and energy to keep you guys posted on all the stuff that’s happening here! I already feel a lot less like my head is all over the place, after sleeping here for only 3 nights.

Now I’m off to celebrate the 4th of July for the first time! Happy Independence day, USA!

And finally, some photos for you all! :)

Working on the production with Michael & Jeff

Going crazy with Jimmy after a songwriting session...

... at Gibson Showroom!

Though I'll surely miss this rooftop view at the hitRECord hostel in Brooklyn...

... and will definitely miss living with these two (and eating Thai food on the floor with friends!!) even more...

... I can't complain about having this lovely room here!!

Stay tuned!

<3 Peppina