WEEKS 8, 9, 10 & The NYC bug

Wooow I know, it’s been a while. I told you guys things were gonna get crazy, right? Well they sure did! We’ve been making some reeeal progress, tracking down the strings, the guitars, the piano, the vocals… And it all sounds pretty amazing!! But I’m telling you, this vocal tracking is hard. Recording the main vocals for 5 songs in 3 days is not only physically challenging, but also extremely emotional, it really eats up all your energy. After singing We Can Go Back Again (WOOP yes, you heard it first, it’ll be on the album!!), I seriously felt like I was going to explode, with tears if nothing else.

To be honest, lately I’ve been feeling uncharacteristically emotional about a lot of weird stuff, which is of course natural because of all the crazy, new, challenging and at times a bit stressful stuff that’s suddenly a part of my everyday life. But I’m starting to wonder whether it might be something else as well.

I think I’ve been bitten.

You see, there are obviously a lot of bugs and insects in NYC that might bite you, and while most of them just leave an annoying itch that lasts a couple of days, this one bug is something else. It chooses its victims carefully. With some it attacks immediately, with some it waits for months, but when it bites, oh man. There’s no escape.

You won’t feel a thing at first, might not even notice it happened. But then, one day while you’re getting closer to leaving the city, you suddenly realise that something feels different and that it’s clear there’s no going back. The crowded trains, the Spanish Harlem weekend-parties, the homeless sharing a seat with the rich, the unbearable heat at the train station and the freezing AC inside the train, the busy business people crossing at a red light together with the equally busy artist kids… suddenly all this makes you feel strangely nostalgic, as if you were about to lose a very important part of yourself. All these people, all the smells and sounds that should have absolutely nothing to do with you suddenly become something very personal. And before anything else, it becomes clear that there’s no other place on earth that could make you feel this way.

In other words, if you’re planning to come see this city one day, be careful of the NYC bug. When it bites, this city turns into a powerful drug!

On that note, here’s to this Thursday, the last days of August and all things exciting and new. I’m off to enjoy them while they’re still around!

<3

Peppina

WEEK 7 - getting busy!

7 down, 5 to go. How did this happen, how can it be that it’s been SEVEN weeks already?? Unbelievable. Time sure flies when your brain is constantly exploding. And it seems that this adventure is getting crazier every day! Here are some photos from the past week to show you how...

Somewhere deep in Brooklyn... Guess what this place looks like from inside?

Yup, I didn't guess either! Prettttty cool!!

So last week we had all the live drums tracked down for the album, and not just by any drummer, but by none other than the great Shawn Pelton himself!!! If you guys don’t know the name, check out his wikipedia page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Pelton 

So yeah, the top drummer in NYC who, amongst many other projects, plays in the Saturday Night Live, stopped by and laid a couple of tracks for my EP. And my oh my was it amazing. That was another one of those moments where I suddenly woke up to the amazingness of being here, working with the people I work with. And to know it will only get busier from here, well, I have no doubt that the last 5 weeks I have will pass by FAST.

Which is why I must keep on trying my best to be as focused as I can so that I’ll be able to make the most of it. To be honest, it’s not always easy with all that’s going on here. This summer has sure been dramatically different from my usual lifestyle! But, like they say, if it was easy, everyone would do it, so I guess I’ll just have to prove to myself that I’ve got what it takes! 

Here's me, the team and Bryan from the studio showing you that we've got this.
(Naturally I forgot to take a selfie with the drummer star... maybe next time!)
Always working hard, but never without little bit of laughter!

In any case, I’m grateful I don’t have to get through all this alone. I’m so lucky to have so many wonderful, genuinely good people around me, guiding me through the challenges and helping me also give my mind a break when needed. I truly believe that, with the right mindset and support, there are no limits to what you can achieve.

So on that note, to everybody who’s feeling tired and reluctant to get back to work from holidays, YOU GOT THIS, we’ll keep our chins up together! ;)

<3

Peppina