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

1ST WEEK: So wait - I'm in New York??

New York City. The Big Apple. The skyscrapers, the smells, the sounds and the colors, the ocean of people running, working, laughing, yelling, dancing… It’s an explosion, a dream, everything you see in the movies and hear in the songs. So much to see, so much to experience.

The first week? Like any other tourist, you’ll spend it with your jaw on the ground, head facing the sky, trying your best to adjust your brain to the energy and the size of the city and all its wonders. 

My first week?

Well, while the past days have been without a doubt full of everything mentioned above, I just simply haven’t had enough time or energy to fully realize everything that’s happening around me. It’s really amazing how, when you’re here to work, you kind of just adapt to the fast pace of the city. I arrived on Sunday evening, and the working started first thing on Monday. On my second day I was already busy enough to join the working newyorkers in crossing the street at a red light, having the morning coffee on a train and finding the slow tourists, who were blocking my way, very annoying - but I’m loving all of it! Sure it’s a bit stressful and new in the beginning, but it's definitely what I came here to do. A lot of songwriting which I looove, but also naturally a lot of planning and organizing and stuff... but the fuzz is getting clearer and clearer every day. I'm feeling confident!

Also, it’s so weird how the city doesn’t feel scary or too big, not even that strange (except for the climate, who knew it’d be this hot, like +35°C!?)… In fact, at times it actually feels, crazy enough, pretty familiar. How could it feel familiar to a girl who moved here from as far as Helsinki? The answer must be in all the amazing, wonderful people who have made me feel so safe and welcome. It’s all still so far away from home, so I’m reeeaally lucky to feel I’ve got friends here!

All in all, although there’s a lot of stuff yet to be learned and it might feel tough at times, before anything else this week has been a looot of fun, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here, doing what I love. And even if at times I might get lost in the hurries, there are still these little moments, at least once a day, when I look up and around and suddenly realize where I actually am, how crazy it is, and how lucky I am to be here!

So here's to the first week, still alive and very excited, can't wait to see what the next one might bring...!

<3

Peppina

(I'll post some pictures here as well, as soon as I figure out how to transfer stuff from my phone to this laptop - meanwhile you can go check my instagram (peppinamusic), I try my best to post frequently! :) )

READY TO GO?

See that girl above? She’s standing on a hill in Helsinki, Finland, and she’s going to leave her home tomorrow. The city, the country, family and friends, everything. Pretty big, huh? And guess what, she’s only 18 years old! But I wouldn’t worry about her, it’s pretty obvious she’s ready to go… or well, at least she’s obviously super excited about it. To be honest, she’s also a bit nervous. To be perfectly honest, she’s actually freaking out right now, ’cause it’s the CRAZIEST THING EVER HAPPENED TO HER, EVER, but you know, I still wouldn’t be worried.

First of all, during the past year, she's had quite a lot of experience with crazy things happening to her already. With having practically no previous experience in performing to big audiences, she sang her own song together with a famous actor in front of TV cameras and almost 2000 people at The Orpheum Theater in LA, and yes, survived. She performed another one at Sundance Film Festival with the same actor, still didn't die. She watched how these songs were featured as segments on a TV show that was aired in the US and no, her brain didn't explode (not literally at least). All this because she dared to start sharing music online two years ago on a site called hitrecord.org. So yeah, you'd think she'd be pretty used to crazy things by now.

Also, she’s got this thing. A passion, a dream, an obsession, call it what you want, but it’s been burning her all her life: Music. Music, music, music. Writing, singing, composing, playing, remixing, you name it, she loves it. And this love drives her on. For years the thought of a future where she could make a living by making music was only a daydream, something too wonderful to ever be possible. But after everything that happened during the past year, these daydreams have slowly but steadily started to seem a bit more reachable.

So, could we get to the point already, please? Well, during her adventures she made some new friends and these friends want to help her on her career. And so now this girl is leaving to an adventure to New York, The Big Apple, to make her first album and hopefully start her journey towards turning those daydreams into reality!

Oh yeah, and by the way, that girl is me.

This blog will be my diary, a way to keep my head together with all the crazy changes that are about to happen in my life, and not to mention, a way to share this story with all the family and friends, old and new, from all around. Anyone who’s interested, join the adventure! :)

So with these words, see you in September, Helsinki! This bird is flying to the West!

<3 Peppina