NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Callum and myself headed to the Purple Piano Studio in downtown Brooklyn to record some additional vocal parts for the record. This well-equipped and eclectically-decorated studio is situated at the back of Sanford and Sven’s Second Hand Store, and proved to be the perfect location to spend an afternoon laying down some takes. We rolled around in the early afternoon and were greeted by Sven, the very relaxed co-owner of this second hand store/studio space. He was happy to lead us past his collection of old super 8 cameras to the back of the store, where the studio is located.

We set up our gear in the middle of the room, surrounded by some kind of animal skin and a large collection of posters featuring Elvis, Van Halen and the Spice Girls. In the hours that followed, Callum laid down take after take of harmonies and backing vocals; stopping only briefly to slam down a greasy burger and leave a poor tip at a nearby food emporium. Once the recording session came to a close, we headed back to Callum’s pad to celebrate with a round of Drake’s Coffee Cakes—a delicious cinnamon snack, packed with great pop-culture references.