:: Recone Helmut's Studio Log ::

:: Saturday, August 30, 2003 ::

We have added the gas, checked the oil and primed the carb., its time now to start this beast and see what happens. Sarah and I are taking the entire weekend to get the pH10 promotion machine back up to race ready condition and we are in full swing as I write this. We are assembling a lean and mean list of 400 independant radio stations, 100 or so strong label contacts, another 200-300 press contacts along with managers, booking agents etc etc. Anyone we think might dig the single and be able to help take pH10 further in the future. Check us out on the cam.
:: Recone 7:36 PM [+] ::
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The single is being pressed as I type this! I called Pete Miser and said "dude, with all the samples in yo shit, you must have a pretty tolerant pressing plant - who is it?" He told me about this place in Oregon called Northwestern Media. They are doing the whole job for 100 bucks more than Diskmakers and giving me no hassle. The project is saved! Anyway, this past weekend I put the finishing touches on the 'The Red Arrow' and 'Intro' mixes. So, 4 out of 10 tracks are in the can. It doesnt sound like a lot but things will start to speed up now that the single is all done and off my plate. I finally tracked down Dr. Israel in the Sweetwater Bar last week. He was in Germany for a while. He's down to do a track for the record and has the next couple of weeks free to get it done. This is my next action item (dont you love that corporate speak) and I'm really looking forward to working with him again. Thats about it for news on this front - dont forget to email me your address if you want an advance copy of the Needless to Say single.
:: Recone 11:39 PM [+] ::
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Well, blackouts are nice.

Long story short - Diskmakers Blows. They rejected the single because there are samples from a popular movie in the 'Helmut Theme'. So, I found another place that (I think) will press the disk for me. The package was sitting in my office waiting for Fed Ex to come when the lights went out. So, Monday morning I'll send the disk with the art to Northwestern Media and we'll see what happens. Imagine if this was how things were 20 years ago... there would be no hip hop!

New York City is fun when the power is out :-). It was like a giant party, they should kill the juice once a month to get people out of the house and into the streets - it was a blast.

Getting lots of work done on the full length. Recording the Intro song now and should have that mixed by the end of the weekend.
:: Recone 5:03 PM [+] ::
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Well, the cd is off to the pressing plant. For the next couple of days I'll just hope that they dont catch the samples (most wont press music with samples these days) and continue to work on the rest of the album. I am getting along nicely despite long periods of away time - going upstate to see Mark Melville etc etc. By the end of this week I should hit the half way mark having 5 out 10 tracks mixed. Once the single gets delivered I'll have a couple of weeks of office type work ahead of me. Getting all the propaganda that goes into the press pack written and printed up etc. By the middle of next month I hope to have all of the singles sent out to labels, press and radio stations. Its a lot of grunt work but its fun too.

Check the cam all week as I'll be on every night.
:: Recone 10:31 PM [+] ::
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Feeling pretty tired lately. A little overextended. But, things are getting done so... fuck it. Alan the mastering guy has been very ill and hasnt gotten my revisions/enhanced portion finished yet. This means the single is still not off to Diskmakers. Im not too worried about it, it'll get done soon enough. In the mean time I am working hard on the rest of the album. I got 'The Red Arrow' recorded and mixed and I'll have the intro to the album (will end up being the new live intro too) just about done. I'll probably call that "Happy Pocket" or "Pocket Face"... I dunno, something with pocket in it. I havenet been upstate in a month and it sucks. I am going to stay with Mark at his parents house this coming weekend. We'll swim, shoot the targets, drink some beers... it'll be nice. I am bringing my bike back with me so I can ride to work everyday again - I really need the exercise. Oh yeah, we got 'Featured Review of the Week' at DnBscene.com. Its a UK based drum and bass site that accepts mp3s from smaller acts and reviews them in a forum sort of style - "As if to prove that drum and bass is truly a global phenomenon, Brooklyn boys ph10 lay down an infectious MC-driven beat fest that just oozes American ghetto cool."
:: Recone 9:38 PM [+] ::
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