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Great day in the studio at the weekend… but a little different from usual. The main difference being that instead of making hard beats and then rapping until my throat bled, we had a just as important, but rather less glamourous, strategic planning session!

The main thing we decided was even though we have an extremely dope album in the pipeline, we are going to hold back on releasing it until we have pushed at least two singles from the record. So currently the main thing you will hear us all banging on about is the first of these singles, Rush.

You may well have seen the promo trailer for Rush already (if not then head to the YouTube channel). We hope to have the finished video up and online from as soon as Monday! Like always, keep plugged into tommyeye.co.uk to see it first.

Oh, and there was of course some music making namely in the form of Sanjay’s phat new MPC player…

Where do I go when I have to start a whole new era of music making and planning..? The home town of course!

Yeah boi, I have travelled down to Southampton tonight (on a GreyHound coach that smelt a little bit too much of dry-air and urine) ready for some serious strategy planning tomorrow in purple square studio’s with my producer’s Hi-Sonorous, and my PR Manager.

This is much need, as it is extremely apparent to me that I have not been able to give my music the time and head space it needs the last couple of months. This has really been down to the simple (and common) fact that I have to work another job to pay the bills. However I am really excited as this week is my first week of dropping a few of these work hours too spend some more time really getting things moving on the music side!

So tomorrow we will be drafting out the whole of this year… shows, singles, press releases, festivals, and even the release of an incredible hot album!

I can’t wait…

check in at the end of tomorrow to see how it all went

Holla to you all.

Big thanks to my man Chris Taylor for designing a brand new section of tommyeye.co.uk launched today- the ‘Tour Dates’ page!

Finally we have a place to go to find out exactaly when the next Tommy Eye and the E.Y.E Collective shows in our city’s will be happening (this is espeacailly helpful to me as I really need to be at all of these seeing as my name is on the billing…

Not only can you find out exactally when, where, what, and how much every show will be, but you will even be able to read reviews of shows just gone, all designed to really get you in the mood for coming to the next one!

There are three new show dates that have already been added today, so why not head over to the ‘Tour Dates’ section and check them out for yourselves…!?

Peace

Sup, Sup.

You may remember November’s post about the weekend shoot  for the music video of ‘Rush’..!?  Well, all of that is becoming reality with the launch of the trailer this Tuesday.

Joe Douglas (the Director) has been heading up the editing of the video this week in between studying for his degree. In the meantime, I will be getting the final mix of the track mastered so it’s ready to be put with the finished edit- bringing Rush fully into life!

I saw the trailer for the first time yesterday. Joe has decided to go for an approach that more wets the viewers curiosity than gives you the whole song. Of course the trailer isn’t the actually music video, it’s just a glimpse at it. The real deal will follow in a couple of weeks time; with the whole track and everything…!

To see the trailer first on Tuesday go to:

http://www.youtube.com/tommyeyevideo

Also look out for it on Grime Daily on Tuesday

www.grimedaily.com

In the meanwhile enjoy Kanye\’s crazy video… to inspire you:-)

T

Firstly I’d like to thank everyone who has support me though-out 2011. Thanks to Hi-sonorous for making the new record with me and repeatedly going the extra mile to make it as good as it can be (you boys are dope). Thanks to all members of the EYE collective who I have recorded or played live with. Thanks to Charis Mcconnell for teaming up with me to really get shizzle moving on the PR side of things (and every other side really). Everyone who has been involved in video or visual arts with me (usually giving your services for free), especially Joe Douglas and his crew. Thanks to Anne Adams for kicking off Tommy Eye and Re:flex the Archittect shows in London.  And thank you to you and every other supporter who has come to shows, given fed-back, or just generally looked out for me and my music. You all rock. Word.

However, after 2011 must come 2012…

So what can Tommy Eye supporters expect to see happening in 2012…? Practically, I will soon be dropping a couple of days at my day job so I can have some more time too spend doing all the promoting/ hustling music-wise that I need too! This is going to mean I’m a bit broke at times, but if you want something bad enough, you have to make some sacrifices right..? This should be really cool as it will keep my link into working with inner city young people involved in violence (supporting them get out of the life-style rather than into it I should clarify), and also give me extra time, energy, and head-space, for music that I just haven’t had this year.

So what can Tommy Eye supporters expect to see happening in 2012 (I just realised I asked this question at the start of the last paragraph, but didn’t actually get round to answering it)…? Here’s a cut-down list to wet your appetite:

• The first single: Those of you who have read the last blog will know we recently had a professional video shoot for the first single of the new record, Rush. This is currently being edited (in-between the editor’s university exams!), and is scheduled to be finished by the end of January, meaning that we will reveal it too the world by early February. This will be an incredible to chance to really get people’s attention; the single and video is hot; trust.
• The new record: After the first single (or possibly second/ third single; Hi-sonorous and myself reckon there are at least 5 real strong singles on this record with the potential too crack the charts) get ready for the release of The Fall of Icarus. I can’t wait to share this with all of you.
• Tommy Eye and the EYE collective on tour: Thanks to my brilliant PR manager, I have applied to loads of festivals all around England happening in 2012. This (along with my new found time for music) will make sure I am gigging brand new material more than ever before, along with the faithful EYE Collective! Sweet.

Not bad huh..? And that’s just for starters. This all leaves me thinking the question… is this gonna be the year that will finally see Tommy Eye properly break into the music industry? Truth is- I just don’t know; but what I do know is I will push every single door that God graciously places before me.

Merry Christmas and New Year,

Tommy

watch?v=SfHchuY75bM&list=UU1ZKs7p0pxabax6nep1sarw&index=20&feature=plcp

I remember a few years ago me and my mate Joe decided to make a video for ‘Mermaids in Jetpacks’, the natural single off my first record.

Joe borrow a camera from his part time job (he was still studying in 6th form at the time)and we were ready to roll… Well… when I say ready to roll, we didn’t even really have a story board or even a concept! In the end we managed to convince his long-suffering Dad to drive Joe around in his car, as Joe hung out of the back and filmed me running for miles though different locations (watch that video here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxndxc9mqdk)

Now don’t get me wrong people, I have strong feelings for the Mermaids video, however we knew we had to step things up to a whole new level for the video for the first single of my new record. We now had the challenge of doing a totally professional, unique, and creative video for a fraction of the cost.
So Joe and I went into hustle mode…

Seriously, I reckon we managed save over £2000 in costs, just by hustling as hard as we did. We managed to get nearly all the equipment free (Joe’s university let us use their kit for the weekend), a free film crew (all last year students from Joe’s film degree; these boys knew their shizzle), free shoot locations, free extra’s (most of whom are studying drama degrees), and even a free van too move everything around in!
Any artists out there who want to make your own music video but think, ‘man, I just don’t have the budget’… yes you do! If I can do it so can you. Just use every link and resource you have… everyone knows someone with a camera.

Anyway, the great thing about working with Joe Douglas isn’t just his ability to wangle free/ cheep stuff, it’s actually his massive talent as a video director and cinematographer. The man has an incredible eye for what looks good on camera, great vision, and knows how to get the shots he wants. Add too this his talented film crew (we had 6 of them on Friday, 4 on Sunday), and we were always going to get great results!

Friday’s shoot was great fun but it was tiring!!! I had managed to hustle a whole section of the hospital were I work for filming so we had it all to ourselves. The only thing was that this particular section of the hospital wasn’t available untill after 10pm. This meant we had to pull an all-nighter… in the end we didn’t leave until 6am in the morning! Still it was worth it, and the location was ideal for setting the story and mood of the song.

Sunday’s shoot was a totally different flavour, swapping the inside of a rehab clinic to the great outdoors of an open forest. This day was really surreal as I spent most of it, along with my extras, running around the woods in hospital gowns getting paint cannons shot at us. That’s right… paint canons! The climax to this video is insane!

So, after all that now comes the long and laborious task of editing! Luckily I won’t be doing this job myself, so it will be down to Joe and his team to use everything we got to make an unforgettable video! I’m so excited about all of this… I have a real confidence that this video and single will be the best tool yet for pushing my music further.

As for when you will be able to see the video… umm, good question. We will see how editing and mastering go, as well as when Team Tommy feel it is strategically best to release ‘Rush’ (that’s the name of the song, not some kind of infectious disease) on the waiting world. But one thing is for sure… visitors of tommyeye.co.uk will be the first to know!!!

Peace
T

It felt good to have another proper gig in London with the E.Y.E Collective on Friday night, and headlining alongside my main man Re:flex the Architect; also we had an incredible support line up of Ebonie G, Aimee, and Isi the Scribe!

A massive shout out to everyone who came down to show their support…

Highlights of the night for me were hearing Re:flex’s new material (including the inspiring ‘Dear Mirror’), hearing Ebonie G singing a medley of old school UK garage (why don’t they make anything as good anymore…?), and performing ‘Not Happening’ with Re:flex and Ms Feva (There is something about that track…).
Also we played three tracks of my new record (D.O.S, Aint Finished, and Raybans)! The new tracks went down really well, although the band and I still have some more to do in order to make them really work live. It’s kind of weird because a couple of weeks ago we were recording these songs in the studio, and it’s a totally different experience doing them live- but it’s such a good feeling! Expect more new tunes to be creeping into the set lists at upcoming Tommy Eye shows; there’s even been talk of using up to three laptops alongside the usual band set up, just to give the full sound the new tracks require!

In fact, the only bad thing about the night was when my vocie started to give way half way though the set. Somehow I managed to croak my way though, and most people didn’t notice (they must just have thought I have a sexy, gravely, vocie)!

Re:flex, the event co-ordinator, and myself are meeting this week to review the show and plot our next steps- so keep an ear in for up coming shows people!

Peace out

My good friend and E.Y.E collective member Andrew Dennis came to the studio this morning to lay down some serious vocal parts though out the record. Andy has a wicked voice (if you don’t believe me come to a Tommy Eye live show), and he really smashes though on a couple of hooks on the record, however today was more about group harmonies and backing vocals.

We also had Ms Feva (the Sister of Re:Flex the Architect) coming to lay down her swaggering delivery on the song ‘Raybans’. This really brought the track to life, and I’m particularly proud of our vocal overlap and interaction… defiantly a tune to look forward too!

To top things off, Charis who heads up Tommy Eye PR popped into the studio to show me the lastest press release packs we will be sending off to a ton of festival organisers and other music type people! They looked great, really professional and eye catching- to get peoples attention you have to grab it!

So, all in all, another successful day. We still have a load more work to do before the end of the week though, so we’ll be really busy the next couple of days. Check back in to find out how tomorrow goes…!

T

Today we had no featuring vocalist coming into the studio, so it was literally just the Hi-Sonorous boys and myself. This was actually pretty handy as it meant to we could make a good start on my own vocals on the record.

We were hoping to ‘borrow’ a microphone that cost a couple of G’s for my vocal takes this week, from a friend of ours in the industry; unfortunately this wasn’t possible in the end However we still knew we could get a quality sound (we’ve done it before), so we spent some of the day trying out several studio mic’s, trying to find the best possible fit for my voice (the Baby Blue won in the end). Once this was done, it was just rapping left to do…!

Progress was slowed down a bit by Chris bringing in a batch of donuts, which in my lack of self-control I scoffed in about 30 seconds and then had indigestion for about an hour after! And let me tell you something my people- indigestion and rapping just doesn’t mix!

My highlight of the day was probably laying down the final lyrics to a track called ‘Aint Finished Yet’… I can’t wait to reveal it to the world, that track is going to be MASSIVE!!!
‘Legend gives no hand outs- legend gives some cold shoulders. I’ll take to arms now, raise the bar like pole-vaulters…’Peace

What a wicked start to the recording week!

I got to the studio today to find that Chris and Sanjay had recorded all the piano bits for the album (on real piano rather than computerized) and it had really developed the sound in so much of the production! We also had Ebonie G come down from the streets of Kent today, and spent a lot of the day putting her vocal talents too the test in the booth!

I’m proper excited about the sung vocals on this new record as we are approaching things in a really different way to usual. Basically, you can still expect your classic rapped verses with strong sung hooks on certain album tracks, but there is also an extra creative flavour just below the surface…

As many of you will know, the title of this new record is going to be ‘The Fall of Icarus’. Icarus is a well know figure from Greek mythology (the boy who flew too close to the son), and the themes explored though out the record reflect this title. This title also got me thinking… what other elements/ ideas from ancient Greece could we use too tie into this (an important question for any rapper about to make a Hip Hop record to ask)..?

This made me think about Greek theatre, and in particular Greek Tragedy, and how so often their plays/stories had a cast of acting extras (who often stayed on stage for the whole performance) who would act as a chorus, often raising their vocals individually or as a collective.

Which made me then think… why couldn’t we do this?

So Ebonie kicked us off today, recording both individual sung harmonies (for example the infectious hook on Fall Down- a track which now has one of my favourite beats on the whole record) and also ‘chorus’ parts (like in the intro and very last track on the record). Ebonie G is great to work with because she always brings her A game, so all her parts where sounding bonkers by the end of the day!

All in all, this has given us a really strong start to the recording week. I can’t wait for tomorrow cos we are going be recording my own vocals all day… a whole day of rapping!!! Thank you Lord! Can you imagine anything sweeter…?

T