Alexander Spit produces 10-track album "Alive at Virgil Normal" in one day. / Photo © Diane Abapo for SUSPEND Magazine
Last night Alexander Spit did what most would find to be the unthinkable: He recorded an entire album, titled “Alive At Virgil Normal,” in one day (10 hours to be exact). Prior to Saturday, the San Francisco Bay Area rapper and producer actually migrated his studio to the much loved corner shop Virgil Normal (4157 Normal Ave., Los Angeles) on Friday night in preparation for the task ahead. Complete with his essential music production tools, keyboard, computer, chair, rug, portable TV and VHS selects, and mic, Spit welcomed guests throughout the day starting at 11am to stop by the shop’s outdoor patio area and into his cornered off one-day studio for a chance to see him create beats and produce tracks on the spot. Friends and fellow music artists like Hugh Augustine, AmirSaysNothing, Theophilus Martins, Manu Li of Warm Brew, KT The Terrible and others stopped by to be a part of the process with almost all of them actually writing and recording featured verses for the 10-track album. After engineering, mixing, and mastering the tracks, the final album was manufactured into 100 cassette tapes. Each cassette came with a 1 of 1 hand drawn cover by artist Matt McCormick. At 7pm, Spit debuted and held a listening release party for “Alive at Virgil Normal” with complimentary PBR. A photo exhibition, “Lost in LA,” by Japanese skate photographer Ryuta Hironaga also took place on Saturday from 7pm to 11pm with guests from both artists mingling and admiring each other’s work.
"Lost in LA" pop-up photo exhibition by Ryuta Hironaga at Virgil Normal
Photographer Jonathan Tate arrived at Virgil Normal earlier in the day to document friends stopping by to join in on the production and recording process with some writing featured verses and instrumentals for "Alive at Virgil Normal."
Photography by Diane Abapo and Jonathan Tate
Follow @alexander_spit and @ryutahironaga for updates
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