Flow NY: Artists and Productions

Down on Manhattan's artistic Lower East Side, instead of hosting multiple businesses in multiple rooms, David Pattillo is multitasking in one room with Flow NY (www.flowny.com). A guitarist who did the label dance throughout the '90s with his psychedelic rock band Mer, Pattillo found artist development to be the perfect fit with where he is now as a musician, engineer and producer. “I had made a singer/songwriter record in my bedroom on a laptop,” he recalls. “Then I had a baby and it was time to move out of the bedroom! I had been sharing a couple of spaces, but in 2004, I took a leap of faith, opened Flow and I immersed myself in artist development.”

Working with a tight roster of young artists, including R&B singer Cilla, pop singer Reni J. and acoustic rocker Michael Schoen, Pattillo has evolved into a songwriting partner, producer, engineer and label hunter for his clients. “It started off for me to have a space in which to write songs and get them out to people,” says Pattillo. “As I started to befriend producers, they said, ‘It would be really great if you can also produce the music and write the songs.’ I thought, ‘Hey, I can do this myself.’”

The heart of Pattillo's launchpad is his small but inspiring studio, located in an New York City artists' building where fashion designers, photographers, jewelry-makers and more share the elevator. “The room is about 225 square feet, and my main thing, having a background in mastering at Sterling Sound, was I wanted good conversion,” he says, “so I got an Apogee Trak2. I also have a 12-channel Neve 54 Series broadcast console with four buses, which is amazing. There's a couple of Logic plug-ins that I like, especially the Bit Crusher. I've been experimenting with changing the bit depth to create more space in the mix.”Pattillo admits that his chosen field has its hazards, but he's ready to keep taking them on. “It's the craziest thing to get into — my partners are Mastercard and Visa!” he says with a laugh. “This is a tough business, but on the rare occasion, you do find A&R people who will sign an artist based on great songs and a great vision. That's what I'm trying to do here: be a go-between, make it happen and bring the artist's vision to life.”