Alana Sukul, ‘Good to you’ - Single Review

Jeeni Blog

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Alana Sukul, ‘Good to you’ - Single Review

Although released in the shadow of Alana Sukul’s previous huge success, ‘Closer’, the newest track from the singer, songwriter and producer is an impactful genre-blurring feat in its own right.

A newer addition to Jeeni, Alana has already added five tracks to Jeeni’s database in a sweep of popular genre channels. Learn more about Alana’s creative mission, her inspirations, influences and attitude as an artist with our recent Artist Focus blog all about her: https://jeeni.com/blog/alana-sukul-artist-focus-blog-jeeni/

This new single shows a moodier side to Alana that demands your focus and attention. The reversed piano melody, heard first, is eerily beautiful and sets the tone of the track incredibly naturally, despite the artificial sound of a backwards piano. Alana’s approach to the percussion is subtle, yet constant; instead of a steady, imitable beat, understated rim hits decorate the offbeats with almost irregular patterns. This embrace of more interesting percussion is most likely a prime example of Alana’s Caribbean heritage and influences shining through, resulting in her music completely breaking the mould from other popular music.

Alana regularly flaunts her adaptive and impressive vocal control in ‘Good to you’ as she dips lower than ever with the lyrics, ‘so heavy’ and then instantly soars upwards with a warbling and composed ‘closer to being buried’ delivery. Her fluent and gliding voice is perfect for communicating the angsty yet tuneful melodies that she’s designed here.

The lyrics here address something deeper than just relationship turmoil. Alana uses her craft to process dark and consuming thoughts, ranging from depressive apathy, the incessant passing of time and overwhelming pressure weighing her down. Through the darkness, Alana does try to maintain optimism, “I deserve so much more than what I’m really settling for”, however, it can’t help but feel hopeless at this point in time that she’s addressing. The lyrics do a heartachingly accurate job of narrating a dark moment in one’s head and adds introspective layers to what could be mistaken as just a heart-break song.

Check out this incredible track on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/good-to-you-alana-sukul/?channel=alana-sukul&rtn=btasc&artist=alana-sukul

And check out Alana’s Jeeni Showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/alana-sukul/

How can Jeeni support artists like Alana Sukul?

JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience.

• We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make.
• We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way.
• We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect.
• Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

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04
Apr

Zeeteah Massiah on Music, Performing and Life during 2020

Zeeteah Massiah is a Number One Billboard Dance Chart star who specialises in Reggae, Jazz and house music. Like many artists, the last year has provided many challenges for Zeeteah, but also a host of new opportunities and ventures that would have never otherwise have been possible. We asked her to tell us about her experiences over the last year whilst we count down to Jeeni's online JAM festival. It’s been the craziest year ever, but we’ve made it through thirteen months in and out of lockdown. At the beginning of 2020, I unveiled a brand-new sound and a wicked new band, and I was full of high hopes for the year. I was excited and ready to go. And then Covid hit. It took me three weeks into the first lockdown to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be going on stage again for a long time. I was in a fog for weeks and then I thought: just because I can’t be on stage doesn’t mean I can’t make music. I suddenly had an impulse to record a new version of an old song that I’ve always loved – United We Stand by Brotherhood of Man. It seemed so right for that moment. Paul, my husband and musical partner, understood immediately the sound I was looking for, and we set to work in our studio. Three of my favourite musicians played on the track – remotely, of course – and family and friends in London, Germany and the Caribbean filmed lovely cameos for the video. It was such fun to do, and it got a wonderful response. You can check it out on Jeeni. And then a man called George Floyd died in Minnesota, and we were all plunged into a very different mood. I didn’t realise how painful many of my feelings about race were, and how deeply they were buried, until I started telling Paul, with tears in my eyes, about growing up in London as a young black girl from Barbados. I was constantly made to feel a certain way simply because of the colour of my skin. Here we are in 2021 and, sadly, many things are still the same. At one point I blurted out to Paul, “You don’t know how it feels to be Black”. He took those words and turned them into a song called You Don’t Know. We recorded it and made the video in July. It’s one of the most heartfelt things I’ve done, and I’ve been amazed by the incredible response it’s had and so grateful for the wonderful feedback. I did manage to squeeze in three London gigs in the gaps between the lockdowns: a reggae gig in Chelsea, and jazz gigs in Hampstead and in the West End. Better than nothing – and in fact, they were all lovely events. When it became clear that there weren’t going to be any more gigs, I decided to start doing live sessions at home with some of my favourite musicians and sharing them on YouTube. And so, the Massiah Sessions were born. We’ve released nine videos so far, in a variety of styles, and there are more to come. I was also invited to add vocals to a new rock album by a dear friend in Germany. Thanks, Günther – it was a blast. In February, I did a livestream with guitarist Marcin Bobkowski for a charity called Educ’aid Africa, run by Isa Bell, which is helping to provide music education to schools in Benin. A recent DNA test revealed that many of my ancestors were from Benin, and so the project had a special meaning for me. It was my first livestream, and I loved it. I’m going to be doing another one on 10 April, and hopefully regularly after that – join us at zeestream.live if you can! And so now here we are, approaching the end of what we pray will be the final lockdown. And soon I’ll be back on stage in front of a live audience doing what I love best. My first live gig of 2021 will be on Thursday 27 May at Crazy Coqs in London’s West End. Maybe see you there? In the meantime, I wish you all the best for what will, hopefully, end up being a much better year. Zeeteah will also be performing in the JAM festival which is a collaboration between Jeeni, AmplifyX and MultiView Media and will be held at 12 noon Los Angeles time, 8pm London time on Saturday April 10th 2021. To find out more about the JAM Festival check out our events on Facebook. https://fb.me/e/1etPauFMV

12
Mar

Jeeni - 'Coming Into Focus'

Friday 22 January saw the first of a month long project for Jeeni, as they work to connect directly with their members. 'Coming Into Focus' is a collection of Zoom meetings, set up for Friday afternoons at 2pm, giving performers, artists, writers and fans the chance to relay their user experiences and chat directly to the directors of the business. With music platforms under increasing scrutiny from government committees, as well as their users, now seems the perfect time to meet the feedback face to face. Jeeni's ethos of 'Ethical, Honest, Fair' means they aren't afraid to hear what many are choosing to ignore. The directors' believe their platform can offer a better way for the music industry to operate and have been striving for this for the past 3 years. From an online 'open' invite, the whole of social media was invited to register for the meeting and for a first outing, the take up was good. There was also a quick questionnaire to complete, to give an outline of usage of the platform. Once into the Zoom arena, guests were personally greeted by CEO Shena Mitchell, who gave a short briefing on the company, the reasons for starting the focus group project and it's plans going forward. The attendees were then given the 'floor' to discuss their experiences. 'Coming Into Focus' - Jeeni meeting The group was an international mix of musicians, songwriters and music fans, with their feedback being extremely positive. All were amazed musicians, artists and performers were going to be earning 100% of the income generated by their postings, merchandise and tickets. This was seen as a huge positive against other platform competitors. There were some great ideas coming from the group, which Jeeni is interested in developing further. One of the attendants, a recent graduate of The Songwriting Academy was keen to understand the process of uploading his work, and generating an income from this. Another participant, recently arrived from the Southern Hemisphere to the UK, wants to use the site and the Jeeni network to connect with fellow musicians and music fans. Shena was also told, fans want easy access to new and diverse music, rather than the constant stream of similar tracks which follow your previous choices on other platforms. The next 'Coming Into Focus' meeting is scheduled for Friday 29 January at 2pm. To receive your invite, follow the link and register your details, http://focusgroupjeeni.eventbrite.co.uk/. There is even a rumour Roger Watson, an industry legend and Jeeni ambassador, who has sold over 500-million albums in his incredible career, may join the call! www.jeeni.com

07
Mar

Julience - ‘Love Lies Cold’ Single Review

Julience’s continues his one-man effort in keeping rock alive with this impactful hard rock ballad, ‘Love Lies Cold’. Hailing from The Netherlands, Julience moved to Manchester to pursue his dream in music where he has been harking back to the golden age of rock ever since. This single is the multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter's second single and Jeeni is excited to be able to feature Julience’s fantastic throw-back tracks on our rock and guitar channels as they release. Check out Jeeni’s rock channel here, https://jeeni.com/channel/all-channels/rock/. And check out Julience’s Jeeni showcase here, https://jeeni.com/showcase/julience/?view=about. Rock music is very robust; time and time again, it has come so close to disappearing only to revive itself and evolve to fit better into modern music climates. The difference with Julience is that he refuses to dilute the music he loves to conform to fit anything other than himself. Even in the infancy of his discography, he’s gained recognition and respect for keeping an older form of rock alive in the present day. Julience has been featured on over 30 playlists on streaming platforms with titles like ‘Punk Goes Pop’, ‘Retro Now Rock’ and ‘Rock ‘n Roll isn’t Dead’. The only modernisation Julience grants himself is the clarity and up-to-date standard in his production and performances. Something specific that separates Julience from other modern rock groups is his truly guitar-centric compositions. It can sometimes feel as though the art of the guitar solo is slowly getting lost and becoming something of an artifact but Julience’s electric interjections teased from the very beginning eventually come to fruition as a finger-tapping, string-bending celebration of musicianship that ties the entire piece up. Among the rock n roll hall of fame legends that Julience clearly looks up to, specific inspirations that come to mind from 'Love Lies Cold’ include Billy Idol, Guns N’ Roses and most notably, Iron Maiden. This 80s era is where rock was at its most mainstream and so Julience’s decision to honour that time is a lot of fun. It’s also so satisfying to see him fill in a market for those that weren't quite ready to say goodbye to those days. Check out ‘Love Lies Cold’ here: https://jeeni.com/love-lies-cold-julience/. How can Jeeni support artists like Julience? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. album review album review album review • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

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