An Emerging Poetry Renaissance

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An Emerging Poetry Renaissance

The last couple of years has seen a rise in artists publishing poetry collections. In 2018, two years after his death, 'The Flame' was published. A collection of the unpublished work of Leonard Cohen, became the 13th book of poetry for the Canadian poet and musician. Was this the point an emerging poetry renaissance took hold, or has it always been there and we were just waiting for the mainstream to catch up? At Jeeni, we welcome it.

Leonard Cohen poses for a portrait in April 1972 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)

Over the years we've grown up with the talents of Patti Smith, who celebrated 50 years of performance poetry this year. Smith marked the occasion with a spectacular take over of Piccadilly Circus, London for New Year's Eve 2020. We sympathised with the turmoil in PJ Harvey's tortured lyrics and Tom Waits' social commentry, but there are more varied artists now dipping their inked quills into the genre.

Black literature and music are blessed with plenty of talented wordsmiths, including Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Gil Scott Heron, Maya Angelou, Tupac, and Robert Hayden. Plus, the next generation of artists who include, Vanessa Kinsuule, Malika Booker, Raymond Antrobus and the moving performance at President Biden's inauguration of the American National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman. Her performance, many claimed was the highlight of the ceremony.

Amanda Gorman - American National Youth Poet Laureate

There has always been verse and when music was added, the verses became songs. The emerging poetry renaissance seems to be more about an artists collective work being published as a complete and independent body of work. Individually dropping poems onto an EP or a social media post is a starting point for many and Jeeni is pleased the Poetry section of their platform is being used by many to showcase their work. Uploaded personal performances allow them to earn and reach out to an engaged audience and fanbase.

The words 'cathartic', 'soul-searching', 'lost love', 'healing', 'political', 'social voice', 'mental turmoil' have been used many times to decipher the minds and thoughts of poets. Throw in a global pandemic, coupled with international lockdowns and the perfect storm is created, enticing many to put pen to paper. Facebook and social media pages have members flocking to groups such as Poetry UK, Just Poetry and Arts Group and Spoken Word Artists. Meanwhile, sites such as the Poetry Foundation offer a platform of varied works, themes and history.

The best works of 2020 included, Lana Del Ray with 'Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass', which she also released as spoken word. Halsey released 'I would Leave if I Could', a body of work dealing with love, longing and the nuances of bipolar disorder.

Courtenay Marie Andrews - Photo *Jordi Vidal/Redferns*

For 2021, we are looking forward to the release from, Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan - 'Leaving California', a collection of 76 poems following on from his well received grunge memoir of last year and Courtney Marie Andrew's collection entitled 'Old Monarch', to be released in May. The Alt-Country singer has created a collection in three parts and draws on the themes of childhood, family, leaving home, falling in love and becoming an adult.

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15
Dec

Giack Bazz - 'Childhood Dream' Album Review

Back in 2016, Giack Bazz released his first album, ‘Childhood Dream’. The debut of the Italian singer-songwriter is a dazzling and transportive dive into nostalgia, sentimental imagery and grief. After losing his mother at a young age, Giack had a mountain of un-processed emotion that he had to unleash, and ‘Childhood Dream’ is packed to each corner with every truth and painful memory Giack had to give. Although Giack has now expressed his talent and creativity across many ground-breaking projects, including a giant 366 track album as a part of ‘The Royalty Instrumentality Project’, it can sometimes be incredibly insightful to reflect on the origins and context of fascinating and experimental artists. By looking at where an artist has been, in contrast to where they currently find themselves, you can gain an informative, albeit condensed idea of their journey as a person as well as a creative. In many ways, this beautifully in-depth debut inadvertently set out a loose blueprint for Giack’s future as an artist. In comparison to Giack’s later work, ‘Childhood Dream’ tends to have a more fundamental and focused attitude to instrumentation and production techniques. The simplicity and clarity in these stripped-back arrangements end up giving the album a charming and effective tone as it doesn’t distract from the source of the bitter-sweet narratives: Giack’s voice. Speaking of Giack’s voice, it's so expressive and rich in this album which is only enhanced with the use of double-tracking which fills the stereo space up with his emotional intent. Giack harnesses deep-set and perhaps previously under-processed feelings and thoughts in his performances. As he put it himself, “The album is the closure I needed to my childhood. It is an acknowledgement, the acceptance that the dreams we have and the rose-tinted glasses we have are painful to remove.” In terms purely of songwriting and production choice, ‘Morning’ is a clear highlight for me on this album. The decision to have thrashing, distorted guitar with no accompaniment other than Giack’s voice works so well in the choruses and draws attention to the part instead of masking it with layers of bass and drums. The reverb on the two parts that make up the song creates a clear physical space causing an authentic sensation of atmosphere and immersion. The joyous home-video samples from Giack’s childhood, heard in the title track, have a slightly melancholic and touching intention relating to how he honours his late Mother. As Giack put it, “The songs have some noise collections from my family tapes and it's a way to honour her memory and to tell her that I understand why she tried to keep the truth.” This album is often dark and pained, especially in the penultimate track, ‘Piazza Roma’. Although (unlike the others), the track is exclusively sung in Italian, I don’t believe understanding the lyrics is necessary to comprehend the pain in this harrowing and anguished piece. In the verses, the guitar is exhausted as though it itself is emotionally drained. It sluggishly carries the jangling chords all by itself, as Giack gives a similarly tired, yet determined vocal performance. Just before the choruses, a pause can be heard as though Giack is about ready to resign to grief, yet triumphantly, he rises up to sing his heart out in his native tongue. With the ‘This Is the Beginning’ intro and ‘This Is Not the End’ outro, Giack opens up his personal origin yet refuses to close it at this point because although, as Giack stated, that without his childhood bereavement, “I’d be someone else”, the grief does not define him. He therefore leaves the album open and even ends it as it begins, with a repeating sole note on the piano, implying optimism, self-growth and a strength in accepting his past. A stunningly poignant close to this expressive and emotionally challenging debut. How can Jeeni support artists like Giack Bazz? 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 Check out Giack Bazz’s Showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/giack-bazz

04
Jun

Legendary Teddy Hayes has joined the Jeeni advisory board

We are proud to announce that the legendary Teddy Hayes has joined the Jeeni advisory board. Teddy is an Award-winning producer, film-maker and composer, working alongside the likes of Quincy Jones and Roberta Flack. Teddy pioneered the concept of creating new wealth for music artists by monetizing their fan base. His London-based talent company DaBlockOnline offered a win-win solution for everyone involved in the entertainment industry, creating a platform that gave both signed and unsigned music talent a chance to benefit from new technology. Teddy says, "The evolution of Jeeni is remarkable, and because I have already been through this process and experienced all the challenges, I know I can add value to the team. I want artists to get the recognition they deserve and earn cash in the process, but I also want to offer an opportunity for music companies to retool their thinking and create new products designed to increase sales and earn profits from a new segment of the marketplace.” Teddy Hayes Born in Cleveland Ohio, Teddy grew up with neighbour Bobby Womack, and hung out with Quincy Jones among many other music legends, before becoming tour manager for Roberta Flack. Quincy’s friend Pete Long (who discovered Luther Vandross), gave Teddy the chance to turn his talents to theatre writing which set him on the road to stardom in his own right, directing music videos, and writing and producing musical theatre. As one of the founding directors of Hip Hop in 1979 in New York, he achieved a place in hip hop history with his rap band The Funky Constellation, that produced the break beat sensation “Street Talk (Madam rapper)” promoted early on by Russell Simmons, the record mogul and creator of Def Jam Records. An accomplished singer and composer, Teddy was the main producer and creative force behind the sell-out hit theatre show “I Remember Marvin”, about the life and music of Marvin Gaye. He recently penned a book called “The Guerrilla Guide to Being a Theatrical Producer”, a how to manual designed to help people understand and enter the world of commercial theatre. In 2019 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 40 years of pioneering work in the arts, and Jeeni is privileged to benefit from his experience and vision.

03
Mar

Artist Focus: Nnaomi

Describing her own music as “euphoric, experimental and nostalgic”, Nnaomi is paving her own exciting path in the RnB and neo-soul corner of music. Portsmouth based Nnaomi has been an essential Jeeni artist for some time now and has most recently added her newest single, ‘Hate Me’ to one of Jeeni’s most rapidly advancing and growing channels, RnB (https://jeeni.com/channel/all-channels/r-and-b/). “At just over 2 minutes long, 'Hate Me’ still manages to progress so organically and timely; it takes its time to set the pace and tone of the story told in the lyrics. At the climax of the track, it feels like Nnaomi’s painful memories begin to swirl more unstably around her head as samples and synths begin to distort, warp and spin around the stereo space. These flittering pieces of audio eventually start to drown out Nnaomi’s voice, painting a tragic image of her thoughts and guilt becoming overpowering and too much to process.” Check out the full review of ‘Hate Me’ here: https://jeeni.com/blog/nnaomi-hate-me-single-review-blog-jeeni/ This newest track promises a lot from Nnaomi and if her short collection of singles says anything at the moment, it’s that she can deliver on them all. Nnaomi describes her singles as “little stories”, “I say this because the songs I make come from my real emotions and real experiences, the beats I choose actually bring emotions and thoughts out of me I feel like I suppress because I’m surprisingly not very good at talking about my feelings, so instead I put it in songs. It’s the easiest way for me to express myself”. From this analysis into her own work, it’s no longer a mystery as to why so much emotion is contained in tracks like ‘Like Me’ and ‘Hate Me’. Mental health, and processing emotions healthily is certainly a recurring theme in Nnaomi’s work, as she explains, “Something that inspires me is my own ability to take advantage of the fact that sometimes my emotions are intense, finding a way to execute it in a healthy way has been amazing because I’m so used to bottling it up, which wasn’t beneficial”. Besides from her methodology in utilising emotions as a key inspiration for her work, Nnaomi’s has some specific masters in the alternative RnB genre to thank for her curious and adventurous creative tendencies. Progressive soul artist, Frank Ocean is a major influence for Nnaomi, as is modern neo-soul singer, SZA. When asked about the similarities in the titles of ‘Like Me’ and ‘Hate Me’, Nnaomi noted that the connection was both coincidental but likely sub-consciously intended at the same time, “I wanted to portray my mental state in a way that was artistic. “Like Me” was written when my views and thoughts on certain things were hopeless and reminiscent. “Hate Me” is like the healing sister. The one that’s accepted the way that “love” and its experiences can sometimes change you for the worst. A much more self-aware and grown-up outlook on love and how to deal with it”; a poignant and layered insight into this partnership of singles. Nnaomi hints at longer projects in the future, however she's currently happy “taking it one step at a time” with fantastic singles like ‘Party’s Over’, ‘Like Me’ and ‘Hate Me’. She’s also excited to arrange more live shows this year as restrictions are the lowest they’ve been in years. Follow Nnaomi on socials to stay updated on what she’s working on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nomesm_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naomim_0/ Check out Nnaomi’s showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/nnaomi/ How can Jeeni support artists like Nnaomi? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. artist biography • 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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