Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Interview with Budding R&B Singer-Songwriter NNAOMI

/ By Freya Devlin
Interview with Budding R&B Singer-Songwriter NNAOMI

Jeeni's EJ Salako got to chance to interview NNAOMI at this year's Victorious Festival, an R&B/soul singer-songwriter from Portsmouth UK. She discussed her influences, inspirations, and where she sees herself in 5 years.

Naomi describes her music genre as R&B, neo-soul and alternative R&B. She discovered her passion for creating music during the coronavirus pandemic. Sharing that when the country was in lockdown she found herself having nothing to do in her free time. However, this gave her the time to reflect on her future and Naomi realised she wasn’t fulfilled. Although Naomi has always enjoyed singing, she never previously took it seriously and just sang for fun. She told us that one day she was invited to the studio with a friend, and “he was like why you don’t jump in the booth quickly and I was like okay, and it was lit”. As a result, this experience pushed Naomi to start creating her own music in February 2021.

Naomi is inspired by a mix of different artists including Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Tyler Creator, and Chris Brown. Using elements from these in her music, she explains she can write an entire song within 15 minutes when inspired by a good beat. Adding that “I think the beat is my Muse”. Following that her favourite track that she has released is “Like me” a soulful R&B song. Naomi explained - “My heart is on my sleeve, emotions everywhere, you know the vibe”.

Closing the interview Naomi shares her future goals: With the hopes to be able to make music her full-time career and to be performing on bigger stages. We can't wait to see more from NNAOMI and continue to follow her as she grows as an artist.

Watch the full video interview here: https: https://jeeni.com/nnaomi-inside-story-interview/

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

• Firstly we give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make.
• Secondly we empower our audience and reward them every step of the way.
• Thirdly we promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect.

Additionally, you can check out NNAOMI’s showcase here: NNAOMI | Showcase | JEENI. As well as other showcases to add to your playlist. jeeni.com.

10
Dec

Portsmouth Based Tech Start-Up encourages local business to benefit from Kickstart, as December 17 deadline looms.

Local companies are up against the clock if they want to benefit from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s generosity. The deadline to register for the Government Kickstart scheme, which pays for hand-picked new recruits to boost businesses, is Friday 17th December, so time is of the essence. Local entrepreneur Dr Shena Mitchell is founder of Jeeni, the ethical music streaming service with an audience outreach of over 3 million music lovers, and she is full of praise for Kickstart. “I have been hugely impressed by the quality of the applications, all our new recruits have been brilliant and they are a great asset to my team. So far we have recruited Marketing Executives, Sales Executives, Technical Developers, a Partnership Coordinator, as well as a Human Resource Manager to handle all these new recruits for us. In fact, we’ve been so impressed with the quality of our new applicants, that we’ve applied for another six recruits.” Her company has been working with their specialist partners Gradfuel, who are consultants for the Department of Work and Pensions, which is where the Kickstart grant funding comes from. “It’s a great opportunity for companies like ours to bring keen young graduates on board for a minimum of six months, and scale up our business. We not only do the right thing by helping new talent, but the cream of the crop could stay with us for years to come. Best of all, there’s no financial risk, with over £8,000 worth of grant money to support each young person taken on board.” The Kickstarter benefits are remarkably generous, and with only days left to register, Shena is offering to help local businesses take advantage. Benefits include £1,500 upfront grant funding from the UK Government, for each young person they enrol, in addition to their salary. 100% of their salary covered for up to 6 months and up to 100 hours a month. “Our partners Gradfuel are the experts in the market, and have raised £18.7m in Kickstart grant funding so far. We’ve had a 99.5% success rate in our applications, against the market average of 22%, supporting over 1,400 companies to process their Kickstart applications.” Full information and a direct link to registering for Kickstart applications is available on https://jeeni.com/kickstart/ shena@jenni.com 07703567196

26
Mar

New Music Friday from NPR Music

Have a listen to New Music Friday from NPR, via their Spotify link. They're half hour podcast gives you the background on some of their favourite releases, whilst the playlist lets you immerse yourself into a comprehensive, eclectic mix of 70 tracks, giving you over 4 hours of the best tracks from today's album releases. Singer and rapper Noga Erez. Her new album, KIDS, is out on Mar. 26.Dudi Hasson/Courtesy of the artist You will hear about the new Israeli rap sensation Noga Erez, who is being tipped for a worldwide breakthrough. Her new album "KIDS" released today, is infectious and full of hooks that strut and rage with fearless abandon, whilst calling her generation to unify and understand each other. Also on the New Music Friday show: the jazz legend Dr. Lonnie Smith, more sonic adventures with Tune-Yards, country singer Miko Marks, serpentwithfeet and more. Nate Chinen of WBGO and Jazz Night in America joins WNXP's Jewly Hight, contributor Christina Lee and WXPN's John Morrison, along with NPR Music's Tom Huizenga, Marissa Lorusso, Stephen Thompson and Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best new albums out on Mar. 26 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5X8lN5fZSrLnXzFtDEUwb9?utm_source=embed_v2&go=1&play=1&nd=1 www.jeeni.com www.npr.com

20
Jan

Ariana May, 'Suffolk Bay' Single Review

At just 16, Ariana May has reached a level of musical maturity that demands respect and attention. On Suffolk Bay, her vision is translated through her expressive piano playing and is then fully realised by her sweet, graceful vocals which glide as delicately as the accompanying strings.  Ariana May has been an integral part part of Jeeni, from contributing unique and wonderful tracks to our pop channel, to being a part of our artist partnership programme with Daisy Chute. It seems as though our support has been well received too, according to some encouraging feedback from Ariana about her time with us, "I've felt so supported by Jeeni, it has been great to feel such a backing from a brilliant company!" Instead of just singing about an emotion-rich memory based in Suffolk Bay, Ariana opts to take you there instead. As well as providing atmospheric imagery, the audio of the waves creates a sort of organic alternative to a textured synth of filtered noise; the panning and treatment of which works perfectly to fill in the spatial gaps of the stripped back arrangement.  Ariana’s vocal melodies are so delicate on this single that they sometimes flitter and almost evaporate before swooping back in and folding into the warmth of the reverbed piano. As light as her voice may sound, she doesn’t let that delicate element detract from any power or intended sentiment that it holds.  The romantic imagery in the lyrics recounts a memory but can also be seen as a narration of the unfolding of the track itself, “When you felt the music go right through your bones”. The ethereal and spacey nature of Ariana’s high-register singing certainly does at times feel as though it cuts right through you. Lyrically, Ariana also references the mythical creature, sirens which mirrors an eerie and fantastical resemblance considering the nautical setting and Ariana’s enchanting vocal performance.  Deceptively simple ‘Suffolk Bay’ actually has a lot to unpack, instrumentally. The theatrical piano takes precedence in the accompaniment and strings are used to tastefully embellish choice moments of the track. A sparing approach to the strings really lends to their effectiveness and impact; they cleverly swell and disappear periodically much like the waves do. Instead of flowing in long, held notes like Ariana’s voice, the piano chugs along in a steady, pulsing rhythm, creating a complimenting relationship between the two styles.  This single came with an equally dramatic and stirring video which you can check out here: https://jeeni.com/suffolk-bay-by-ariana-may-2/  How can Jeeni support artists like Ariana May 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 Ariana's Showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/