Lockdown lyrics and solo discos – finding fun and frivolity in the “new normal” by Sammie Venn.

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Lockdown lyrics and solo discos – finding fun and frivolity in the “new normal” by Sammie Venn.

By Sammie Venn Jeeni's Official Writer, Columnist and Blogger.

Here at Jeeni.com we celebrate and support all musicians and performers, and poetry has its own dedicated channel for artists and performers to showcase their work and earn 100% of their sales, ticketing, merchandise and donations. Yesterday, Jeeni returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent and has raised £92K in 24 hours, our target is £100K and we have 29 days to go, so we are likely to overfund, which is just amazing. Thanks again to all our wonderful investors. If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer.

The Dali Lama said that “there is soul music, soul food and soul love”. There is no expiration date for any of these, even an age old recipe is everlasting. It’s just about finding what sings to us as individuals.

Whether it’s a solo disco or a full on rave, music resonates with us all in a plethora of ways. Long walks during lockdown have meant that my innumerable playlists have been given a good airing. My taste has always been eclectic and moods diverse. The tunes that emanate from the speakers in the kitchen or on my headphones are varied to say the least. Ranging from damn good hip jiggers to soulful chakra mediations, there are no boundaries when it comes to the world of music. Both of which are key to a happy harmonious life as well as ultimately mood enhancing.

Music is to the soul what words are to the mind, each turn a cacophony of phrases into poetic verse. We can fall in love with music: it touches every part of our being in some way, triggering memories and taking us on a valuable journey. Melodies remind us that life is beautiful and should be embraced. As an early riser, the dawn chorus tends to be my preferred genre. However throughout the day I have made a point of experimenting with different sounds and beats.

Finding fun and frivolity in this new world we have found ourselves in is key to our mental health and fitness. Apart from walking the South Downs, solo dance offs have been my go to entertainment. Amongst all the chaos I found a beauty in the calm of movement and all of my favourite songs. It also has the benefit of being an extraordinary workout, one morning my Health App showed that I had danced over 11,000 steps. Suffice to say I was happy with the fitness element of my grooves. The best part was loosing myself in music that made me dance both internally and externally. I’m not a selfie junkie by any stretch but I took a couple of photos to remind myself of how content I looked. My dance partner may have only been the mirror, but we certainly had fun.

In my top ten tunes sits “Sunshine on a rainy day” by Zoe. It puts more than a spring in my step and sits comfortably with Imagine Dragons and the Rolling Stones under the banner of “The COVID-19 Collection”. Creating compilations for all seasons is a great way to assemble your music. Jeeni’s platform has been wonderful as it has helped me to experience a fresh realm of creativity. Not only have I discovered new artists but I have also embarked on a learning journey that supports genres that I had never heard of. Historically I am a rock chick through and through but I have welcomed ‘Bluegrass’, ‘Chant’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Funk’ as new soundscapes on my playlist. And that is all thanks to Jeeni.

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05
Jun

Spotlight on Children of The Beatles: Acorns and Oaks

by Kelli Richards, Jeeni MD USA Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com Most people are aware that I am (and always have been) an avid Beatle-ologist from a very young age. One of the things I find particularly fascinating is what’s become of the children of the Beatles — between the four guys, they had 10 biological children in total, and all but George also have stepchildren. I want to keep this blog relatively brief so allow me to share just a few examples to showcase the talents and passions of these amazing renaissance individuals and what they’re doing in the world as part of their legacy (I may well elect to do a more in-depth article at some point covering all of them). The one I’ve been closest to myself is Julian Lennon (John’s older son) who is the same age as me; I’ve had the good fortune of connecting with him over the years and admire him greatly. Julian is a gifted, multi-faceted man of extraordinary talent, virtue and depth of character. He’s not only an extremely talented singer and songwriter, and a successful musician, but he is also a noted photographer, a passionate philanthropist, film producer, advocate of many amazing global causes, and an award-winning children’s book author. Just recently I happened to catch an episode of a new cooking show by Mary McCartney who has carried on her mother’s dual legacy of being a noted photographer and a fantastic vegetarian cookbook author, chef and on-air talent. The show did a great job showcasing Mary’s personality, her humor and her charisma — as well as her obvious gift for creating delicious healthy meals. Mary’s sister Stella McCartney has been a wildly successful leader in the fashion world for over 20 years. Her designs are sought after by some of the world’s most famous celebrities, and her clothes are eco-friendly mindful of the environment. Stella is also a lifelong vegetarian and a passionate animal rights and climate activist. George Harrison’s only son, Dhani Harrison, is a multi-instrumental musician in his own right, a sought-after film/TV composer, and is among the most tech-savvy progressive technology-minded of the bunch having been instrumental in the Beatles being part of the hugely popular Rock Band video game developed by Harmonix in 2009. He also shares his dad’s passion for race cars. What’s especially interesting to note is that virtually all of the Beatle children have pursued creative passions whether in music, photography, cooking, fashion, filmmaking, philanthropy — or a combination of all of the above. There’s a whole lot more to share about ALL of these talented individuals, and as I mentioned — stay tuned to this channel — as I’m likely to write more about them in a lengthier article hopefully showcased in a notable publication. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

31
Jul

NEW OPERA ACHIEVES ROCK STAR STATUS

It's the sort of statistic that music promoters dream of. An audience of ten thousand in less than one hour, and for a first-time performance. But this massive audience didn't turn up to watch a new boy band or the latest rap sensation, they came to the opera! A brand new opera called Spring Street is set in Manhattan, and it mixes classical arias, string quartets, jazz, blues and even acid rock. The opera was streamed on Jeeni, the self-styled "ethical alternative" to the big streaming giants, and opera composer Pete Wyer is ecstatic about Jeeni’s methodology and success. “I’m really thrilled. My expectation was we’d get to the magic 10,000 mark in a month, but this is quite incredible - especially when I compare it to operas I’ve had performed on stage! Without Jeeni’s help my piece might be languishing with a few hundred hits.” Wyer is being modest. An award-winning composer for the English National Ballet and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, his biggest audience before the Jeeni event was when 60,000 people enjoyed his celebration Liverpool waterfront concert, and the performance and publicity costs for that were considerable. By contrast, the Jeeni audience for his new event has already topped 66,000 and the costs have been zero. Everything has been achieved by the publicity and marketing systems built in to the Jeeni platform, which makes it unique when compared with the likes of Spotify or Netflix. Pete Wyer continues, "I looked at the Jeeni platform doing really good work for independent artists, and the more I learned the more I liked. It's been a very happy experience." The opera stars the soprano and triple-GRAMMY award-winner Maren Montalbano, who says, "Power is shifting from large organisations to the individual, and platforms like Jeeni are on the rise because they give artists the opportunity to lift themselves up and lift each other up." Her co-star, the bass-baritone and Netflix superhero Heday Inoue adds, "Jeeni is allowing us to have more exposure. I think it's amazing, and I'm really, really happy to be part of it." What is even more amazing is the fact that the cast and musicians have never actually met except on the Jeeni platform. Everything was composed, rehearsed and performed remotely in lockdown. Jeeni founder Shena Mitchell says, “When we first launched Jeeni a few months ago, it took days to hit audience figures of ten thousand for an online concert or festival, and I was delighted with that. But here we are, achieving the same thing in under an hour, and for an unknown opera. Imagine what we can do next. We already have more than two thousand artist showcases and an audience outreach of over two million." Now Jeeni.com needs to scale up to meet the technical demands for handling more artists and bigger audiences, so they have turned to crowdfunding. Shena Mitchell says, "Everybody knows that the big streaming companies rip artists off. We don't do that. Our artists keep 100% of everything they earn with us. Now we are allowing the public to invest as little as £10 to buy a part of us, and own a stake in what could be the ethical future of entertainment.” More information: shena@jeeni.comjeeni.com/investjeeni.com/springstreet *Capital at Risk

12
Jan

Richard Murray - 'Fire Sale' Album Review

With lush, full arrangements, creative use of instrumentation and authoritative vocal performances, Richard Murray’s newest album, ‘Fire Sale’ might just be his most impactful to date since his debut in 2007. Richard Murray is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter who specialises in expanding the pre-conceived ideas people have about country music. Richard pushes the country and western envelope by introducing alternative instruments, song writing approaches and mindsets. This record showcases all of these abilities to a tee and has really coloured-in Jeeni’s country channel. A favourite of mine on this record is the fourth track, ‘Devils 2’. This a more contemplative and gentler moment in the album where Richard is putting his charismatic and gravelly voice to good use as he communicates an intense emotional yearning. Richard uses bongos as a part of the minimal, yet compelling percussion section along with a steady kick drum. The guitar parts here twinkle and shimmer alongside Richard’s crooning vocals as the two sections enhance each other. ‘Hard Love’, while still acoustic, really harnesses a moody rock ballad tone with a forceful beat, and almost mumbling vocals from Richard. An impressive direction to take; ‘Hard Love’ does a great job in creating a deeper and richer overall flavour to ‘Fire Sale’. Towards the end of the album, Richard slightly showcases his Celtic heritage with ‘Sea Glass’. A fiddle doubles a jaunty guitar part in between the verses which creates a warm image of a rowdy and patriotic gathering. This track provides a last push in energy for this perfect campfire album, as its last moments wind the project down in an introspective and reflective fashion. The last track on ‘Fire Sale’, 'You Get Wise' acts as a sort of summary and reflection on the stellar tracks that have come before it. A Jeeni and Bandcamp exclusive, the closing track holds some of Richard’s most thoughtful and tender songwriting and performances, making it a perfect choice to sum up this exciting and heart-warming album. ‘Fire Sale’ is a sentimentally tender project. At times, Richard is longing for home, where other times, he’s just walked through the door and celebrations have begun. The album has a real range in emotions, moods and sentiments and is a must listen for all country fans. How can Jeeni support artists like Richard Murray 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 Richard’s Jeeni showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/richardmurraymusic/

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