Love in the Time of COVID-19: Working Apart but Creating Together.

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Love in the Time of COVID-19: Working Apart but Creating Together.

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. Today, Jeeni has returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent. If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

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

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it” – H.E Luccock

Sammie says, "Creativity brings people together. Artists, poets, writers and musicians have been forced apart, to distance, to isolate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet collaboration has flourished. Adversity has brought us together to create in new and innovative ways. I have learnt over the years that it is not possible to be great at everything. Different skills that blend and morph with each other are key to an effective alliance. That’s where the magic happens.

I have forged a new partnership with a UK-based award winning sound designer to launch a series of poetry short films – I call them “Poetry Porn” – on YouTube as a prelude to publishing an anthology of work in the autumn. Joe Churchman and I have worked on various projects together over the years. She wrote and co-directed the multi-award winning short film “Gloop” and collaborated with Sir David Attenborough. Joe has worked with MC Saatchi and the BBC, her talents and eye for creativity know no bounds .

Where once we joined forces over the kitchen table, enjoying a glass of wine, we have been forced by the pandemic to find new ways of working together, including our latest venture. We both have a thirst for learning and a need to enthusiastically share and impart the wisdom we have gained. Creating during COVID-19 has been an exhilarating and challenging experience for us both, but one we have overcome and enjoyed with fervour and passion. Never before have Zoom, WhatsApp and the desire to teleport been at the forefront of our combined creativity. Despite the 50 plus miles between our respective homes the soul sister bond that we have nurtured over the years has never been lost.

The verve for all things lyrical has surfaced again whilst working on the Poetry films. Having created a series of 100 poems, I am now in the editorial process: altering verses, changing words and making sure rhythm, beat and iambic pentameter all synchronise.

The work embodies the emotive journey of womanhood: traversing sorrow, despair, anger and liberation. The natural environment heals all woes and this journey is told through the changes in season. Death, loss, renewal and growth are all subjects covered within the poems and the films. Winter teaches us how to be patient, to rest, hibernate and prepare for growth. Autumn helps us to embrace the process of letting go. Spring is a period of regrowth and birth. Whilst Summer is our time to blossom and burst into the most vibrant versions of ourselves.

In the depths of winter combined with a broken heart, “Kiss the Tinder” was born. Poetry was and still is my solace, it helped me to rediscover compassion, serenity and hope. I was lucky enough to meet a fellow poet and songwriter via the writing community on Instagram a couple of years ago, Renée is from Texas, so we have only ever virtually met but he kindly agreed to record this poem. A true gift. I woke one morning to his dulcet tones in my inbox, and with a voice of liquid silk, he is the soundscape to this film.

This Poetry Short is therefore a true collaboration. Global restraints from continental distance to COVID-19 have not curbed our resourcefulness. The project has only just begun. This poem was published in June in American Journal “The Starlight Emporium” along with a collection of my other work.

“Kiss the Tinder” by Sammie Venn

Kiss the tinder, fall in love with the ashes
The storm destroys the pain with lashes
Indigo shards, incandescent stains
Life blood flowing, ripped like veins.

Lightening shreds the Arial sky
It punches, spits and angrily cries
Glorifying the night with celestial screams
Mother Nature voices her savage dreams.

Dancing with Hope, thunder follows alongside,
For now, there is nowhere in the world to hide.
Like a love-lorn couple, they rampantly combust
Tears of anguish wash away rage and lust.

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07
Dec

Streaming Revenues - a tipping point?

At Jeeni, this is a subject we are following closely, being a platform set up to address this very subject. The balance of revenue on most platforms, is tipped far too heavily away from the artists, performers and writers, in favour of the suits and pen-pushers. Quite frankly, it's a disgrace! Jeeni's ethos is to ensure any performing members receive 100% of the revenue they generate. Should all streaming services work the same way? Journalist Dylan Smith, from Digital Music News has written the article below, updating how far the DCMS Committee has got with their fact finding and the issues to be presented on 11 December. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chair Julian Knight. Photo Credit: David Woolfall British lawmakers have stated that artists are hesitant to participate in the ongoing investigation into streaming royalties “because they fear action may be taken against them” if they do so. The House of Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS Committee) announced the high-profile probe of streaming royalties last month. The comprehensive analysis aims to identify streaming’s impact on all relevant stakeholders, including labels and artists, as well as its long-term effects concerning “the sustainability of the wider music industry.” Last week, singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien, and Elbow frontman Guy Garvey spoke before the DCMS Committee to address the contemporary music landscape. Of particular note was Shah’s statement that she doesn’t “make enough money from streaming” to cover her rent, despite having north of 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Possibly in response to the abundance of information that the investigation has turned up thus far, the DCMS Committee also announced last week that it had extended the window for artists and others to submit written testimonials regarding royalties. From the original deadline of Monday, November 16th, members of the music industry now have until Friday, December 11th, to express their opinions. The probe’s upcoming oral testimony, for its part, is slated to take place next Tuesday, December 8th, with Maria Forte Music Services’ namesake owner, Ferocious Talent owner Kwame Kwaten, and José Luis Sevillano, director general at Spain’s AIE, set to participate via livestream. Ahead of the formal sitdown, DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight has relayed that many would-be witnesses are opting not to come forward due to their fear of the potential professional consequences associated with speaking out against streaming royalties. “We have been told from many different sources that some of the people interested in speaking to us, in relation to this inquiry, have become reluctant to do so because they fear action may be taken against them if they speak in public,” said the Solihull MP, who became the DCMS Committee’s chair in January of this year. “I would like to say on behalf of the Committee that we would take a very dim view indeed if we had any evidence of anyone interfering with witnesses to one of our inquiries. … This Committee will brook no such interference and will not hesitate to name and shame anyone proven to be involved in such activity,” continued Knight. And in concluding his statement on the matter, the lawmaker emphasized that others who reach out to the DCMS Committee with information or insight pertaining to streaming royalties “will be treated in confidence.”

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Ace Bermuda - ‘WTF is Ace Bermuda?’ (Feat. Jada Freeman & Profiiit) Single Review

If the elusive, grand and electrifying Ace Bermuda were a TV show, ‘WTF Is Ace Bermuda’ would be their theme song. The collective’s first official release perfectly encapsulates the group’s innovative intentions and collaborative nature. The first official emergence of Ace Bermuda has been literally years in the making and although they took their sweet time to release a track, the debut has smashed all expectations. Brand new to Jeeni, we’re so lucky to catch this group at the genesis of their refreshing and wild style of alt hip-hop/electronic fusion. This act consists of a core partnership of Jake Thomas and Jacob Richardson, two evil-genius producers, who work overtime for the chief himself, Mr. Ace Bermuda. The semi-retired industry legend watches from a distance and nods his approval as the two do his creative bidding. ‘WTF Is Bermuda’ is a living, breathing organism which shifts and morphs around whoever takes to the mic at any given time. Where other electronic based producers might copy and paste chunks of identical audio to flesh out a track, the Bermuda beat-makers give each bar attention, care and detail. Similarly, neither feature steals the show, but instead are balanced and work together incredibly well. American rapper, Profiiit brings a stone-cold iciness to the middle section of the track. His second verse is accompanied by a harsh, yet distant synth that snakes alongside his un-faltering bars and propels the part even higher. East London’s Jada Freeman sing/raps her smooth, and captivating featured verse as the track begins to peak and wind down. The reverb settings and panning given to her vocalisations brings an ethereality to her voice which adorns the outro with charm and beauty. A potential reason behind Ace Bermuda's ambiguous sense of identity is also subtly addressed here on the group's debut single, another reason why this track is important to the act's timeline and history. A repeating verse heard at the beginning of the track and throughout, criticises those who value their image above a message that they could be expressing, "Look, another self promoter, spread your face, not your voice". This ideology was infamously held by the late MF DOOM; the masked rapper was known for occasionally sending imposters in his stead at live shows to outline the unimportance of his actual identity. This is an interesting stance in the music industry, which luckily has been continued with acts like Ace Bermuda. Check out Ace Bermuda’s showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/AceBermuda/ The Ace Bermuda masterminds have a lot more up their sleeve. Follow the group on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ace.bermuda/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ace_bermuda Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ace.bermuda.927 They also have an upcomming live show with ‘Naytiive’ at Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden on the 12th of February: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/limited-tickets-naytiive-support-the-fiddlers-elbow-tickets/11537915?pl=hotvox&edpPlParam=%3Fpl%3Dhotvox How can Jeeni support artists like Ace Bermuda? 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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