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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01
Jul

Zeeteah Massiah - ‘Bad Guy’ Single Review

Zeeteah’s newest release is a genius reggae reimagining of Billie Eilish’s breakthrough hit, ‘Bad Guy’. Jeeni ambassador and long-term supporter, Zeeteah Massiah has now provided Jeeni with 21 individual pieces of her unique brand of jazz and reggae, all of which are available at her showcase. Her husband, Paul Caplin acts as both songwriter and producer for Zeeteah and the two of them have released two albums together, ‘Juice’ and ‘Maybe Tomorrow’. A certain level of musical depth and understanding is needed to undergo a stylistic transformation of an existing song. To some, it’s merely a process of downgrading the intensity and presence of the piece to a slow, acoustic setting. However, in a lot of these cases, the essence and arrangement of the pieces are largely unchanged. On the other end of that spectrum of effort and passion, you’ll find artists like Zeeteah Massiah who listened to the ‘Old Town Road’ dethroner and heard a hidden stylistic potential held in Billie’s hit that she knew would effortlessly make sense to any listener. Zeeteah set out to not just echo Billie’s Grammy-winning hit in a slightly different accent, but instead, wanted to transpose it into a completely different musical language. The result is a rejuvenated and refreshing take on ‘Bad Guy’ that has a vivid coat of Caribbean-styled paint applied to just about every element of the source material. Where the original was dark, somber yet playful, Zeeteah’s keeps just the playfulness for her rendition. The slow, creeping tempo compliments the lyrics and performance from Zeeteah in a way that could make you think that this might actually be the original. This almost sinister embrace of the villainous title is enhanced by the harmony that dips in and out of jazzy minor chords that keep the listener in a subtle state of unsettlement, and curiosity. As is to be expected from Zeeteah and her artistic proclivities, bright and colourful instrumentation commands the tone of this arrangement. Being the first component heard; a classic reggae drum roll makes the genre-shift immediately apparent. This Caribbean staple is then joined by its good friends; short offbeat guitar stabs and deep, bouncy basslines. In this introduction, we also hear a brilliant alteration from Billie and Finneas’ original arrangement. The quirky, recognisable synth melody heard after Billie’s isolated ‘Duh!’ is instead taken up by a muted trumpet, heard before the vocals even enter. This is a clever embrace of the fact that Zeeteah’s choice of cover is of course a colossal hit, so there’s no sense in shying away from its most recognisable moments. That melody is also expanded on later for a phenomenal trumpet solo towards the end of the cover that acts as a sort of replacement for the sudden shift in pace, heard at the end of the original. Considered a part of Billie Eilish’s brand as both a performer and a person, her vocals are often intentionally sleepy and low-energy, something that Zeeteah decided not to adopt for her interpretation. The vocal performance here is mischievous and rebellious to the core as opposed to Billie’s more disinterested and indifferent approach. Zeeteah also uses next to no effects on her voice compared to the first version, which is just as well because it would be a shame to distract from the raw talent and personality held in Zeeteah’s performance on ‘Bad Guy’. This task of reinventing one of the biggest hits from the last 10 years was a tall order, however, unsurprisingly, Zeeteah Massiah’s ‘Bad Guy’ is nothing but a triumph.

22
Oct

Jeeni Weekly Round-up #2

Jeeni's weekly round-up of music and entertainment news. One in three music industry jobs were lost during pandemic In a report by UK Music, it was revealed that one in three music industry jobs have been lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The findings were published annual report, This Is Music 2021. According to the report, there has been a "devastating impact" on the music industry with 69,000 fewer jobs in 2020- a drop of 35%. Additionally, it was found that the music industry's contribution to the UK economy fell by 46%, from £5.8bn in 2019 to £3.1bn in 2020. Coronavirus enforced shutdowns of venues caused live music revenues in the UK to collapse by around 90 per cent in 2020, leaving many musicians, studio and venue staff without work. Music streaming market facing competition inquiry The UK’s competition watchdog is to launch an inquiry into the music streaming market and whether it is competitive and fair. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Youtube will be looked at by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: “The UK has a love affair with music and is home to many of the world’s most popular artists. We want to do everything we can to ensure that this sector is competitive, thriving and works in the interests of music lovers." COVID is 'creating a new genre' for live music Lockdowns have forced musicians to think of new ways to perform their music live. Many performing sets over live streaming to a worldwide audience. We've seen more cinematic experiences done by artists such as The Weeknd with his medley performance of Save Your Tears/In Your Eyes at last November's American Music Awards. Alex Lill, the creative force behind The Weeknd's recent videos and live performances, used a "single-shot tracking style and moved it outside onto the bare streets of Los Angeles, transforming the real-world Covid backdrop into his stage. Complete with fireworks, timed pyrotechnics and high-angle shots, it made the location and its atmosphere an active part of the performance." International touring DJ Hot Since 82 took to the sky using a hot air balloon as a new venue. Coldplay recieving backlash over "eco-friendly" world tour Coldplay has pledged to make their world tour eco-friendly, which will be powered with solar panels and kinetic dance floors. They have also modified effects such as lasers to be more energy-efficient, building their set from more sustainable materials such as bamboo and have pledged to plant a tree for every ticket sold. However, the band have received backlash that they will be continuing to fly by private jet. "And the people that give us backlash for that kind of thing, for flying, they're right. So we don't have any argument against that. Singer Chris Martin told the BBC " "We could stay at home and that may be better. But we want to tour and we want to meet people and connect with people - so try and do it in the cleanest way possible." Jeeni has always been eco-friendly and is something we are very conscious of as a company. Our audiences enjoy entertainment without the cost and pollution of travel, and all Team Jeeni works from home and meet up online. In Jeeni News Jeeni is Hiring! We are currently recruiting for the following roles: • Role 1: Marketing Assistant• Role 2: Marketing Executive (Digital Marketing)• Role 3: Marketing Executive (Public Relations)• Role 4: Jnr Developer• Role 5: Jnr Developer• Role 6: WordPress Specialist• Role 7: Senior Developer• Role 8: Senior Developer• Role 9: Sales Executive• Role 10: Sales Executive• Role 11: Partnership Co-ordinator These are Kickstarter Scheme positions (candidate must be aged between 16-24 and on, or have applied for, Universal Credit. If you'd like to apply for any of the above roles please send your resume to shena@jeeni.com

04
Jun

Stars back Jeeni streaming revolution!

DEE ANDERSONJEENI AMBASSADORActor, singer, daughter of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the creators of the cult series Thunderbirds. Founder of Glotime.tv, and fundraiser for children's charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital. Some stars are born, some are made, and some are just plain lucky. Dee Anderson is the daughter of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, creators of the classic children’s show Thunderbirds, and she’s a singing and acting star in her own right. Now she’s helping the next generation of undiscovered talent as children’s ambassador for entertainment start-up Jeeni. Jeeni is the ethical streamed music platform that gives back control to artists and audiences, and Dee Anderson joins a constellation of other stars and celebrities backing the project to boost the careers of talented kids. They include Tony Klinger, writer and director of The Who, movie ‘The Kids Are Alright’, media boss Roger Watson who has been responsible for 500 million record sales, and the woman who brought Apple Music to the world, Kelli Richards.

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