Nnaomi - ‘Hate Me’ Single Review

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Nnaomi - ‘Hate Me’ Single Review

Nnaomi evokes even more emotion and sentiment with her swirling, impactful and atmospheric new single, ‘Hate Me’.

This new single from Nnaomi should certainly be praised for its daring and experimental nature. Currently, RnB and neo-soul are genres that are often at risk of being represented in incredibly dull and uninspired forms. Dragging structures, tired performances and bland instrumentation plagues the style, especially in the mainstream. Which is why a progressive, texturally interesting and innovative RnB single like ‘Hate Me’ is so important for that corner of contemporary music; it displays that even a genre that has travelled as far as RnB still has room to change, adapt and evolve.

The track begins with a lo-fi aesthetic due to the old home video tape that crackles over the opening piano. This nostalgic tone is then instantly contexualised with the opening lyrics, “Reminiscing on old days.” I think this clear emotive intention and focus from Nnaomi powers this single and is the main reason why the alternative creative choices work so well.

The filtering bass synth introduced near the middle is used as an early hint that these retrospective thoughts could be too much to deal with and are at risk of overwhelming her. This is then interrupted by Nnaomi trying to explain herself. The moment she sings “explain”, the intense bass is silenced, as is the emotional use of reverb and echo on her voice. This is a fantastic example of a production technique being repurposed as a narrative device.

At just over 2 minutes long, this track 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 which paints a tragic image of her thoughts and guilt becoming overpowering and too much to process.

The production prowess needed to craft such a powerful, yet carefully crafted wall of noise is impressive and brave, considering that Nnaomi’s voice is so delicate and vulnerable on this track. The dissonant and wild synths heard towards the end are kept in a cage just big enough to have a volatile effect but small enough as to not overpower too much in the mix.

The direction Nnaomi decided to go with this track is obviously genius however, the only way I could imagine it becoming more impactful is if the crescendo of noise grew even more and briefly took over completely before clearing out and finally letting her breathe.

Nnaomi has now contributed two tracks to Jeeni’s RnB channel and we look forward to expanding the channel with similarly brilliant tracks in the future. Nnaomi has been a keen member of Jeeni’s mission for several months now. She sat down for an ‘Inside Story’ interview last summer at Victorious Festival in which she mentions her influences and favourite artists which ranges from Tyler, The Creator to Whitney Houston. Jeeni would love to flood our RnB channel with more acts just like Nnaomi, so reach out to us on social media if you'd like to contribute your work to Jeeni's library of talent:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeenimusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeenimusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeenimusic

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.

• 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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11
Mar

A Legend, A Bus, A Fan and A New Chapter

A Legend, A Bus, A Fan and A New Chapter. In 2018, our chosen charity ‘Arms Around the Child’ reached out for Jeeni’s help. In their efforts to help their cause, the charity had acquired a vehicle with history, was completely unique and of significance to its previous owner and his fans. However, at this stage it needed serious help. That help sadly, became a burden to the charity and its finances, so the vehicle had to be sold. Here the story unfolds............... A Legend Back in 1970, Sir Paul McCartney had a life-changing moment. We’ve all had them. Life takes a turn and you find yourself going in a slightly, or very different direction. For legend Sir Paul, it was one door closing and another opening. A year later, he formed a band called Wings, with Denny Seiwell and Denny Laine, plus his wife, Linda. After an initial album release and some university gigging, McCartney was enjoying his simpler life away from the fast lane. He decided to take the band on the road for the summer, touring Europe. Sir Paul McCartney - A Legend Wings on their Tour Bus A Bus In 1972 the ‘Wings Over Europe’ tour took place – 25 dates over two months and 7,500 miles. All fairly standard stuff for any band, apart from the mode of transport. McCartney decided the band would be travelling in style, in the form of a vintage 1953 Bristol Double Decker ‘Open Topped’ bus, registration WNO 481. Carnaby Street boutique owner, Tom Slater was charged with fitting out the bus, giving it a bright paint job and livery announcing the tour and band had arrived. The band ate, slept and practiced on the bus, lying in the sun on the top deck writing their next album ‘Red Rose Speedway’ and even the track ‘Live and Let Die’ for the first James Bond movie for Roger Moore. WNO 481 - Wings Tour Bus A Fan(s) After the successful tour, a handful of other worldly adventures and a 2017 tweet from Sir Paul asking if anyone knew where the bus might be, WNO 481 (as it’s affectionately known) ended up being rescued and returned to the UK by ‘Arms Around the Child’ trustee Justin James. It was his difficult decision in 2018, to have to sell the bus and relieve the charity of the financial burden it had become. However, for Super-Fan Tom Jennings and his wife Rose, it was a dream come true and a life ambition fulfilled. Tom has since set about completing the restoration of the bus, bringing in fans from all over the world and setting up a fabulous site www.1972wingstourbus.com giving regular updates on progress of WNO 481, as well as the bus’s colourful history. It’s a fabulous read! A New Chapter On the back of this new connection, Jeeni are very pleased to have created a working partnership with Tom and Rose, and their merry band of ‘Busketeers’. We hope to work with them, their amazing bus, Sir Paul and our hefty music connections to create new and positive adventures for WNO 481. Jeeni have been granted access to the bus for a certain number of weeks per year and our intention is to use these weeks to create events and gigs for our Jeeni artists to perform. For Jeeni SuperFans there will be the chance to secure early tickets and memorabilia for the events and the bands performing. As with the emergence of Wings, the band and their music, we would like the bus to play a part in the launch of new music talent, giving performers the chance to thank supportive fans, share the experience and excitement of live performing, as well as creating new fanbases. Jeeni as a platform, has a large, growing audience of music lovers, as well as performers. The instant opportunities offered with their engaged social media, allows for followers to be ‘teased’ with where upcoming venues may be, before official announcements and tickets are released, creating a buzz and anticipating excitement. This cool, utterly unique piece of British rock and roll and engineering history has much to look forward to, as do the generations of music fans past and present, who will have the opportunity to be entertained by the Jeeni and ‘Wings Over Europe’ bus and events. www.jeeni.com www.1972wingstourbus.com www.armsaroundthechild.org

05
Jun

What can the music industry do to reduce its carbon footprint?

The carbon impact of all those gigs and gatherings is up for debate more now than ever, big acts such as ColdPlay and Massive Attack have cancelled gigs until they can measure the impact on the environment. But not all artists are in a financial position to cancel all their gigs and many artists rely on touring for an income. Let's be real most musicians and performers can not afford an environmental consciousness. Today on Radio 4 Tom Heap asks what the music industry can do to reduce its carbon footprint. Tom spoke to various different artists and also interviewed the founders of Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/. The main three areas for discussion included the emissions for the band travelling, moving the equipment, the venue emissions and the impact of audiences travelling to and from the event. Having listened to the show I checked out Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/ which advocates the following: We call on governments and media institutions to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency.We call on governments to act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030.We recognise that the emergency has arisen from global injustices and will work towards systemic change to protect life on Earth.We acknowledge the environmental impact of music industry practices and commit to taking urgent action. We have signed up and will follow Music Declares and are very interested in how our members can benefit, however the interview raised many contradictions and many of the suggestions for us were very weak and hypocritical. But it is very tough debate. We get that. To summaries the main suggestions in the interview with Tom included the following: Standard riders to not include plastic Not to allow single use plastics at events Always use renewable power sources when you can Event organizers to insist on recycling as a priority Working with responsible corporate partners Not to work with financial institutions that are not responsible Using LED lights to reduce energy use Put restrictions on touring, travelling and taking less equipment Use streaming media as an alternative to reach audiences Do not fly around the world to shoot gigs on environmental change Going on a bus rather than taking your own car Car share Put pressure on venues to be more environmentally friendly Getting rid of plastic CD cases Ecological packaging Environmental merchandise and use organic materials Higher train usage, go car free Ecological and renewable streaming and data storage Rent all the equipment at location and not travel with all the kit you need Do not produce and sell vinyls The largest omissions on carbon footprint is the audience travelling so a main argument from the artist is that they need to travel to the audience. Surely, the suggestions made in the interview is not enough and it will not deliver the outcomes to climate change that is needed, it is sycophantic and feeble for global change. In our view the recommendations and solutions suggested are not sustainable themselves. However, Music Declares Emergency have a great section on their website which is much more comprehensive and lists about actions for artists, songwriters, producers, a label, publisher, a venue, festival live music promoter, manager, agent and fan. So we are going to support them.

10
Dec

Artist Focus: Amba Tremain, The South Coast Soultress

Despite Amba Tremain’s proclivity towards the 'good ol’ days' of soul, motown and rhythm & blues, the Portsmouth singer’s attitude and approach to honoring the classics is refreshing, open and varied. The South coast soulstress -as aptly dubbed in her bio- has firmly re-opened a nostalgic and warm door to the golden-era of soul via spirited covers and fiery original tracks. As lecturer and Head of Vocals, for Brighton’s WaterBear College, it should be no surprise that Amba’s vocal capabilities rival that of even the original godfathers and mothers of soul. Her pitch perfect voice has lead to her being the star talent on several collaborations, very much out of her typical creative choice. Earlier this year, British electronic duo, Hollaphonic sampled a work of Amba’s for their summer house banger, ‘Shadows In The Sun’ which found its way on countless playlists. Up-and-coming Deltiimo also felt inspired by Amba’s talent, resulting in the floor-filling ‘Boy If You Want My Love’ back in 2018. Her sheer vocal talent also got her an invitation on BBC1’s hit Saturday night show, ‘I Can See Your Voice’. Contestants had to guess from a selection of would-be performers who can and can’t sing. Amba was obviously (perhaps not at first to the contestants) the show’s jaw-dropping talent for the evening and sung her heart out for the primetime gameshow. The pureness and clarity of Amba Tremain’s voice certainly makes her the perfect subject for electronic collaborations, however, she shines brightest on her own compositions. Most recently; ‘Baby You’re Gold’ which came out last Friday, is a laid-back, blissful tune with glossy and glamorous performances all around, (Check out Jeeni’s full review of the track here). Far from a one-trick pony, Amba has embraced all sorts of traditional genres and styles such as funk, country, pop and rock. Unlike many of her other works, ‘More Than My Mistakes’ is an all-too relatable RnB piano ballad. Stripped back to the basics of vocals, piano and selective strings, this single from last year contains a raw and unfeigned passion that most vocalists could only dream to convey. Sofar Sounds described Amba’s essence well, ‘Amba’s beautiful melodies and engaging energy make for a truly captivating experience. Amba breathes life and honesty into her soulful performances through her very honest lyrics and vocals’. If her 2021 singles are anything to go by, Amba Tremain has built up a formidable momentum of releases which hopefully will only continue to grow. Check out Amba on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/?s=amba+tremain How can Jeeni support artists like Amba Tremain? 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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