Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Portsmouth-based music platform gears up

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Portsmouth-based music platform gears up

Jeeni, the Portsmouth-based music tech start-up, has raised over £230,000 to support unsigned artists and performers achieve their dream. 

Today, Jeeni has returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds and help the cause. Founding director Mel Croucher says, “We are ahead of our original schedule, yet there is still so much more to accomplish. We need to scale our online platform globally, build our mass artist showcases, and achieve our foreign language roll-out. Then we can hit all our targets, and give our new artists the recognition they deserve.” If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Jeeni is launching their next generation platform online, with over 27,500 artists and performers subscribe to their database, and will start trading ahead of schedule.

Along with Mel Croucher, who founded the UK leisure software industry, Jeeni was co-founded by Shena Mitchell, who has already raised over £20million for start-up businesses in the Solent area. They have created a formidable management team including Roger Watson, the record-label boss responsible for over 500 million record sales, Kelli Richards, who worked with Steve Jobs for over 10 years and launched Apple Music, Eddie Levy, the founder of ATV Music who owned The Beatles catalogue, and Danielle Woodyatt, former Head of Global Communications at Virgin.

Jeeni is also supported by celebrity ambassadors, including John Altman, conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tony Klinger, producer for The Who, and Dee “Thunderbirds” Anderson.

Jeeni’s Shena Mitchell urges Portsmouth-based businesses and investors to take a look at the campaign and support the development and global roll-out of Jeeni. She says: “We are raising £100k for 2.4% with our pre-money valuation at £4M. So if you want to support a Portsmouth-based tech start-up to harness the wealth of genuine unsigned talent, then get in touch.” If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Contact details: shena@jeeni.com

04
Feb

Zeeteah Massiah - ‘Wat A Ting’, Single Review.

Zeeteah Massiah’s 'Wat A Ting’ is a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek poke at misinformation and its relentless spreading, all the while being a dancehall banger in its own right.  As an ambassador of Jeeni, Zeeteah Massiah is certainly something of a Jeeni royal. She has been a big part of the origins and early stages of Jeeni and her support is invaluable. Zeeteah Massiah is a Number One Billboard Dance Chart star who specialises in Reggae, Jazz and house music and has worked with the likes of Tom Jones, Sting and Robbie Williams. Now, she makes incredible music with her husband, Paul.  The clarity of the production in ‘Wat A Ting’ is perfect. The off-beat pulse is so neat and perfectly edited and that’s with so much else going on; broken glass, rapid reggae drumrolls and several layers of backing vocals all fly over each other but this track never sounds messy or unintentional. The attention to detail in the mix for this single is exhaustive and thorough. That approach to production results in all sonic layers staying in their corner, but interacting with each other in total coherence and clarity.  Everything in ‘Wat A Ting’ is tight, staccato and playful in its nature. It sounds like Zeeteah and her husband, Paul had so much fun with every layer of this track. As a counter-point to the short, abrupt timbre of the rest of this song, the pre-chorus is cleverly, much smoother with the addition of sweeping backing vocals and strummed guitar parts. This soft, calmer section is a great spot for the deceptively, reassuring lyrics “No need to fear now, what’s going on here now.” before the accepting chorus, “We've all gone crazy.”  Zeeteah’s voice is pitch perfect and so adaptable; her singing is soft and caring for the pre-choruses but aptly manic and wild for the ‘Wat a ting, wat a ting!” choruses. The care and precision she carries in her voice could only be that of a seasoned professional vocalist.  Although the track is undeniably fun, it addresses an incredibly important issue, “They told me there was COVID in the 5G, they told me the earth was flat.” Underneath the lively, mischievous tone of the track, 'Wat A Ting’ is an exasperated resignation to the persistent spread and sharing of false information as a result of fear and ignorance, “It’s all very clear now, we’ve all gone crazy.”  Check out this fun and important track here: https://jeeni.com/wat-a-ting-zeeteah-massiah/   And check out Zeeteah’s Jeeni showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/zeeteah-massiah/   Album review How can Jeeni support artists like Zeeteah Massiah?   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. 

16
Feb

Big Frank & MazeyJune - ‘Sun Outside’ Single Review

This chilled out hip-hop callback from Big Frank beckons the summer with the help of MazeyJune’s soulful voice.  London based chillhop producer, Big Frank releases his first single since his brilliant ‘Phases of Nature’ album from 2017. Another new Jeeni artist, Big Frank’s resurgence on the scene is certainly one to watch and Jeeni can’t wait to build up our soul, hip-hop and RnB channels with his upcomming tracks.   His 2017 album fully showcased Frank’s understanding, appreciation and prowess in instrumental hip-hop. Although some of the best producers often release unaccompanied beat tapes and projects such as Madlib and the late J Dilla, it seems now that Big Frank is looking to collaborate, beginning with the up-and-coming MazeyJune.  ‘Sun Outside’ sees Frank with his staple effortlessly serene and well-rounded beats accompanying MazeyJune’s free-flowing, enchanting melodies. Frank does well to leave plenty of room for Mazey to shine with scaling vocalisations and expressive passages of lyrics. The steady strums of a nylon-stringed guitar bounce around and reverberate across all other parts of the instrumental and it creates an almost eerily large space in which the single sits. This, along with nearly unplaceable background notes and drones provide a strong sense of atmosphere for this short, yet promising single.  MazeyJune’s voice is fluid, dark and velvety smooth. Occasionally, her soulful and wavering vocal tone is reminiscent of Celeste and other times, she steps low and deep like the legendary Nina Simone; an adaptable and impressive voice from MazeyJune.  Considering how well ‘Sun Outside’ turned out, let’s hope that this single means that more is coming from both Big Frank and MazeyJune. Check out the brand-new single here: https://jeeni.com/sun-outside-mazeyjune-and-big-frank/ And check out Big Frank's showcase on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/bigfrank/ How can Jeeni support artists like Big Frank?   JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience.  album review album review album review • 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.   

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