Jeeni's Pick of the Week - Colectiva

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Jeeni's Pick of the Week - Colectiva

Colectiva Global Bandstand Weekender Southsea Portsmouth presented by The People's Lounge

Colectiva is a nine-piece ensemble exploring the spaces between Afro-Latin music and jazz while reflecting on themes of sisterhood and female empowerment. Exploring the boundaries between Afro-Latin music and Jazz, Colectiva are a unique voice on the UK scene. Representing the meeting of two musical worlds they believe belong together. Founded as a creative experiment by trombonist Viva Msimang. The group makes space for female and non-binary identifying musicians to collaborate in a new dynamic. An alternative to traditional hierarchical structures, away from the Male Gaze. In addition to exploring notions of sisterhood through their shared creative practice, empowering themselves and their audiences alike.

Exciting projects like Colectiva are the type of talent that Jeeni supports on our platform. By creating showcases, and promoting them to an audience on jeeni.com

Rooted in the sounds of Africa, Latin America and the diaspora, Colectiva's thoughtful and punchy arrangements are affectionately dubbed ‘jazz tropicaliente’ (hot-tropical-jazz). Released in collaboration with jazz pianist Maria Grapsa, the group’s debut single ‘Under The’ on Movimientos captures the essence of their shared creative practice. And has received support from the likes of Huey Morgan and Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6 Music. As well as Jazz FM’s Chris Philips and Tim Garcia, and Toshiro Matsuura and Papaoul on Worldwide FM.

‘Under The’ came to life when jazz Maria Grapsa brought an early arrangement of the tune to the collective. Working together over a series of collaborative sessions typical of their creative process, they crafted the song you hear today. Consisting of tormented melodies, jagged horn hits, and a rhythm section bristling with energy open the song, evoking sounds of struggle.

Furthermore, the group won ‘Best Alternative Act 2019' at the UK Latin Awards. The exceptional Colectiva is set to step into their power in 2021, with two more singles with visuals planned, infused with the spirit of feminist activism.

JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience.

Firstly we give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services.
Secondly we empower our audience and reward them every step of the way.
Thirdly we promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect.
Lastly and most importantly they keep 100% of everything they make.

Check out Colectiva's showcase here on Jeeni: Colectiva | Showcase | JEENI Along with other showcases to add to your playlist.

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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.

04
Jun

Top Ten Tips on How To Promote your Music Independently

Let's set the scene. We believed there would be a load of "How to Videos..." giving expert advice to help musicians, artists and performers along their merry way. We thought just Google it and the rest would be simple. But the quality of what we have found raises the question, "how helpful are these videos really, and do musicians and performers use them"? Do these videos add real value? To find out more, we're asking the new 400 Unsigned Artist Community members what they think. Maybe they have found a video or a blog which changed their fortunes, and they are willing share and let us know why it had such an impact. Let's see how far this forum opens new discussions and debate. Having listened to Jasmine from Ditto in the video below, we started to think that our first job might be to start a discussion around "how to promote and market your work". So you don't have to watch the whole 7 minute video, we have just listed the headlines to get a discussion going. (approx. 60 seconds read time) 1. Making great music, music always comes first. 2. Play as often as you can, make them remember you. Put on a killer live show and make an impact. 3. Start locally, go nationally and then head out on tour. Ed Sheeran says he played at least a thoiusand shows, before he became known in the music industry. 4. Create a website and build a mailing list - which links to your music, bio, promo images, tour dates, mailing list and sign-up form. 5. Get your social media sorted! Keep a consistent brand identity! Include competitions, polls, track snippets, press shots, backstage videos. Use targeted social adds, do not use mass advertising. 6. Check out what other successful performers are doing and learn from them, rather than starting from scratch. 7. Get your tracks PLAYLISTED. 8. Manage your own PR and contact journalists directly. Create an Electronic Press Kit, write a press release, upload your music, send to bloggers & journalists. 9. Surround yourself by the right people. Just because you are independent, that does not mean you have to do everything on your own. 10. Know your audience and focus on your niche! So that's it folks, let's create our own list and add value to this vital conversation. If you would like to join the new Unsigned Artists Community check us out and send in a request to join today. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2529935880656436/?source_id=459365401133253 https://vimeo.com/396502327

12
Mar

The Best Biopics & Musical Films for 2021

There's a huge array to look forward to from the film world and after the delays of 2020, the backlog is now ready to be released. Below, is a short list of the best biopics and musical films for 2021, a mix of mainstream and online, in order of their release date. Johnny Flynn as David Bowie in 'Stardust" Stardust OUT: Jan 15Not to be confused with the Neil Gaiman fantasy, this Stardust is a biopic focused on David Bowie in the year or so before (and leading up to) Ziggy Stardust. Johnny Flynn will play a 24-year-old Bowie, with Gabriel Range directing from Christopher Bell's screenplay. Marc Maron plays Bowie's beleaguered American publicist Ron Oberman. Bar scene from 'One Night in Miami' One Night In Miami... OUT: Jan 15A fictional account of a night in 1964, as four icons of sports, music, and activism gather to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history: Cassius Clay's defeat of heavy weight champion Sonny Liston. Eli Goree is the soon-to-be Muhammed Ali, with Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Leslie Odom Jr as Sam Cooke, and Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown. Soul co-director/co-writer Kemp Powers adapted the film from his own stage play, and it'll stream on Amazon Prime. Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes in 'To Olivia' To Olivia OUT: Feb 19Biopic focused on the tempestuous marriage of Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl. An adaptation of Stephen Michael Shearer's biography of Neal, titled An Unquiet Life, it stars Keeley Hawes and Hugh Bonneville as the central couple, with support from Conleth Hill and, in his final screen performance, the late Geoffrey Palmer. John Hay is the director. Max Harwood plays teenager, Jamie New Everybody’s Talking About Jamie OUT: Feb 26Jonathan Butterell helms an adaptation of his hit Brit musical. The based-on-a-true-story stage show centres on a teenager in Northern England (Sheffield in the story, Newcastle in real life) who is determined to attend his year 11 prom in drag, to the disapproval of the school. Andra Day as Billie Holiday The United States v Billie Holiday OUT: March 12Biopic following legendary soul singer Billie Holiday (Andra Day) during a difficult period of her career. Holiday was targeted during the 1940s by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), with whom she'd previously had a tumultuous affair. Partially based on Johann Hari's book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days Of The War On Drugs. The Beatles plying live, on top of Apple Corps in London The Beatles: Get Back sneak peek OUT: August 27Sticking with documentary following the success of They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson turns his attention to the final days of The Beatles. Get Back features never-before-seen footage of the band shot in 1969, with added material from their final live performance on top of the London Apple Corps offices. Ringo says it's a much truer portrait of the end of the Beatles than 1970's original Let It Be film. Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin in 'Respect' Respect OUT: October 8Another musical biopic, in this case following Aretha Franklin's life from her early days singing in her father's church choir to her latterday status as civil rights activist and iconic soul superstar: the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Franklin personally chose Jennifer Hudson to play her. The Jets and The Sharks in 'West Side Story' West Side Story OUT: December 10Steven Spielberg's first musical adapts Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's classic stage show, itself an updated and relocated retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The feuding families become warring gangs the Jets and the Sharks. Can Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria's (Rachel Zegler) love cross that great divide? For detailed listing of all upcoming releases go to: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies-2021/ For music, news, blogs, videos and playlists go to: http://www.jeeni.com

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