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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07
Apr

Naëve on Music, Performing and Life during 2020

Having described herself as an outcast in life and the music world we ask Naëve what have been the key challenges and new opportunities and ventures that would have never otherwise have been possible. We asked her to tell us about her experiences over the last year whilst we count down to Jeeni’s online JAM festival. Naëve is a project born at the beginning of 2019 as a rebellion against all rules and constrictions that keeps us into our ‘tiny given little boxes’ since birth. As for the film ‘Big Fish’, my fishbowl started to feel a little too tight, I needed a bigger one for myself. Labelling and categorising everything, has always been something I refused to comply to since I remember. I’ve always been an outcast, in life and in the music I write and for this, I haven’t been always understood. Felt horrible for a while but, in time, I got that people use to fear what they do not understand, they fear change and what is new so, I made sure to be clearer and clearer for them in time. To my surprise, more and more people started to get closer. I decided to keep the influences and ditch the genres, even following an emotional and logical tie to every single one of the genres that I rework in my music. This brand new fusion sub-genre that I would call ‘Retro Groove’, is based pretty much on writing what comes to mind, binding the genres together and following simple melodic similarities. With what concerns lyrics writing, instrumentals is what inspires me. I believe that music in general, is an identification of feelings, emotions that often differ very distinctively from each other, other times, instead, they layer up so, when I write lyrics, I first listen carefully to the musical part, until it makes me feel something or leads right back to specific memories. Then I write about that. Because I never pretend to be the Diva that I am not, what you find in my songs is exactly what I would say to you if I ever meet you in person. No filters, no beating around the bush, pretty much "what you see (or hear) is what you get". I am at a point in my life that I genuinely don’t care about what others may think or if I say something in a way, I may offend someone. I’m living my freedom happily and this, I believe, is why I can write my songs in ways that have never been done before. I’m not the kind of person sugarcoating thoughts or happening, I try to make them feel sweeter and more bearable because, all in all, life is never like the cover of VOGUE. Also, more often than not, real heroes are the ones who are left unsung. I will sing and about them. I will celebrate them. Even before my first release, the project caught the attention of several labels. Despite lockdown restrictions, I have already signed a record deal with an international indie label, been proposed other two record deals and two publishing deals and received very much support from Blogs, pluggers, radios and so on. My fan base has started to grow steadily and I cannot be happier. For the ‘big sound’ you can hear in my songs, you might think that a whole orchestra or something of the sort has been recorded in it. Truth is, that I work together with an incredibly talented producer (and boy, oh boy if I am picky with producers) that manages everytime to get in my head and help developing the initial idea according to the inputs, lines and melodies I give to him. For that very reason, I thought to be a good idea to involve a basic big band, usually, because big bands are pretty big so, I needed to recreate that studio sound live but without exceeding the number of players on stage. We are 11. One of my unreleased songs has even got us into the Yamaha Boogie & Blues future stars competition finals, that was our very first live gig with this project, then the World shut down, exactly two days before the finals. That was scary, a new born project could have collapsed at any time. When a project is that new, without the chance of playing live shows, it becomes very difficult to grow a proper fanbase. ‘Joy’, my first single release, has been extremely risky to put out. The willingness for people to change is always extremely hard to achieve and I was very concerned about that. I’m saying this because ‘Joy’ is a Gospel song, a genre that has always mostly been kept within Church doors. I took a leap of faith and... It worked. Many brothers and sisters from Evangelic Communities around the World started to show their curiosity and support and it absolutely felt like winning the Euro Million!! The idea before ‘Joy’ was something between the lines: ‘Wow, Gospel music is such beautiful uplifting music of hope, let’s bring it to everyone. That was the reason behind this song. Thinking about it now, I feel very happy about how everything is progressing, mainly seeing how much interest people are having in my music. I decided to continue to write during the lockdown and between them, when was possible and safe to go recording, I decided to continue and work about the messages that I want to pass to my supporters and so ‘L.A.M.E.’ was born. Feminism is quite present in my work and more than ever is a concept, a way of life that needs to be supported today. Sometimes, I really believe that there has been a strong regression regarding how women are perceived in society and in the Music Industry. It seems, somehow, that very often women are seen as something that has to be used, not cherished. Thanks also to my upbringing (and to Madonna’s music), I understood that my value is decided by me, not everybody else and nevertheless by men (I don’t hate you, fellas, calm down) and that my life belongs to me and me only, I’m the only one who calls the shots end of story. So, L.A.M.E. was born after a date gone wrong. The kind of date that starts well and ends terribly wrong...you know the feeling. That ended wrong because sometimes, when people can’t get what they want, they can be incredibly mean and they aim to target your self-esteem attempting to decrease your value. I didn’t let him. I wrote a song about the whole story. It’s an empowering song, for all women who have ever felt ‘not enough in their relationships, psychologically manipulated by ‘supposedly’ their better half. Sometimes, people take advantage of our vulnerability to enforce their beliefs, it never ends well. The message that I would give is that you only know your value, don’t let anyone get to you, you are much more than that!! You can go out without makeup, without expensive clothes or cars, villas, a tan or a size 6 and a DD cup, because when you smile, all of a sudden the world stops. That is your strength as a woman and your beauty. You decide for your life, your happiness and yourself. Being very open-minded, I learned to know people at their true value and not the label been given to them and also, I can’t stand injustice of any kind. I want to channel this empowering message also to the LGBTQ+ Community. The reason behind that is that I have always been surrounded by friends from the Community and some of them are among my best friends ever so, indirectly, I lived their struggle through them on how people are perceived in society. Is embarrassing how, still in 2021, we cannot still be understanding enough to leave people the freedom to live a happy life while feeling comfortable and loved in their own skin. Then the idea for the video of L.A.M.E. was born. I’ve been lucky enough to cast two incredible actors from the Community that are very successful artists, then the idea to interchange roles and to show that there is not fear in beauty and that doesn’t matter what ‘form’ you get, your true beauty always shines. Another risky project, that bore the fruits I was hoping for and here we are. The video has been watched more than 6k times within 4 months time (thanks to this platform as well as Youtube and Vevo) and liked/voted more than 3k times so, really glad with the results. From the live side, during the lockdown, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Hot Vox in support of War Child UK and I was very honoured to be part of this crowdfunding campaign, as it helped to raise money for children and their families hit by war all over the World. I believe there will be more of these charity events for Naëve once it will be safe again to play live. The collaboration with Hot Vox continued with an online ‘Listening party’ that will be available to watch from the 21st of April from this link https://hotvox.co.uk/event/naeve-listening-party/ Plus a funny interview I did for them so, I believe is something you really want to watch. You know, when life gives you lemons..... I started to learn to play other instruments during the lockdown as well and I am quite a confident player now. Also, I will be shortly in the studio for my 3rd official release, so, I will be in ‘planning mode’ for a while plus, a brand new music video and after, the tour. The very first tour for Naëve since the project was born so, pretty excited and feeling blessed for what is coming. Naëve will also be performing in the JAM festival which is a collaboration between Jeeni, AmplifyX and MultiView Media and will be held at 12 noon Los Angeles time, 8pm London time on Saturday, April 10th 2021. To find out more about the JAM Festival check out our events on Facebook. https://fb.me/e/1etPauFMV

15
Dec

Giack Bazz - 'Childhood Dream' Album Review

Back in 2016, Giack Bazz released his first album, ‘Childhood Dream’. The debut of the Italian singer-songwriter is a dazzling and transportive dive into nostalgia, sentimental imagery and grief. After losing his mother at a young age, Giack had a mountain of un-processed emotion that he had to unleash, and ‘Childhood Dream’ is packed to each corner with every truth and painful memory Giack had to give. Although Giack has now expressed his talent and creativity across many ground-breaking projects, including a giant 366 track album as a part of ‘The Royalty Instrumentality Project’, it can sometimes be incredibly insightful to reflect on the origins and context of fascinating and experimental artists. By looking at where an artist has been, in contrast to where they currently find themselves, you can gain an informative, albeit condensed idea of their journey as a person as well as a creative. In many ways, this beautifully in-depth debut inadvertently set out a loose blueprint for Giack’s future as an artist. In comparison to Giack’s later work, ‘Childhood Dream’ tends to have a more fundamental and focused attitude to instrumentation and production techniques. The simplicity and clarity in these stripped-back arrangements end up giving the album a charming and effective tone as it doesn’t distract from the source of the bitter-sweet narratives: Giack’s voice. Speaking of Giack’s voice, it's so expressive and rich in this album which is only enhanced with the use of double-tracking which fills the stereo space up with his emotional intent. Giack harnesses deep-set and perhaps previously under-processed feelings and thoughts in his performances. As he put it himself, “The album is the closure I needed to my childhood. It is an acknowledgement, the acceptance that the dreams we have and the rose-tinted glasses we have are painful to remove.” In terms purely of songwriting and production choice, ‘Morning’ is a clear highlight for me on this album. The decision to have thrashing, distorted guitar with no accompaniment other than Giack’s voice works so well in the choruses and draws attention to the part instead of masking it with layers of bass and drums. The reverb on the two parts that make up the song creates a clear physical space causing an authentic sensation of atmosphere and immersion. The joyous home-video samples from Giack’s childhood, heard in the title track, have a slightly melancholic and touching intention relating to how he honours his late Mother. As Giack put it, “The songs have some noise collections from my family tapes and it's a way to honour her memory and to tell her that I understand why she tried to keep the truth.” This album is often dark and pained, especially in the penultimate track, ‘Piazza Roma’. Although (unlike the others), the track is exclusively sung in Italian, I don’t believe understanding the lyrics is necessary to comprehend the pain in this harrowing and anguished piece. In the verses, the guitar is exhausted as though it itself is emotionally drained. It sluggishly carries the jangling chords all by itself, as Giack gives a similarly tired, yet determined vocal performance. Just before the choruses, a pause can be heard as though Giack is about ready to resign to grief, yet triumphantly, he rises up to sing his heart out in his native tongue. With the ‘This Is the Beginning’ intro and ‘This Is Not the End’ outro, Giack opens up his personal origin yet refuses to close it at this point because although, as Giack stated, that without his childhood bereavement, “I’d be someone else”, the grief does not define him. He therefore leaves the album open and even ends it as it begins, with a repeating sole note on the piano, implying optimism, self-growth and a strength in accepting his past. A stunningly poignant close to this expressive and emotionally challenging debut. How can Jeeni support artists like Giack Bazz? 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 Check out Giack Bazz’s Showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/giack-bazz

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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