Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Victorious Festival - Colour of the Jungle

/ By Freya Devlin
Victorious Festival - Colour of the Jungle

Colour of the Jungle are a five-piece rock band, performing at this years Victorious Festival. The bands captivating songwriting and energy has resonated with audiences from Munich to the South coast of England. The group of five friends jammed for fun before moving to the studio, where they soon discovered their true potential and recorded their debut EP The Jungle Book. Their catchy-but-emotional, approachable-yet-raw sound is built upon sexy bass-driven rhythms and edgy instrumentation. Creating music that sticks in the head and the heart.

Following the release of their debut EP The Jungle Book, Colour of the Jungle dropped ‘Steel Tray’. A summer anthem that captures the complex bass lines of John Harris, confident drum beats of Dan Fiford, rhythmic riff and leads of Joe Costello and Brendan McVeagh, and intriguing lyrics of Jack Evans. Inspired by iconic rock and roll greats such as Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Growlers, Colour of the Jungle are sculpting their own identity of modern garage rock.

To date Colour of the Jungle have played many festivals. Including Victorious, Wickham, Street Party and Hayling Island Kite Festival. Along with playing many events and venues from their hometown Portsmouth, all around Hampshire, right through to London and also venturing out to Munich… you could say there are truly creating a stir in the jungle. The Pompey band continue to make a name for themselves, gaining an impressive reputation with their live shows. Winning “Best Local Band’ in the 2021 Southsea Folk Awards.

Colour of the Jungle at Victorious Festival 2021

Victorious Festival is the UK’s biggest metropolitan festival and returns to Southsea Seafront this this August Bank holiday weekend (27th-29th August). With an excellent line-up including Madness, The Streets, Royal Blood and many more. COTJ will perform a set including music from their new EP ‘Monkey Mind’ on the Seaside Stage at Victorious Festival. Nick Courtney, will present the Seaside Stage, showcasing the best up and coming talent from Portsmouth and surrounding areas. See cruise liners soar past while watching the next big thing.

Catch Colour of the Jungle on the Seaside Stage on Saturday 28th August 2021 at the Victorious Festival, Portsmouth.

Or check out Colour of the Jungle’s showcase here: Colour of the Jungle | Showcase | JEENI

#independent #victorious #festival #portsmouth #jeeni #colourofthejungle #showcase

15
Mar

More Than Just Music with Jeeni

So far, 2021 has been a very busy year for the Jeeni team, so what's new? The platform is growing and growing, and it's more than just music with Jeeni. The first job was to update the website. The look changed, the user experience was enhanced and new channels were added, allowing all the varied talent joining us is easier to find. More than just music, means we welcome all the trades that support the industry, plus the industries that benefit from music itself. The new look channels added, mean we can offer separate sections for all these extra and supporting parts of the creative world. Our Goods and Services channel now gives members access to tutorials for singing, including Opera and Classical, guides to performance prep, as well as studio production. There is also advice on optimising your social media, recording your music, graphics and album artwork. And when the world seems to be spinning at 100mph, you can find help to unwind and seek peace and calm. Tara and Sharmayne - Opera Coaches In the Masterclasses channel, users can sharpen their skills from drums to guitar, and even try the bass guitar lessons from the legend Suzi Quattro. If you require the services of a photographer, director or editor, you can search the various talents listed in the Photography and Videography channel. Or follow the guides on how to do it yourself , even on a limited budget. Plus Jeeni's own image welder, Sharron Goodyear with her special rate offer for a 'virtual shoot' exclusive to our subscribers. Should you be thinking of going before the lens, you could check out the services in the Style and Grooming channel to grab some tips on all aspects of hair, make-up, style and image. CrackaLackTV Editing Tutorial Not forgetting the next generation of creatives, we have a special channel for Juniors to go to for music, dance, stories, teaching and performance tips aimed at the younger musicians and dancers. We are also building the Audio Books channel to encourage writers of stories for children and young adults. Not excluding the oldies, there are currently 31 episodes of Stephen Palmer's 'Hairy London' for the adults to immerse themselves in. One of our most exciting, up-coming channels is Royalty-Free Music for Dancers. Whether your routines are for performance or competition, using other peoples' music can be problematic and expensive. So, Jeeni has set up a channel specifically to address this issue. We are approaching some of our big name contacts, asking them to contribute to this cause and the response has been fantastic, so keep an eye out for the new uploads. If you are willing to allow your music to be used royalty-free, then please think about giving others the benefit of your talent and share the love by uploading to this specific channel. Check out the new look site, build your showcase and get uploading and sharing!

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

04
Apr

Zeeteah Massiah on Music, Performing and Life during 2020

Zeeteah Massiah is a Number One Billboard Dance Chart star who specialises in Reggae, Jazz and house music. Like many artists, the last year has provided many challenges for Zeeteah, but also a host of 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.  It’s been the craziest year ever, but we’ve made it through thirteen months in and out of lockdown. At the beginning of 2020, I unveiled a brand-new sound and a wicked new band, and I was full of high hopes for the year. I was excited and ready to go. And then Covid hit. It took me three weeks into the first lockdown to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be going on stage again for a long time. I was in a fog for weeks and then I thought: just because I can’t be on stage doesn’t mean I can’t make music. I suddenly had an impulse to record a new version of an old song that I’ve always loved – United We Stand by Brotherhood of Man. It seemed so right for that moment. Paul, my husband and musical partner, understood immediately the sound I was looking for, and we set to work in our studio. Three of my favourite musicians played on the track – remotely, of course – and family and friends in London, Germany and the Caribbean filmed lovely cameos for the video. It was such fun to do, and it got a wonderful response. You can check it out on Jeeni. And then a man called George Floyd died in Minnesota, and we were all plunged into a very different mood. I didn’t realise how painful many of my feelings about race were, and how deeply they were buried, until I started telling Paul, with tears in my eyes, about growing up in London as a young black girl from Barbados. I was constantly made to feel a certain way simply because of the colour of my skin. Here we are in 2021 and, sadly, many things are still the same. At one point I blurted out to Paul, “You don’t know how it feels to be Black”.  He took those words and turned them into a song called You Don’t Know. We recorded it and made the video in July. It’s one of the most heartfelt things I’ve done, and I’ve been amazed by the incredible response it’s had and so grateful for the wonderful feedback. I did manage to squeeze in three London gigs in the gaps between the lockdowns: a reggae gig in Chelsea, and jazz gigs in Hampstead and in the West End. Better than nothing – and in fact, they were all lovely events. When it became clear that there weren’t going to be any more gigs, I decided to start doing live sessions at home with some of my favourite musicians and sharing them on YouTube. And so, the Massiah Sessions were born. We’ve released nine videos so far, in a variety of styles, and there are more to come. I was also invited to add vocals to a new rock album by a dear friend in Germany. Thanks, Günther – it was a blast. In February, I did a livestream with guitarist Marcin Bobkowski for a charity called Educ’aid Africa, run by Isa Bell, which is helping to provide music education to schools in Benin. A recent DNA test revealed that many of my ancestors were from Benin, and so the project had a special meaning for me. It was my first livestream, and I loved it. I’m going to be doing another one on 10 April, and hopefully regularly after that – join us at zeestream.live if you can! And so now here we are, approaching the end of what we pray will be the final lockdown. And soon I’ll be back on stage in front of a live audience doing what I love best. My first live gig of 2021 will be on Thursday 27 May at Crazy Coqs in London’s West End. Maybe see you there? In the meantime, I wish you all the best for what will, hopefully, end up being a much better year. Zeeteah 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