Jayanti's Blog
The mundane is merely Magic in disguise…Archive for songstress
Hear, hear! Here’s to you! I hear you and you hear me too.
It’s been quite a year for me. Last August, I lost my apartment, not being able to afford it anymore with all the temp jobs I’ve been doing for years to have enough freedom and time to give music a real chance. I’ve hibernated most of winter, popping vitamin D to give my body some artificial sunshine, reading four books at a time and starting a fifth and sixth then changing my mind, watching entire seasons of tv shows on my laptop. During this time, I’ve been writing a lot, songs about losing my place, losing faith, that glimmer of hope at the horizon, loving me and loving you, finding me and losing you.
I thought it was about time to talk to you, even though I’ve written some blog posts about this and have kept you in the loop on facebook and twitter. YouTube has been a wonderful place to share my art, with full autonomy and whenever I wanted, whimsical as I can be. Throughout the year, I kept getting comments and messages from you, sometimes right at the point where I wanted to give up and disappear into the core of the earth (yes, I got a little dramatic sometimes, bless my friends). These messages truly kept me going, it reminded me that you were still listening, you still cared. Thank you so much for reaching out to me during these times. Your words of encouragement -knowing what I was going through or not at all- were the glue to mend my wings and make me fly again.
I have never been more inspired in my life, words, concepts, stories, ideas pour out like a waterfall and I feel blessed to be able to ride these waves of creativity with you, whether you’re the one I write my songs with, the one I write my songs for or the one I share my songs with. Here’s to you! Hear, hear! And hear me, you do. I hear you, too.
Honoring the vocal prototype, The Voice: Whitney Houston
When I was 5, I started entering talent shows with Jackson 5 songs and when I felt like a “big girl” (around the age of 10) I added Whitney and Mariah songs to my repertoire. Every wedding, every school dance, every audition… I remember watching Whitney’s performances at the Grammy’s, in complete awe. So this is what a lady singer was supposed to sound like, that is what she was supposed to wear, I was looking at the prototype, she was It! Her refined beauty, her regal air, singing soft notes that sounded like sweet cotton candy at first, then stacked on top of each other to reach a climax unlike anything I’d ever heard: passionate, raw but very smooth. Her voice sounded like it was made of gold, warm and clear, delicate yet powerful… there was a special gleam about it nobody else had, I was absolutely mesmerized by her tone (I still am, can you tell?).
Listening to my heroes as a kid and learning their songs has helped me find my own vocal identity, which is why I wanted to to use my voice to thank The Voice: Whitney Houston. She has inspired and influenced me so much, and touched my spirit in a very real way. I believe in acknowledging every positive spark you receive from another person, be it a kind stranger on the train or an artist who has showed you the ropes by example, I believe in saying “thank you”. So, therefore: Thank you, Ms Whitney Houston, for sharing your light with all of us.
Getting it on while basking in my Nightlight!
You know when you take a dive, and you can feel the arch of your body is just right, the sun is burning on your back, you take a good breath and feel know this is going to be such an uplifting swim? No? Yes? Well, that is what it felt like when I dived into 2012, performing at Holland Got Soul in Rotterdam. I was asked to do an original song and a Motown cover and decided to do my own song Nightlight and a rendition of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. Our Nightlight shone bright, my co-writer Rory Ronde (on guitar!) and I were so happy to perform our song with a band for the first time! Take a look at our faces in the very first frame of the video, that pretty much says it all! :o)
Lyrics Nightlight
The most incredible feeling, hearing your song come to life and sharing it with a beautiful audience!
When I decided to do Let’s Get It On, I really wanted to pay tribute by replying to the original. What would the seductress, the lady, say to that man, wanting to get it on? Well, yes we can get it on! Let me tell you how I’m feeling, sir! Something I have a hard time doing in real life, but a stage, a band, lights and a loving crowd can give you that extra push. Euphoria! I was really feeling it, the band was feeling it, the crowd was feeling it, it was glorious! We were getting it in and getting it on!
Huge shoes to fill, so I decided to respect and admire the man’s shoes and give you my high heeled, feminine interpretation of this classic!
Mundane is merely Magic in disguise!
Two weeks after my last post, I lost my apartment, lost hope, lost a lot of tears and my beloved Tinkerbell figurine lost a hand and broke her wings. How silly symbolic. Well, I see your lesson and raise you an epiphany, solidified faith in my dreams, more helping hands than I can count (you!) and an even deeper appreciation for the love surrounding me.
This is the tale of how Tinkerbell took her broken wings and learned to fly again.
Exactly one year ago, while I was having the time of my life in LA, something stirred in my spirit whenever we passed Laurel Canyon Boulevard and I knew it was a significant place for me. The winding road, the trees, the rocks, the energy!! It was like driving into a magical forest then exiting into the blinding lights of Sunset. ["What just happened? Did anyone else feel that??"] I believed I was supposed to be there and would eventually return, but my dreams and hopes of ever returning to that enchanting place diminished for a moment when I lost my place a couple of months ago and moved back in with my mother. And while the flame of hope for a musical future was being washed away by tears and years of disappointment, I received a big, heavy package all the way from Canada, sent by my friend Erika last month (also known as the Blue Monster, keeping my Facebook “like” page). A book about Laurel Canyon and all the artists who have lived there. I had no idea! Musicians lived there? Generations of them?? Wow… I started believing again, if only a little bit.
A few days after, I had a profound and cathartic interview with the Grown Folks Music blog and spoke candidly about my woes and hopes, the dance of my undying faith in my passion and this dramatic feeling of dying imagining giving the dream up. I’ve received many heart warming messages from you all (some of you I already knew, some of you were new), telling me you enjoy the songs I sing and write, not to give up and how touched you were by the interview and related to certain aspects of my story: being vulnerable as a woman, the struggles of “making it” as an artist or simply daring to dream… with everything you have, foolish as it may be. You made me realize we all need to smile in the face of disappointment and it becomes a lesson, to smile in the face of darkness and thus become the light. You have rekindled my flame with your energy, I am incredibly grateful to you. Thank you!
Mundane is merely magic in disguise. That’s the title of this blog (top left, see it?), one of the lines in my song “High on Life” and my soul’s motto. Every day is (supposed to be) special, but some days seem to shout: “Hey that line you wrote? It’s true! Magic is everywhere! Keep believing! Don’t give up!”. Today was another one of those magically mundane days. Two presents presented themselves to me on this seemingly ordinary Thursday. The pure joy of receiving a package, times two! One: I received these gorgeous Nadine Calor earrings I won two weeks ago on facebook, inspired by the magical night’s sky. Just the kind of thing a nocturnal nymph would wear. Oh yes!
And the big surprise, an early birthday present from the UK: the reincarnation of my special Tinkerbell figurine, which my mom originally bought for me years ago to inspire me while pursuing my passion for music. It had an important place in my apartment and I looked at it daily for hope, it inspired me to keep pushing for my dream. The original one lost her wings and hand while my belongings got shipped from there to here and silly as this may sound, that upset me quite a bit.
I remember telling my friend Michael (from Manchester, like the guy from Big Fish and the Bee Gees, but I digress..) about these “bastards” breaking Tinkerbell’s wings, but I never expected him to send me a brand new version of the fairy I’ve owned for years for my birthday (which is in November, and I suppose… today!), wings and hand intact, bearing the message that’s been propelling my wings for years: “Let Your Dreams Blossom”. I will. I promise. Promise me you will too?
Inside My Love – Tribute to Les Fleurs
Three November babies in a room, one holding the camera, one strumming the strings and one behind the mic, for a tribute to one of my favorite singer/songwriters, also born in the 11th month: Minnie Riperton.
Guitarist Rory Ronde (aka Kofi Anonymous) and I adore Minnie’s work, and we’d been talking about doing a cover for a while. In my personal little storybook, Inside My Love (by Minnie and Leon Ware) is jotted down as one of the best songs ever written: so layered and intricate, so delicately light yet filled to the brim with divine sensuality… We were both delighted to play this song together, I hope you can hear and feel our deepest respect and admiration in this tribute to one of our favorite Fleurs of the musical Garden.
We heard about Amy Winehouse’s tragic demise right before recording this take, and Rory dedicated it both to her and Minnie: two unique songstresses who have graced us with their extraordinary talent before passing on to the next Garden. May they bloom in love and light.
Thank .you
I need to get up early tomorrow and yet here I am, almost 2 am, writing to you, writing to me. I still have and need the temporary day jobs to support my dream. But the dream has expanded. I’ve got my eye on Los Angeles, and LA has got her eye on me (Laurel Canyon!). We met briefly at the end of 2010, but this intense month was all we needed to fall madly in love: what an amazing place! The electric energy of a town filled with passionate dream seekers, the sweet souls I spent time with, the music! The music!!! I’ve gained focus in my work, my music, my writing: I know what my goal is, I know where I’m going, even though I’m ready for life to take me by surprise (please, Life: surprise me!!).
I am surrounded, embraced, by a warm and dedicated team of people I lovingly call “Sexual Chocolate“: my people, my friends, my crew. I am pushing hard, because I fall apart when I don’t follow my passion: I need to sing or I don’t feel right. But they are pushing hard for my dream because they believe in me. Just that. They just do. When I get tired and frustrated, when I’m feeling “meh” and I’m ready to fling my drive out the window, they’re all still there. And that circle of support has expanded, too.
Two Blue Monsters from Canada Sesame Street made me a facebook “Like” page, including a bio that is so beautifully written, and so humbling, I just want to run around my apartment, jump on my bed and hide under the covers while bouncing up and down. They are fully responsible for the page and post whatever they want to post, videos they like and whatever they feel is worth sharing. As my own personal facebook page is called www.facebook.com/jayanti.me (feel free to add me as a fb homie), I thought it would be cool to name the facebook Like page www.facebook.com/jayanti.you. We used the .you page to host my Revolution in B-Minor live stream, and the Blue Monsters monitored the chat while I was performing, providing live info about the songs I did. And I plan on doing more livestreams in the future (studio sessions as well as live shows) and I would love for this to be a place for song requests and (random) questions about my art.
I got featured worldwide on the YouTube homepage about a week ago and I was chosen as one of four Fresh Faces of July on YouTube’s Music Tuesdays channel. It gained me over 100,000 new views on my no budget video Girl from Mars, and the response has been overwhelming and so loving! People who have been following me on YouTube since the Life is a Musical videos, homies I hadn’t talked to in a while, folks I met in LA 9 months ago, have been writing me messages, that I’m on the right path, how happy they are for me, not to give up, that they’re behind me and have full faith in me. Wow.
Thank you.
Revolution in B-Minor
My mini-concert at a Revolution in B-Minor at Grounds in Rotterdam was the perfect venue for me to share my songs and lyrics in an intimate setting with guitar magician Kofi Anoymous by my side, while broadcasting the show live on my livestream channel. People from all over the world (Canada, Korea, US, UK) tuned into my little party and chatted with me during the break and afterwards: intimate, reloaded!
I started my set with Indulge, a song I wrote when I was 15. It’s a fictional tale of love at first sight, including a hug and kiss that lived inside my mind… . This song came to me at once, from beginning to end, while I was sitting in my bedroom, dreaming of some magical romance in my future: wishful thinking poured into melodies and words. The song is now included as one of the four Fresh Faces of July on YouTube’s Music Tuesdays along with my no-budget music video Girl from Mars!
The second song of the first set was the only cover I did that night: For the Love of You, my 2nd rendition of this beautiful Isley Brothers song. The first time was with a full band (and what a band that was!!) during my trip to LA. I had a poll on facebook, asking my fb homies what song they’d like me to sing at my upcoming acoustic show and this song won by a landslide, and I’m glad it did, cause I love to sing this song!
I started the second set with a ballad version of High on Life, originally an uptempo song I wrote with producer Al Mar (we also created Girl from Mars together), a song about my outlook on life. We were arranging the song and slowed it down to really work on every note, when we realized it would also work as a ballad. When I got booked for the Revolution in B-Minor gig, with the objective of stripping down your songs to the core, I decided to do the ballad version of this song with a guitarist, as the chords work beautifully on strings.
Nightlight is a song I wrote with the guitarist, Kofi Anonymous and this was our first time performing our song together. The story is: I’m in bed, anxiously waiting for my lover to enter the room. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, so I don’t want to miss a moment of him and want him to see me as soon as he comes in. Thus… I leave my nightlight on.
I concluded the night with my song Girl from Mars. The music video got featured on YouTube’s homepage (worldwide!) last week, which gained us an extra 100,000 views!
Keeping you Post-it!!
Happy New Decade! Happy New Moment!
Hello!! I came back from LA on my birthday, November 17th, closed my eyes for a bit to get out of my jet lag and was fortunate enough to roll right into a full time 9 to 5 in Rotterdam. I took on a day job to save money to go back to my new home: Los Angeles. 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day: it’s pretty difficult to pull myself together at night, be vulnerable and open, and pour out songs and pixie dust and all that magical, silly stuff I love. But how sweet it is to be able to work towards my goal, towards my dream… It feels so good!
And LA… Oh, LA! Yes, I got sick the first week because of the smog, but the rest of my trip was as healthy to my spirit as pure oxygen. The new friends I met, finally seeing my old friends again, what a breath of fresh air that was! I truly made a new family, away from home, the whole experience was so genuine and warm. We keep in touch and it’s funny, some of them have been coming to Holland for shows and distance feels like a technicality, an illusion even. And it is. I really feel like I could live there and will make it my home soon. I have no idea how it’s going to happen and when, but I do believe that me putting in the effort, giving it all I have, will help turn the key and my door will open.
In the meantime, I am here in Rotterdam, working every day (and night!), writing songs and planning more videos. The Girl From Mars video has over 40,000 views already, the response has been incredible! It was made featured video on YouTube, 159 people made it their favorite video on YT, it got posted on lots of blogs and facebook pages, people are still sending me messages and leaving comments… Wow, thank you!! I was also made YouTube partner, which enabled me to enhance my YouTube page, add photos and clickable buttons for this blog, facebook and twitter. I’m talking to promotors here in Rotterdam for gigs and some of the most incredibly gifted people in LA are working on music for me. It’s absolutely not easy to keep myself motivated sometimes, with all the bills I need to pay, getting very little sleep and the visa being a challenge. And then I talk to my friends and family, open my email and there’s another stream of lovely messages from people I do and do not know and I feel so many hands on my back, keeping me from falling and even pushing me forward. Every single “like”, every comment, every smile, every hug and every friend request pulls me closer to my destiny and I thank you. I am continuously sending you the brightest light I can ignite and the warmest love I can conjure. I hope you can feel it the way I feel you.
Feel free to add me on facebook and go to my “Fly me to the Moon –> LA” album to see my photographic LA story.
Follow me on twitter and open my yfrog photo album for more mundane to magical picture stories.
Painting this town blue!
I am in love with LA. So much talent, so many sweet spirits! I’ve been running around every day, meeting people, observing, learning, breathing it all in and of course singing. That is why I’m here. I did a rendition of the Isley Brothers’ For The Love Of You at RedWhite&Bluezz and was incredibly fortunate to sing with some of the most amazing musicians out there: Herman Jackson (keys), G-Mack (guitar), Stanley Randolph (drums) and of course my good friend, Brandon Brown (bass)!
Painting the town Blue!
A lot of people warned me about LA, fake people, superficial, plastic, short term, fleeting. And maybe it’s because I’m meeting the Brandon Brown approved people and also seeing the friends I knew before I came out here, but I am meeting such lovely people here. The total opposite of superficial, really endearing, people who go straight to the core and talk about real things. People who remember you from last time and hug you like you’re their long lost daughter. Maybe it’s because I’m meeting musicians. Maybe it’s because you create your own world, teach people how to treat you by staying true to your values, talk about the things you want to talk about. Brandon said LA is a place that puts a spotlight on who you are and magnifies it, and I think this is true. People are intensely passionate here, and I love that.
I’ve had a lot of people asking me about my blog and “what’s up with the stories, J?”, so I promise to write more during my stay in LA. I need to go now, going to a show at Stevie’s! Be back soon!
Girl from Mars – the music video
The day before I spread my wings and fly to LA, my very first real music video drops and honestly, I’m so happy right now I don’t even need wings or a plane! Feels like I really just came flying down from Mars! I’m afloat! Soaring high!
My brilliant best friends Winand and Vinod Singh are responsible for conjuring the concept of every scene, finding ways to manually and cerebrally execute their ideas. We started out with brainstorm sessions, the twins with paper and pen in hand, while I looked from one to the other, wide eyed and amazed. The things they come up with! Because they know me so well (and of course, because they’re so talented and smart!), they visualized the theme of my song perfectly: seeing things from a different perspective, in a different light, and giving your love freely, for we all come from the same source made entirely of that same love. And we loved making this video, gave it our all! Our all came down to a bucket of paint, 7 rolls of DUCT tape, 1 roll of barrier tape, 253 tea lights and high spirits.
intro
So peculiar, I’m this girl from Mars…
I bought a bucket of white paint, which the guys used to write JAYANTI on a crosswalk around 6 am on a Sunday morning. It took them exactly 12 minutes, and I was scared the police would show up the whole time. But they didn’t! There were some taxi drivers parked on the side of the street, nodding, waving and even taping our guerilla shoot. It was such a rush, and weeks after, you could still see the paint marks. Naughty.
1st scene – verse 1
You don’t understand me, but you really do…
We shot this scene on some stairs outside, the guys used 7 rolls of colored DUCT tape to make a moon and some stars, which cost them 6 hours, leg pain and back strain. We featured my cousins Rosa, Samuel, Priya and Uma in the scene, and had them walk up and down the stairs using the special gravity defying superpowers we all possessed before our 13th birthdays (and maybe some of us still do, and in that case I say: “Congratulations and welcome to our secret society!”).
2nd scene – verse 2
I’m holding a fire, while my hands are cool…
Vinod spotted this empty exhibition space, and asked the people of Roodkapje whether we could use this room for our video. He pulled some strings and we got in! The twins used a roll of barrier tape to offset the clean ethereal white room and gave you a clue to what I am. Martian, perhaps, but ultimately, just a girl.
3rd scene – bridge
I’m so peculiar, outer space, new to you, true to you…
This scene was shot in an empty office space, courtesy of Schieblock. Winand passionately explained the concept of the video and they were very generous in handing us the keys to the largest room, which we were able to use for two nights. We ignited 253 tea lights to show you where I came from and I felt like I was dancing in a fairytale… :o>
Vinod, Winand and I would like to thank the sorcerers who waved their wands to make this video possible, and believed in our project enough to lend us their time, space and designer outfits. Thank you all so much for being so generous and warm-hearted!
- Roodkapje (exhibition room verse 2)
- Schieblock (empty office space bridge)
- Wendela van Dijk (outfits intro, verse 2 and bridge)
Big thank you to *you*, for caring enough about me as an artist and how we made this video, to read this ridiculously long post all the way to the end. I see you, and you’re beautiful.
Simply Beautiful [R&B Remix]
Second remix! Dean Howard did a mashup of Al Green’s and my vocals, and I love what he did!! Anyone who decides to remix both Mr. Wonka and Mr. Jackson (3 times!!) is obviously following that same yellow brick road I’m on, so I’m very thankful and honored he wanted to take a crack (his words, love that…) at remixing my rendition! Thank you, sir!!
Simply Beautiful R&B Remix by Dean Howard
Simply Beautiful [Eye Refuse Remix]
My rendition of Al Green’s Simply Beautiful (with Kofi Anonymous aka Rory Ronde on guitar) got remixed by one of my YouTube friends from the ATL, Jermaine aka YaKinfolkJStylesOO9 for Eye Refuse Ent. When he heard the song, he sent me a message and asked me whether he could do a remix and I was so humbled and honored! Thank you, Jermaine!!
Simply Beautiful remix by Eye Refuse Ent. Love the artwork!!
He was not the only one, drummer Wes aka CB010 had already ripped the song off of YouTube to do a remix before I’d even uploaded the mp3!! I can’t wait to hear what he’s done with the song, but as he’s busy listening to jazz and watching soccer with his newborn baby girl, I will gladly wait a little longer… :o)
Live recording of Simply Beautiful
If you’re inspired to do a remix of my Simply Beautiful rendition, hit me up: hi@jayanti.me and I’ll send you the separate wav files. I would love to hear what you make of it! Feel free unravel it, put it back together, leave your mark on it and make it your art. Send me your upload and I will post your remix on my blog, twitter and facebook, keep track of all these updates -in real time- on www.jayanti.me. If you need photos for the artwork, download hi-res pictures here.
Please include: Vocals by Jayanti – Guitar by Rory Ronde - www.jayanti.me in the credits, thank you!! :o)
Free download, hit me up for separate wav files!
Giddy!
One more day of summer, and less than a month to go until I step into my moon boots, leave Mars and fly to the Moon: Los Angeles for one full Moon cycle (or, you know, a month…)!!
We’re finishing the Girl From Mars music video, shooting the last scene this week! Vinod and Winand Singh were like thunder and lightning at our brain storms, not only coming up with the craziest ideas, but actually finding ways to execute them. It is a no budget video with a rich premise: a different perspective, seeing things in a new way, what you see may not be what you get, peeling the layers to find your gem.
A new perspective on my face..
Besides the video shoot this weekend, I also have a music session for my song High on Life with Al Mar, to work on the ballad version of that song and I’m recording the final vocals for Nightlight with Rory next week. Brandon and I came up with a concept for a song we’ll write together when I’m in LA.
These past few weeks have been very inspiring. I saw Janelle Monáe live for the second time (third time will be next month in LA!), which was nothing less than mindblowing (she is currently on her US tour with Of Montreal: go witness the magic if you can!!) and met up with my friend Chuck. We listened to Simon & Garfunkel and their eerie take on the 7 o’clock news, dissected Airtight’s Revenge and strolled around Amsterdam in search of books (Freedom, Believer #73 & McSweeney’s #34: thanks Chuck!). Chuck taped me singing “Tape You” at a sports bar right before we were scarred for life by the display of a bunch of mad Agatha Trunchbull looking, non-blinking female rugby players singing their anthem on multiple tv screens. Scary.
I’m rambling. I tend to do that when I’m giddy and excited. I’m going to LA!!!!
Wooooooooooooo!!!
Simply Beautiful
Friday the 13th was one splendid day, filled with a thunderstorm, lots of sun, wonderful vibes and triple scorpio energy*! Winand -and his sexy camera- joined me for my music session with Kofi Anonymous (Rory Ronde). We finished the basic form of our song Nightlight (remember me writing and recording the very first draft of the chorus?), so that the instrumentalists can record their magic under my vocals, after which I’ll record the final vocals. After working on our song Nightlight, Rory and I decided to do an acoustic rendition of one of my favorite songs: Simply Beautiful, by Al Green.
Video by Winand Singh
*Rory, Winand and I are scorpio’s… not a big deal, just thought it added extra flavor. Yeah, maybe not. Still think it’s pretty neat. :o)
While July passed me by…
It’s been a while. It’s been quite a while, an eventful while, definitely worth the while!
I’ve been going through turbulent times, with extreme highs and lows. Leaving the secure path of becoming a psychologist to follow my passion does mean I struggle financially and get disappointed when people I work with seem to take it less seriously than I do. People I loved to work with, people I clicked with, people who inspired me to dive into the magic. I mourn lost songs and lost projects, adding them to the huge collection I built over the years of songs unheard, unfinished, unrecorded: Jayanti’s Double Album of Lost Songs. I hope and trust these songs will be given a rebirth and the right people will cross my path so that my lyrics, melodies and compositions will come alive as they are in my mind. But even through the lows, I feel this constant state of happiness, knowing there is no light without the dark. And the darker it gets, the brighter the light! Almost there!
Almost There
And the light is glorious! Skyrocketing highs, dazzling altitudes! This fall, I will be going to LA for a month!! A month!!! I am so excited, so happy, so thankful, so ecstatic, there is nothing that could pull down the corners of this continuous inner smile beaming from my soul. My first vacation in 10 years, this gives a new ring to work hard, play hard. And I will play hard! I’m meeting up with my friend, Brandon Brown, bass player extraordinaire and his band members and friends. We will jam in real life as we now do on Skype, sharing the deep love we both have for Michael Jackson (one thing we have in common is that as kids, he learned how to play the bass and I learned how to sing by doing Jackson 5 songs), Stevie Wonder and, well, MUSIC! We will go to Disneyland to see Captain EO!! I will see my cousin La Toya after almost 10 years, I can’t wait to watch her perform, she is a bad ass dancer and choreographer and we have always wanted to work together, and I believe that we will. Yes, I am incredibly excited and feel the blessings upon me. I am intensely grateful!!
At Vin’s house, while Win was sleeping…
Another celestial, Martian high: we started shooting my very first music video for the song Girl From Mars!! We will be shooting this month, and hopefully release the video in September. I got up at 3 am last night (Was it last night?? What day is it?!?), so we could shoot the opening scene at dawn. It was a one take guerilla shot, and one taxi driver even took pictures with his phone, while his colleagues stepped out of their cars to see what was going on, all with encouraging smiles. It was such a thrill!! Winand and Vinod Singh are shooting and directing the video (and doing a cameo in this first scene), and they also came up with the concept. We will shoot the rest of the scenes in two weeks and I can’t wait for you guys to see it! Yes! Almost there!!
Music & Michael – Ascension to Magic
June 25th.
Exactly one year ago I was recording my song Girl From Mars under a full Moon. I was in the recording booth and decided to take a break, when my phone rang in my hand. It was Orfeo, telling me about Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest. I called my mom, Jackson 5 fan from day 1. I called Urdao. I leaned on Win. I went back into the vocal booth, I had to do something, my mind was numb and frantic, woozy and focused, all at once. When they called me back from the vocal booth they told me he had passed away. My knees buckled. I felt like I would dissolve, wash away with my tears, blow away with the sighs of disbelief, eyes wide as if staring harder would help me grasp the news, see it, feel it. I leaned on Win. Mitchell held my hand. Almar hugged me. They all asked me whether I wanted to stop, it would be ok if I wanted to stop, we were all dazed, the world was dazed and you could sense it… I felt I needed to finish, I took a deep breath, reached into my soul and blew it into my song.
Reach In
My mom and I went to all his concerts, I started singing Ben, Ain’t No Sunshine and I Wanna Be Where You Are at weddings and talent shows when I was 5 (afro wig and everything!), I saw Moonwalker in a movie theatre and I thought it was the most spectacular thing ever… People knew about my mom’s love for MJ and how much I adored him, so it became a running gag that he was my real dad. Growing up without a positive father figure to look up to, I must say this joke wasn’t far from the truth, strange as it may seem. I truly learned how to sing by listening to his songs, over and over again, with my headphones on. I remember my mom telling me to really listen to the way he was feeling the song and made you feel it too. He was my mentor, my idol, my role model. And there’s a good chance he was yours, too. He was the musical father to an entire generation of kids, reminding us that magic is alive, teaching us to love and give. He was magic personified. He is magic.
Music and Me from Moonwalker
I will never forget the day I had the chance to look into Michael’s eyes. It was on his day off during the HIStory tour in Amsterdam. We stood a few feet from him, and he literally glowed, shining as if he were on stage, without any extra lights on him that night but his own. Light emanated from his spirit. It was real. We all saw it. It was as if the universe was following him with a natural spot light. A true star if ever the world knew one. Naturally illuminated.
Music and Me – live
I love you, Michael Joseph Jackson. Thank you for teaching us about music and magic, kindness and humility, sharing your gift and grace with the world. I celebrate your ascension to heaven one year ago, for you are home at last, no longer in search of the world that you came from:
Childhood
MTV Voters Shout Out!
So here it is, my list of shout outs to everyone who has voted for me in the MTV Ray Ban Battle by rating my Girl From Mars video with 5 stars! I have more votes than names, so if you don’t see your name in this list, and you did vote for me, or maybe even asked your friends to vote, please leave a comment with your name(s) or send an email to hi@jayanti.me and I will add you to the shout out list. If you would like me to add a link to your name (of your website, facebook, youtube channel, twitter), I’ll gladly do that, so let me know!
Thank you all so much!!! The Valtifest festival -which this battle is a part of- will be held in September, so you can still vote. I will keep you updated, and maybe, with your help, I will get a feature on MTV!! Fingers & toes (& tongues?) crossed!
Acha (mama!)
Björn (1st on facebook!)
Nagali (1st thru email!)
Win (= my external harddrive & made this vid)
Vin (we will post your Indulge spoof, be scared!)
Wesley (beat knockin dad to be!)
Silvana (via Win’s link – farm!)
Marca (via Win – nice to meet you!!)
Molgerd (real recognize real)
Jeffrey (video bro)
Alex (B. Black)
Farah (5* as you are!)
Erika (my hoodie & musical gem pusher)
Steve (Erika made him)
Steph (Erika made her – GTC member)
Priscilla (she got me!)
Ouxu (fellow crop top ‘do rocker)
Tanchita (1 of the Tinkerbell nick originators!)
La Toya (sooner than later!)
Caspar (tweetincarnator)
Angie (likes this – heals with food)
Sharine (oops again?! yay!)
MūSiz (T2U Renaissance Man)
Michael (F. mad hatter)
Wilma (yes latte soon!)
Mila (birthday planner)
Susan (+1000 forwards, so thank you 1000x!!)
Oesha (msn link tnx!!)
Truu Soul (Cardiac Arrest)
Jacquinn Johnson (poetically correct)
Sharmila (remember Paris? lol-geez-cough)
Stacey (exhilarated by law.. oolala!)
Sophieheartspotter (MJ and Harry, lovely!)
RBCHILD4EV (great music channel)
logosfabula (somewhere over the rainbow)
tcade25 (anime & music)
wrldtvlr2 (beautiful MJ vids)
TUNEin2BLISS (waves all around)
TheCalebson (sweet lady, sweet music)
jm423 (real voices on this channel!!)
theknkjohnathans (knowledge)
youriish (likes it on yt & fb!)
ThatKidFromRussia (hiphop hoo-russia!)
Dorothy (MJ!!!)
BigbankX (vibe with Lee..)
Saskia (ah yes, usb sticks.. you rock!!)
Poonam (Master Pookie)
Rinesh (Mister Pookie)
Pookie’s Friends (expansion!)
Cher (+ Lion & Hira by proxy)
Nashira (worth a try? but once is great!!)
Soye (Tang Soo Do, uhuh..)
Djavan (lil bro who likes to jump off things +421!)
Desiré (sol the night away)
Amin (Pan Afrikanz Warrior *3)
Robert (P. my non-homie)
Brandon (puts the Captain in EO! Skype jams!)
Jennifer (Mrs Jones)
Michael (C. defying lingual barriers)
Karlos (no conditioner macho man)
Greg (El Hoggy – comic relief Master)
Almar (Mr Mars, forever 21)
Rory (Nightlight & sushi)
Rokesh (IT guru)
Ratna (sweetest mathemagician)
Marcel Groot (Blushing Man)
Jaouad (fashionisto)
Annemarie (fashionista)
Randell (fellow nocturnal brotha)
TwilightForestLight (peace & Isis)
You can still vote for me and help me get featured on MTV! Here’s how:
Click here
Slap my Girl From Mars video with 5 stars
Hit the “stem” button.
Done! Thank you sooo much!!!
Indulge (Part 2)
In July 2009, after having dinner with my friends, they asked me to sing something. We debated over the right song for me to sing: Baby Be Mine, The Way You Make Me Feel, Girl From Mars, even My Heart Will Go On (naw…) were thrown in there, until Cas asked me about the song I used to do back when we all met: Indulge.
This was my very first YouTube video (Life is a Musical!) and we even got featured on abduzeedo for the first time (Weak also got featured later on), a Brazilian inspirational website for artists. I did the first verse and chorus and promised to do the second verse when the time was right. Today was it! We’d had our eye on these colored columns for a minute, they seemed the perfect addition to the first Indulge video at the restaurant. I hope you will indulge in the lovely colors: peach & lavender…
I wrote this song when I was 15. I was sitting on my bed one afternoon and started singing it from beginning to end, the complete song came to me all at once. Funny thing about this song is, I met my closest friends during the days I performed with Indulge, including Win & Vin (my photos, videos, website) and Al Mar (my producer, co-writer, pianist). Al Mar has even done some vocal harmonies to this song at some of the shows, cause back then, he was a pianist and vocalist with a close harmony group and we were in a hip hop musical together. So Al Mar and I will definitely include Indulge in the Exotic Tinkerbell Music Tale, along with Girl from Mars, High on Life, Nightlight (with Kofi Anonymous) and a bunch of new songs that Al Mar and I are working on. Indulging in the lovely lovin’: inspiration galore!!
In case you missed it, here is Indulge (Part 1)
All Life is a Musical videos (a series of me singing anywhere: bookstore, subway, roof…)
Exotic Tinkerbell – Photo Mixtape *night*
I hereby release the last picture on my ET Photo Mixtape: *night*. And then tomorrow, around this time, my website will launch with Exotic Tinkerbell the Photo Album [13 new photos]!
And in this picture, I am wearing my own jumpsuit! All other outfits courtesy of Van Dijk.
Exotic Tinkerbell – Photo Mixtape *dusk*
Here it is, the third photo on the Exotic Tinkerbell Photo Mixtape: *dusk*.. The last one will be posted tomorrow and then it’s time for the full Photo Album on my new website!! I’m so excited for you to you see it!! Wooooooo!!
Exotic Tinkerbell – Photo Mixtape *noon*
The second track on the visual mixtape, strolling into the afternoon..
All Exotic Tinkerbell photos by Vinod Singh and Winand Singh for the collective Me We. Makeup by Yohana Yfara. Styling by Van Dijk.
Exotic Tinkerbell – Photo Mixtape *dawn*
Starting today, I will post a new photo daily until it’s time for the launch of my new website on Saturday May 15th. A Photo Mixtape as a prelude to the Photo Album to be released on the website in four days. Photos have melodies, too… listen and you will see! This is the first of four previews, taking you from morning to night, bubbly to intense. The different sides of me: Exotic Tinkerbell.
A full gallery will be displayed on the website, which will serve as a hub where you’ll be updated -in realtime- on my tweets, facebook status updates, youtube videos, new songs and of course, my blog posts.
ET in Spring
Yay, I got a haircut today!! Another take on Exotic Tinkerbell, which I thought up a few days ago. Change is good.
Hair by Thaïs: I may have found the new love of my hair’s life!
High on Life [introducing Sexual Chocolate]
I always look forward to my Friday Pow Wows [E! ;o>], when Almar (aka Al Mar, producer and co-writer of Girl From Mars and amazing Piano Man), Mitchell (Mr Close Harmony Vocal Arrangement Smoothifier and Amazing Piano Man) and I get together to work on our songs. We always have a wonderful time, playing Almar’s beats really loud, dancing around, cracking jokes, and using that great energy for our music. I love these guys!! Yesterday, we worked on one of our new songs, High on Life. Their friend Björn joined us, so I shoved my Flip cam in his hands and he did such a great job in capturing the creative process: thank you so much, dude!!
Also, we decided that my team and future band will bear the name Sexual Chocolate. The guys were all for it! And if you don’t know, now you know! Sexual Chocolate! Yes Win… you have VISION!! :oD
Photos / Ray is hot!
I just added a new category for my photos and it is ever so eloquently called “photos”. Yes indeed. All photos I post on my blog are in HD, full sized and eagerly awaiting your clicks (lame..). The category section is in the second column, next to this one. Please let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on my blog and I’ll get back to you!
PS: I normally don’t pay a lot of attention to butts (unless there’s nothing there, that usually does register), but Raymond’s of Princess and the Frog is the bizniz straight up and square down! And he’s hella handsome.*
*Disclaimer: I’ve been sleeping all day with a killer migraine and may be suffering from nocturnal delirium.
