Music Exchange Masterclass with RJ Benjamin - Understanding you Voice with Joox Music

Sat Jun 2, 10:30 - Sat Jun 2, 12:30

Paul Bothners Music Claremont

ABOUT

Understanding The Voice
By RJ Benjamin

Using various video's as well as diagrams this masterclass  will help singers, musicians, choir masters and really anybody fascinated with singing to better understand their voice as well as understand everybody else's.

  • How vocal sound is created (Footage will be used to assist in the explanation of this) 
  • How breathing affects sound creation (Several breathing exercises will be used and a few volunteers will be required to show examples) 
  • Why our voices are unique 
  • Vocal range and registers (This is particularly important in teaching singers to know and understand their vocal range and how singing outside of this can cause serious damage and be detrimental to a singing career, Footage will be used to assist in the explanation of this) 
  • Warm up sequence (the attendees will do a standard warmup sequence) 
  • Explanation of Vocal Pedagogy (methodology) and which ones to avoid.  
  • Vocal health (this will include advice on how to keep your vocal chords as healthy as possible as well as some footage showing vocal damage particularly in the form of nodules) 
  • Q & A
Date: Saturday, 2 June 2018 
Venue: Paul Bothner Music Claremont  
Time: 10:30am to 12:30am
Cost: R50.00 for tickets purchased online or R70.00 at the door
Enquiries: 021 674 4030 - Paul Bothner Music Claremont

RJ BENJAMIN -BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

RJ BENAJAMIN’S 2017 Biography
(Abridged version)
 
Since his last, self-imposed, sabbatical that ended in 2013 RJ Benjamin’s creative and collaborative world has quite simply exploded!
 
Armed with The Fifth Story, RJ Benjamin’s latest 13-track studio album, the award-winning composer, songwriter, producer, musical director and teacher continues to blend a rich brew of soul, pop, hip-hop, funk and jazz into songs filled with reflective storytelling and tailor-made grooves, all produced by RJ himself. “It’s a good mix of happy and reflective songs,” he unpacks. “Each mood punctuates the next in stark contrast.”
 
The Fifth Story arrives with last year’s smash hit single “Dali Wami”, featuring Wanda Baloyi. Better still it also includes his 2017 reworking of “Never Give Up”, and “All Tied Up” (featuring Emtee). A collection of songs that usher in the familiar, while introducing the reimagined and refined.
 
In 2002, televison personality Caz Abrahams accompanied Big Brother SA season 1 contestant Irvan (Swirve) Damon to a singing lesson he had booked with RJ. Soon after this chance encounter, Abrahams signed RJ to his independent label ‘One Up Music’ and supported the recording of RJ’s first three-song demo. Two of these songs would eventually end up on his first album, namely the title track “Who I Am” and “C U In My Dreams”, which became RJ’s first radio single. Abrahams entered into a joint venture with independent label ‘Ghetto Ruff’ who went on to release RJ’s debut album Who I Am in 2004, shortly after RJ had featured as the vocal coach on the music reality show Project Fame.
 
The critically acclaimed Who I Am featured collaborations with Tamara Dey, Amu, Ishmael and Pitch Black Afro. RJ wrote & produced the majority of the album, while 37mph, Bongani Fassie & Craig Massive lent their skills as collaborating producers. The album gained a nomination for Best Adult Contemporary at 2005 SAMA Awards.
 
His 2008 release, Swimming In The Soul Of Music, represented a more sophisticated artist, and showed off the hard work he’d poured into his craft. It went on to win a Metro FM award for Best R&B Album in the same year. Zubz, Nothende, Slikour, Dan Patlanksy and HHP all added their chemistry to an already powerful base of brilliance.
 
In 2009 RJ released Change The World with Soul Candi. An instant hit and an anthem on radio stations and dance floors all over the South Africa, the track received both a Channel O and SAMA nomination for Best Dance Video and Song of the Year respectively.
  
Following the huge success of “Change the World”, RJ released the album House Bound in 2010. The album showcased his vocal and song-writing skills in the House music genre which, ultimately, returned him to his RnB and soul roots when he released “soulified” versions of the same tracks on the album Inside shortly after . Inside is a reminder to people of his artistic versatility. In RJ’s words, “I’ve taken thirteen house tracks that I’ve sung on over the past five years and re-interpreted them in unexpected ways.” The album features collaborations with Dr Duda, DJ Clock, Danny K and Who I Am collaborator 37MPH.
 
Late in 2012, a new chapter began in RJ’s career when he reprised his television career, becoming Musical Director of the reality show ‘Clash Of The Choirs SA’. The show received a SAFTA award for ‘Best International Format Show’ in its second season. He has since worked as Musical Director on Idols SA Season 9, In-house Mentor for Idols SA from Seasons 10 to Season 12, Vocal Coach on the Voice SA Season 1 and Musical Director of The Voice Nigeria Season 1 and Season 2.
 
The 5th Story EP, released in 2015, was the teasing precursor to today’s complete album reveal. The EP featured five tracks - “So High” featuring Can Skylark, “Nobody Else”, “Only Ever Loved You” featuring Ziyon, “Never Give Up” and “All Falls Down” featuring Proverb.
 
The newly-released, complete album The 5th Story showcases the fact that RJ has sincerely arrived at a new and exciting stage in his career, and further cements his legacy on the South African music landscape.
 
For interviews and more information, please contact:
Triple M Entertainment
Martin Myers
E-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +27 83 448 4475
 

RJ BENJAMIN ALBUM COVER FOR HIS LATEST RELEASE -THE 5TH STORY

READ ABOUT JOOX -A FANTASTIC STREAMING SERVICE WHO ARE SUPPORTING THE MASTERCLASSES



JOOX is South Africa’s newest streaming service, but how will this new challenger carve out its own frontier while battling the heavyweights? We chatted to Tamara Japp-Shama, head of business development for Tencent Africa, for the full story!

Though titans such as Apple Music and Google Play Music have touched down in South Africa, there’ve been few local endeavours that have managed to marry together the convenience of a digital streaming service while offering unparalleled access to the local music scene. 2017, however, has introduced us to one such new player in the form of JOOX.

Backed by Tencent (the same company behind WeChat) JOOX has staked its claim by focussing on local music tailored for the South African market and even offers one of five online radio stations explicitly for this purpose.

To better get the inside track on how JOOX plans to carve out its own frontier in South Africa and usher in a rich new offering for fans of local music, we fired an array of questions at Tamara Japp-Shama – head of business development at Tencent Africa.

Tell us a little about the history behind the decision to launch JOOX in South Africa.

The decision to launch JOOX in SA was spurred on by the desire to bring a music streaming service that speaks to the local South African market. We are able to capitalize on trends as they go viral. Prioritizing local music benefits not only for the artists but users as well.

For our listeners new to JOOX; what’s the key value proposition and why should they be interested??

Content curation is without a doubt the Number One feature in JOOX – we have a dedicated team that engages and participates in local music culture – what is currently trending and making waves in South Africa.  A great example of this is the track ‘Tholukuthi Hey’ from Killer Kau which trended on social media as it was being co-created together with Euphonik and their fans on Twitter. The track was finalised on a Friday night and released on JOOX before any other platform first thing Monday morning.

What differentiates JOOX – beyond featuring local content – from international services such as, say, Google Play Music?

As our tag phrase ‘Live Your Music’ suggests, we offer music streaming as an experience! JOOX offers users rich multimedia experiences including video interviews, album reviews and behind the scenes footage from studio to concerts.

How is JOOX tailored for the South African market?

Our home page (the ‘Discover’ page) is merchandised to first and foremost feature local content and any international content mirrors that, playlisted on local radio or trending on social environments. JOOX prioritises playlists that are comprised solely of local content across various popular genres and music eras.

Our partnerships with local artists mean more in-app promotions while user generated playlists, which includes bespoke and curated views on sub-genres, have their own section. We are in the process of launching user-generated playlist competitions as well promoting these on our social media channels.

How is JOOX structured between free and paid for subscriptions?

Free users are limited in functionality in that track-skipping is limited to 6 per hour and users can only listen in shuffle mode. Audio adverts are also present within the ‘Freemium’ user experience.

Paid VIP users have full functionality and most importantly, can save their favourite tracks and playlists in an offline mode which enables access to music without having to connect to Wi-Fi.

What have been some of the earliest challenges in launching JOOX on our shores?

Without a doubt data costs and the education around how to manage data has been the biggest challenge. We are investing in ways to help customers pay for their music bundles without having to rely on credit or debit cards.

Let’s talk local.

How is JOOX gearing up to work or showcase local artists?

JOOX believe in empowering local artists to engage in a more valuable way with their fans. Using social media campaigns, competitions and future multimedia functionality, The service will become the preferred way for fans to engage with and follow their favourite local artists. Our ambition is for super fans to make themselves known to local artists and be rewarded for their passion, commitment and loyalty.

How has Tencent Africa studied the listening habits of South Africans? What interesting findings have been revealed?

Based on our market research, which included surveys and focus groups, we believe South African music tastes include a variety of both global and local content, however we’ve realised users would like to discover more local content through curated playlists.  For instance, our range of ‘Mzansi’ playlists are becoming increasingly popular.

What focus has been made for South African charts? How have users thus far reacted to the presence of specific streams such as Afrikaans or Gospel music?

Our JOOX users have a diverse taste in music and because of this we have curated differently themed playlists focusing on key South African genre/culture specific tastes. That said, as the JOOX audience grows we look forward to engaging with our followers and finding out what other specific music tastes (for instance Choral Gospel as opposed to Southern Gospel) they have and how we can better deliver content.

On the subject of platforms:

Beyond Android and iOS, will we see JOOX available on other operating systems in the future? Specifically, can we expect to see JOOX land on the desktop?

JOOX will only be supporting iOS and Android users for the time being, but will be launching JOOX on desktop in the upcoming months.

In South Africa, the high price of data remains an issue – how is JOOX approaching sensitivity for data-strapped consumers? Are there any deals afoot between mobile networks, or could the service one day be zero-rated?

Yes, within two months of launching JOOX, we’ve partnered with Vodacom through their ‘Meg Your Day’ campaign and continue to find new and innovative ways to educate customers about managing their data for music streaming, and how to benefit from great data deals. JOOX encourages its users to stream their music playback on Low, Mid or High streaming quality depending on their data needs.

In the future…

Now that JOOX has launched, what’s next on the horizon?

JOOX aims to be the first application that comes to mind when users think ‘local music’. If you love a song, artist or band we want to be top-of-mind when users want listen and connect with their favourite artists.  The service will be launching additional multimedia capabilities in the app and are also looking at launching in other African markets in the next fiscal.

How will JOOX absorb feedback from subscribers and listeners in building and developing its product?

We have a dedicated Customer Care team that liaises with the various departments within JOOX relaying user feedback, comments and requests.  A great example of this is our lyrics request feature which we monitor weekly and can prioritise which tracks to overlay lyrics onto. We also have established processes to read through user comments on social regarding everything from ease of registration to naming of in-app sections, playlists and albums which are reviewed.

Can we expect to see JOOX involved in the development of local artists in the future?

Absolutely, this is something we take very seriously and also have a dedicated partner,  TurnUp Music, who assist us in discovering up and coming local artists.

THANK YOU to 
http://bandwidthblog.com/south-africa/joox-south-africa/
 

DIRECTIONS

Music Exchange Masterclass with RJ Benjamin - Understanding you Voice with Joox Music
Paul Bothners Music Claremont
PO 01, Stadium on Main Central Road, South Rd, Claremont, Cape Town, 7890, South Africa
Get Directions