Tag: music

EVA

EVA

by Noemi Capote "Mimi"

Creative Souls, Pam Sheyne and Sarah Bethany’s new vocal duo project EVA, offers sweet nectar music from the heart. 

With transcendental vocals and notable lyrics, Pam Sheyne and Sarah Bethany created EVA in the arms of the Big Island of Hawaii. EVA is pure female divinity, with songs that reflect upon the experience of life, love, and motherhood. 

EVA means to be ALIVE – the LIVING ONE, the bearer of good news, being an activist for what’s right, and a nourisher for the brokenhearted.  EVA is you and me. It’s everyone seeking to unlock the treasures we carry within ourselves to find peace and freedom. EVA has been possible with the assistance of producer Michael Surprenant (Mana Music & Media in Hilo, Hawaii), and arranger, August Eriksmoen.

Pamela Sheyne is a New Zealand born songwriter, producer, mentor, and singer best known for co-writing Christina Aguilera’s global smash debut single “Genie in a Bottle”. A multi platinum songwriter with 50+ million record sales, 100+ platinum sales, Pam has spent the majority of her career writing for other artists. She is a prestigious Ivor Novello Award-winning-songwriter and a 7 times BMI Radio Play Award recipient. Her songs have also been placed in multiple TV shows and films.*

Sarah Bethany is an artist and musician. She’s a prolific songwriter, producer, and composer, with Ave Maria vocals. Her style is Jazz, Blues, and Soulful, with delicate lyrics that touch the heart as an ointment needed to soothe the pain. Sarah’s songs have been featured on TV shows such as “The Game” on Paramount and “Sacrifice” on BET+. She also got to write and record the song for the opening scene of the ABC drama show, “The Company You Keep”.

Pam and Sarah met in 2017 at the Hawai’i Songwriting Festival and became fast friends.  “I Forgive You” was the first song they co-wrote and performed in 2023. Pam says, “It’s a song that holds a mirror to us, so we may accept what cannot be undone, so we can be less hard on ourselves and ultimately shed the hurt through the act of forgiving oneself. We like to write meaningful songs that remind us of our connection as human beings and our capacity for good.”

What started as an a-capella project has become the union of two souls who want to create art together to make a difference in the world. 

“A profound friendship was born,” adds Sarah, reflecting on how they started to complement each other, spending several hours in deep conversations. “We wanted to write songs about the things that mattered to us, our relationships, our surroundings, but mostly our feelings on life and love. Our aim is to put music out there that is uplifting, healing, and loving. I’m blossoming and it’s a gift to do it with Pam as we have a profound soul connection and a sisterhood that’s precious.” 

“EVA has been organically unfolding, I believe we’re being guided with this project, we are both growing spiritually,” the duo describes their artistic and personal development, and how collaboration has been full of surprises.  Pam surprised herself by taking the lead on the guitar in the writing process, and Sarah has honed her voice and musical ear. Working together has taught them to be patient with themselves and to surrender to a new process. 

EVA is the home where twin flame sisters, Pam and Sarah, sow healing light, chiming tender serenity that makes time stand still, —embracing us in the depths of their garden to experience true agape.

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*Excerpt from: Pam’s website https://www.pamelasheyne.com/ & Wikipedia Page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pam_Sheyne

STEVE LANE

STEVE LANE

by Noemi Capote "Mimi"
Steve Lane Creative Souls Featured Reel by Noemi Creative Souls

Those who take action with a generous heart, are those who create entirely new worlds, free of limiting skies. Creative Soul, Steve Lane, is a brilliant entrepreneur and philanthropist with altruistic motives to generate boundless bequests for others. His zealous pursuit is to educate and guide musicians in fulfilling their dreams, free of charge, and ensure that they take action with the proper tools and knowledge as they advance in their careers.

Steve Lane is a music publisher, producer, founder, and executive director of the Florida Songwriters Association (FSA), a 501c3 charity dedicated to providing education, resources, and unwavering support to nurture the talents and dreams of these aspiring artists. With a fervent commitment to fostering creativity and excellence, the Florida Songwriters Association is poised to revolutionize the landscape of music education in Florida. Steve also established Digital 1 Media Services Corp, Digital 1 Productions, and Sync House License to service musicians in their careers. Steve is a Committee Member of the Songwriters and Composer Wing of the Recording Academy. 

His journey began as a road manager for the first contemporary gospel trio group, Trin-I-Tee 5-7. He was involved with top music producers. After leaving as a road manager for the Grammy Award-nominated group, Steve went on to Tower Records, a retail giant, working for their distribution division, Bayside Distribution. He was in charge of shipping CDs and DVDs worldwide through Bayside Distribution until Napster took over and turned them into relics.

Steve joined Ingrooves Distribution, a partner of Universal. He then went to Sony RED independent division for streaming music, RED Music (currently The Orchard), focusing on streaming, getting involved in music distribution and sync licensing.

In 2015, Steve became a direct publisher and distributor, partnering with FUGA Distribution in the Netherlands, and securing intentional sub-publishing agreements with over 80 countries, distributing music through all DSPS (Spotify, Apple, etc.). Through Digital 1 Media and Digital 1 Production services, Steve handles admin, copyright, and royalties, including pitching songs for sync deals through Sync House License (a division of Digital 1 Media Services). They have landed placements in notorious TV and film projects such as “Ms. Marvel”, “Hacks, Sandman”, “United Shades of America”, supervising music for “Zumba Fitness”, and several more projects. In addition, they have a Roku channel, podcast, and YouTube Channel to promote artists.

“As I started to work with independent artists, I realized that they didn’t know the basics of the music business. How to protect your work? How to collect royalties? How to organize metadata? What’s a split sheet? Simple things we need to know to protect the music and career,” explains Steve, adding, “My passion is education. The more I educate you the more you know and the better you will strive.”

Affiliating with Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, Steve hosts annual events, workshops, and programs that assist musicians in structuring their music path. Furthermore, graduates from Full Sail University can get hired for Steve’s production team as camera operators, lighting techs, editors, drone operators, sound engineers, etc. They are taking on film projects and are currently working on a documentary for two-time world-heavy champion Pinklon Thomas.

“Your artistry is your company. You are a walking company. Artists make money and lose it all because they don’t treat themselves as a company.” Steve works closely with executives and experts in the music business, extending his knowledge to guide artists and their careers properly, teaching them how to be protected as artists and their own companies.

One of Steve’s greatest inspirations is his uncle, Clancy Eccles. Eccles was a 1960s music producer in Jamaica who influenced Bob Marley, Third World, and many others. Back in those days, musicians would sign deals with foreign companies to publish and distribute their music collecting the upfront fee, not knowing about publishing royalties and giving away their rights with that signature. Some of the songs Eccles produced went on to be hit records, however, Steve’s uncle died without even knowing there was a wealth of royalties that belonged to him. This fueled Steve’s spirit to help others like his uncle, creating a world where musicians can find a safety net and expand their horizons.

Another one of Steve’s passions is working with children. Affiliated with the Boys & Girls Club, The Florida Songwriters Association facilitates students with studio equipment, and they even got to create the theme song for the club. Thankfully, for the past three years, they’ve been receiving a grant from the Orlando Police Department to support their program. Steve is working diligently to establish a scholarship fund to send a group from the Boys & Girls Club to Full Sail University Labs.

“Being able to offer others an education in music motivates me to keep moving forward to keep helping people,” reiterates Steve, who continues to create more events and programs to reach the entire state of Florida with his noteworthy offerings.

Miami is now bursting with opportunities devised by Steve through the Florida Songwriters Association, partnering with the Hard Rock Cafe in Bayside, Miami, and LAMM Miami. Steve and his team are putting together panels with top leaders in the music field to impart their wisdom to musicians about music publishing and production, royalties and how it works, how to prepare for sync licensing, opportunities to pitch songs for projects, and many other important topics.

Steve’s devoted love of being there for others transcends the paradigm of how music and business are handled. He has crafted a world where musicians of all ages are welcome to receive authentic contributions and tangible achievements. Steve Lane is a beacon for musicians, weaving together melodies into one glorious symphony.

“Be kind. Your time is limited. Other’s time is limited. Help people with the investment to give back. It could be time, to give a piece of advice, whatever you give back that will come back to you in abundance. Don’t be afraid to give.” – Steve Lane

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Stream songs by artists represented by the Florida Songwriters Association.

Ends Of The String

Ends Of The String

by Noemi Capote "Mimi"

How many times have I been here before

Pretending nothing’s wrong

I keep losing layers of my soul 

For a fraction of love

And I’m so tucked away in my tiny world

I can’t seem to find myself anymore

Is there anybody there

Can they hear me at all?

When I trust in life’s synchronicities 

Everything is strange

Nothing stays the same

And when the ends of the string finally meet

The circle is complete 

And time reveals it to me

How many times have I had to tell myself

It will come around 

I keep losing layers of my faith

And my harvest delays

Still I trust

Yeah I trust 

Can we trust 

When I trust in life’s synchronicities 

Everything is strange

Nothing stays the same

And when the ends of the string finally meet

The circle is complete 

And time reveals it to me

Some wings are made from these

Some wings are made from these

When I trust in life’s synchronicities 

Everything is strange

Nothing stays the same

And when the ends of the string finally meet

The circle is complete 

And time reveals it to me

Oh

ABOUT DEAN CLARK
JOS MCLAREN

JOS MCLAREN

by Noemi Capote "Mimi"

There is no denying that we all leave this earth eventually, but things are different when we are given a specific timeline, counting down the days until our last breath. What would we do with our time if that were the case? Would we go down a spiral of desolation or would we gear up to climb up the rocky mountain with a courageous heart? Creative Soul, Jos McLaren, has the irrevocable certainty that God holds the true calendar of her life, and she is here to make every single second count, filling the world with songs that elate the heart with heavenly notes.

Jos McLaren is a musician and singer-songwriter from Leeds, U.K. She knew music was going to be her main language at an early age, going to church singing worship music, and being inspired by her mother, a pianist, and guitarist. In high school, she joined the school chorus, attended competitions, wrote songs, and recorded music with the school. 

Alas, at the age of 41, Jos was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer, and 5 months later, it was found to have spread to 2 vertebrae, giving her, according to the doctor, only a couple of years to live. “Only God can call me home,” Jos wouldn’t accept her doctor’s diagnosis. She felt it was not God’s plan for her life to end yet as she still had so much to do.

In the midst of the turbulence, dealing with emotional pain and overcoming fears, Jos gave birth to a song where she poured out her honest feelings. Dying to Live was born to awaken hope, love, and light. It is her attestation that no matter what anyone can predict for our future, we hold in our hearts our true compass and Jos’s is pointing toward the North Star. 

Not sure what to do with the song, Jos was advised by a friend to create a social media account to share her music, and as she did some research she found out about a songwriting conference at Abbey Road Studios in London. She took a leap of faith and submitted an application without even having the song ready to share. Jos was selected and without telling anyone, she went off to the conference. On the way, she wrote the second verse of Dying to Live and recorded a rough demo that night in her hotel room.

For Jos, hearing the panelists share their wisdom was amazing. “If I got to sit on the front row I was going to be courageous and ask a question,” Jos had made a deal with God the day before, and guess what? Part way through the session the panelists asked to take a couple of questions and this was her opportunity. Till then, she hadn’t shared about her health with anyone at the conference, and her question was fair: What to do with a song when you literally were given an expiration date by a doctor? Jos received helpful advice from the panel and God had an unexpected gift for her.

After the session, Mariela Silva, another conference delegate, approached Jos and asked Jos to send the song to her boyfriend, Liam Narrie. Liam is a music producer and engineer, who trained at Abbey Road Institute. After hearing the rough demo Liam invited Jos to record it in London.

Mariela, together with Liam, surprised Jos in unbelievable ways and even had her blindfolded as a driver took her to a mystery destination in London. Jos couldn’t believe her eyes as she stepped onto the ground where The Beatles had walked, and she was about to do that and more. Inside one of the studios at Abbey Road, there were some musicians. As Jos approached, she could hear her song being dressed with the sound of drums, strings, and keyboards… her soul was overjoyed as God winked at her.

Her dreams began to blossom and on the two-year anniversary of the terminal diagnosis that she was given, she threw a party to celebrate her triumph, and on the following day, she went to a songwriters retreat in Spain, as part of The Songwriting Academy. There, Jos met her soul tribe, including Keahi Rozet, Kelly Jett, Kathleen Schobel, Farzana Khan, and Kathi Fran. She started writing songs with them, understanding each other, coming from different backgrounds, races, and cultures, and sharing the love of music. “It’s not all about your thoughts with co-writing. It’s about adding each other’s touch. It’s like hanging out with friends,” Jos loves spending time with her soul family and they visit each other from one continent to the next. Music, love, and a lot of laughs keep the group growing strong and bright.

In January of 2023, they met again at the Drill Down Level Up music conference in Sandestin, Florida. She was given the opportunity to perform her song Dying to Live, blowing everyone away. Learning about sync, Jos has started working with music supervisors to try and place her songs in TV and film, and she continues to expand her field of blooming daffodils, creating music from the heart, and channeling the grace of God through her voice and presence. 

Filled with confidence and knowing well how valuable time is, she started reaching out to cancer charities to help promote their work through using her song. She wants to make sure people become aware of these services such as makeup, skincare, and yoga for cancer patients, so they can improve their well-being. Jos’ story has been published in a regional newspaper and various radio stations have played her song. Though she’s not interested in fame, she’s excited that her song is reaching others and uplifting them.

Jos will soon be releasing an EP, which Liam Narrie will produce, including “The One Thing I Would Do.” Jos wrote this song, inspired by her nephews, about how spending time with the people you love is the most treasured thing.

“It’s all God,” Jos declares, a stage 4 breast cancer survivor who is using her skills as a nurse to do her injections at home, which has helped her tremendously in maintaining her holistic care… However, Jos has also received negative remarks because she’s not bald and doesn’t look unwell, but instead she has the biggest smile, and the brightest eyes, with the most positive words of advice and delicious cookies and chocolates to share.

No, no one would ever know that Jos deals with cancer every day of her life. She’s not here to make us sob with a sad tale or use her story to gain anything in return. Her joy is genuine and she’s an example that our faith should be bigger than our problems. 

What ends our lives is not necessarily sentenced by an illness but by our attitude towards it. Jos’s conviction surpasses any diagnosis and criticism, and she’s encouraging us to trust in the undeniable ability of miracles to enter our lives. Jos is not only an example that we can move mountains if our faith is as big as a mustard seed. She’s an inspiration that dreams do come true if we put our hearts into it and trust in our mission. She is light, and she is love… Jos is the essence of God on earth.

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