Introducing Music2Deal SA’s new Ambassador – Jaemi Skye

Jaemi Skye does 1st stage A&R – industry sifting between the rough & not ready and the rough and ready to develop artists wishing to move on to 360 and 50/50 deals.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

For the first two years of infancy, I slid around rather than walked and didn’t speak one word. I was finally assessed as having two types of “Synesthesia”. Predominantly something known as Chromesthesia, a condition that includes ‘Perfect Pitch’ – a rare auditory phenomenon characterized by the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone.

I have since spent time in Spain, Australia, France, Egypt, Tunisia, the U.S.A, the U.K and of course my home, South Africa. Almost entirely within the sphere of professional music and its developmental journey from raw conception to a commercial release. Leaving aside both the astounding Jazz and Classical genre’. There is no other genre of music in which I have not applied myself …grime, trap, big-beat, punk, EDM, hard rock…just love the whole shebang!

 

Have you licensed your music / signed your artists internationally?

Actually, it’s with a grin that I recall the very first time I was approached to give license for the use of a composition. A bizarre yet great confidence booster, at the time. It was spring time 1993 in Bologne, a fishing port in northern France and I received a handwritten letter from an undergraduate in London, England, asking if I may consider composing three individual pieces of music which the student may use in their bachelor of arts contemporary dance performance final exam.

I remember the feeling, an internal glow…just like the way one feels when relaxing in the chilled heaven-sent lazer-red sky show that is a Johannesburg signature in the summertime deep dusk. Since then, with a brief gap as my children matured, it’s been a very, very lucky ride on the magic-stave of music.

 

How do you know whether something is good and modern? How do you keep yourself up-to-date?

Having a default condition such as Synesthesia and particularly component that affects me personally, Chromesthesia, makes the whole world a constant musical influence. From external sounds such as the orchestration of passing peak hour traffic, even the sound of sub-woofers as a car reaches a stop-street or red light, works its way into keeping my musical pulse actively fused to the ‘here & now’. All I have to do is eat, breath, stay as healthy as possible and im a natural born music trend sensor & setter. There’s a book called ‘Lucky Jim’ by Kingsley Amis. That about says it all…(grin).

 

But then, what do you do after work? Go to your studio and continue to work on music?

Over time, whether music has been my daily bread and butter or I have taken a break by working in another sector entirely, when the clock hits 7pm, I find it exceptionally important to shift into an environment in which those I love and hold dear are the main focus of the rest of what the day has to offer us in time. As a younger man, I certainly hit the burn-out phases of non-stop studio six-dayers  (and I do mean no sleep, 24 hr sessions, till you drop!). However, with hindsight, those days, though enjoyable to an extent, don’t give one the space to experience the other things that life has to offer. And that will limit a person’s compositional scope and final product…big-style!

 

What do you suggest for the artist being part of Music2Deal.com having success in the music business?

Belief is everything. If you have a gift in music, whatever that may be, learn to be suggestive, never limit your mind to genres simply because they seem to be in fashion yet keep your ears tuned to the hear & now and most importantly keep connected……one of the best ways to do this?

You want your talent to appeal – Get in with Music2deal.