Barbara Bishop, 41, initially had the idea for Zeamu Music and took it
to her long-time friend Fiona Case, 41, who also loved the idea of creating a
new genre of music to cater for young children.
“We wanted to give our children their own soundtrack,” said mum-of-three
Barbara. “We wanted them to have the 360 experiences we have as adults, by
being able to relate to the lyrics. There isn’t any pop music that really
connects with young children aged four to 10.”
Both Barbara and Fiona love mainstream music and their children –
Barbara’s three range from two to five and Fiona’s two boys are six and eight –
listen to a large variety of music. But they wanted to fill the gap by creating
music specifically for young children with great production.
Fiona added: “We want it on a par with current chart music with lyrics
about their lives – friendship, school, embarrassing parents, being
misunderstood and having fun.”
But the journey from two friends having an idea to a reality is a big
one, especially as their backgrounds were not in the industry.
Fiona had worked in brand and design consultancy before retraining as a
fitness instructor following the birth of Sam and Max, while Barbara has a
background in psychology and television production.
So how did it get from the kitchen table to the mixing desk?
“A lot of hard work,” said Barbara, who is mum to Olivia, Cecilia and
Edward. “Together we decided that we would set up a recording and publishing
company, which took longer than we thought because there were many legal areas
to consider.”
But within a year they had the company set up and then approached friend
Natalie Barowitz to help bring the musical side together.
Natalie, who became the musical director of Zeamu, is a classically
trained pianist, clarinetist and Latin percussionist and specialised in
performance and composition at The University of Manchester.
And it was Natalie who was able to bring on board some highly-respected
writers and producers such as Grammy nominated Owen Parker, whose credits
include working with James Morrison, Annie Lennox and Pet Shop Boys.
Also involved was Lee Gretton, the composer and multi-instrumentalist,
who has worked for some of the biggest TV networks in the UK, Europe and
America.
Others on board included producer/writers Casper & Jonas, who have
worked with Damon Albarn, Beth Orton and Noel Gallagher; Jimi Ashmore (Star
Sailor, Cerys Matthews) and Jonny Pilcher (Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals).
They wanted to create an eclectic album and so brought together a mix of
musical talent who were all enthusiastic about the Zeamu Music project.
With a team in place, it was now a question of getting the songs, three
of which were written by Barbara, recorded and out there.
The tracks are sung by children and are fronted by a family of animated
characters – designed by Fiona’s husband Simon Case – each of whom represents a
different genre of music.
“The animated Zeamu characters added a fun element to the project,
protecting the children's identity and making the characters the stars of the
music videos,” Fiona explained.
“The website – www.zeamumusic.com
- was created as a platform for the brand, a place children can go to have fun.
There is lots of free stuff for kids and the videos (they are also on YouTube).
You can download lyrics and discover the whole Zeamu family as well as download
party packs that have back stage passes.”
The reaction to the Zeamu Music project has already been positive. The
two women behind it have already been across the BBC network on television and
radio, while journalist Isobel Finbow described it as: “Think Damon Albarn's
Gorillaz, but U rated and singing about homework…the album’s credits read like
an NME 'cool list'.”
Barbara added: “The biggest challenge is that when you say
‘kids pop music’ to adults they automatically assume it won’t be any good! So
it is getting people to listen to it and once they have the reaction is so
different.”
The success has brought reassurance to the Zeamu team, but the plan was
always to be there for the longer term.
“Zeamu Music has only just launched and so yes there will be more!”
Fiona added. “Having appeared on BBC Breakfast sofa within a month of
launching, we have received a lot of interest ranging from radio stations
across the UK and the BBC World Service to bloggers in the US.”
Barbara and Fiona would love to bring the Zeamu family to life for a
show on TV or online, and they are already recording tracks for a second album
as well as speaking to festival organisers about attending some of this summer’s
festivals.
It certainly seems to be an exciting new dawn for children’s music.
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