Jean Leah Atkins
"JL"
Songwriting
&
Acting
Portfolio
Music
is the love of my life
Songwriting Portfolio
This is a demo for the musical "Lilith" I am currently writing, detailed the character's protection of her own bodily autonomy and power. This song implies that despite having to face her own Hell, or"darkness", our Lilith does not lose herself to evil. Instead, she finds a new strength in overcoming her shadows and uses this power to begin a new life, independent from association with a male counter-part.
This is an incredibly personal work about my experience as a woman living in a patriarchal, Christian-influenced society. This song expresses my deep desire to connect with the divine, but not feeling able to find a space for that in our world. In the song, each verse is sung to the masculine, a plea to be seen, loved, and respected wholly as I am. The song ends with the narrator or our "Eve" leaving the Garden, suggesting that with the death of her human body, she is reunited with her soul, finding herself (her own pace) in the afterlife.
This is another demo for my new musical, "Lilith", a concept album I am currently working on that will convey a feminine perspective and retelling of Milton's "Paradise Lost". This song describes the character's response to being groomed into a position of submission by Adam, after she has eaten from the tree of knowledge. She becomes enlightened to her own power, and refuses to submit to Adam unless he devotes himself to serving the divine feminine as well.
This is a song I created out of a classic blues progression that my friends and I were riffing over. The song is about a girl who gambles with the personification of her own destiny- "The Dealer Man". The song is a plea to this figure to go easy on the speaker, as she stands to lose everything she has worked for in her pursuit of fortune.
I wrote and recorded this song as an independent project through UA's New College program. Through lyricism and melody, I attempted to capture the feeling I was experiencing I called "Midterm Blues". I wanted to describe equal hope and uncertainty which many students face while navigating their own experiences & ambitions mid-semester in college. Each perspective is inspired by testimonies from my immediate peers
This is one of my personal favorites, written for my experimental music course at UA. I drew inspiration from my ancestors' musical roots, utilizing household items to create sounds. The percussion was created using spoons and a broom! I was very proud of the creativity and resourcefulness behind this piece.
This was a live-recorded demo of a theatrical, humorous song meant to capture the feeling of being "too sensitive" in a seemingly harsh and cold world.