Runnin' in Circles
By Annie Addington and CJ Beatz
In 2018, my son Chris gave me a midi keyboard and Logic Pro for Mother's Day. Yeah! We got together and worked on a sample pack, which we called Water Crystals. One of the samples in that pack was called Amethyst. I chose Amethyst to use for our arrangement and we have worked together over zoom to create this piece. I recorded my vocals here in Sarasota, Chris in NY, but he did all the mixing and sound engineering.
About the Artists
CJ Beatz
Christian Janssen, also known as CJ Beatz, was born on September 13th, 1984, in a small town in the Netherlands. The family moved to Germany when he was 3. At the age of 12, he moved to the United States with his mother, Annie Addington.
CJ's initial musical influences came from his mother who introduced him to various genres and sonic experiences. His fascination with Hip Hop came at an early age from artists and producers like 2Pac, Biggie, Coolio, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang, and many others.
His love for music continued to grow over time. His father, Martien Janssen, owned a Korg keyboard that he liked to jam on and CJ quickly figured out the drum sequencing settings and started "composing" instrumentals. Later in life, he started to explore software programs like FL Studio and Native Instruments Machine to create instrumentals, which he then eventually started to sell and lease on his personal website cjbeatz.com.
To expand his musical journey, CJ created a YouTube channel and started teaching beat makers the process of writing instrumentals, as well as arranging and mixing them. Since the start of this endeavor, CJ has amassed a total of 87,000 followers between the social media platforms YouTube and Instagram, teaching thousands of up-and-coming artists and producers the art of beat-making using Logic Pro X.
In August of 2021, CJ took a leap of faith by leaving his regular 9 to 5 job as an IT Director to pursue his career as a music producer, content creator, and musical educator.
Annie Addington
Annie Addington is a vocalist and songwriter, who has lived and performed in the US and Europe. She loves this project; nothing is better than communicating with other artists and musicians and sharing the Light. For more information, you can go to her website, www.annieaddingtonmusic.com. There is a page dedicated to Artists for Peace and Wellbeing, as well.