Album Review: “Dragon Mentality” by Elley Duhé

If anybody has heard Zedd’s new single “Happy Now” then you might be a little familiar with the artist I’ll be talking about today. Elley Duhé is a new American artist and she has this cute, little happy (no pun intended) voice that does instantly brighten you up after hearing it for the first time.

Elley released her first album in late October, and it’s called “Dragon Mentality” and as I am really curious to know how she came up with it, I think the cover itself is absolutely beautiful! The album is again, another short list of tracks. I am really hating the fact that record companies are releasing albums as an extended play standard number of songs, but I guess to an artist that’s worked their asses to get there at that moment, it didn’t matter how many would actually make it to the end result. It irritates me of course, but I can’t do anything about it!

 So, “Lost My Mind” has a slow start, but I liked that kind of introduction to any album but for a new artist, it’s important to have a mild opening to not freak out the listener. This was an ideal opener, as it was soulful but had a really good pop-y quality and you could hear a sassy-ness to her voice in this as well. Second is, “Fever” and I thought the usage of this exotic type of sound throughout was really fun! It doesn’t sound like the normal pop song that you hear on the radio and that’s what I loved the most about it.

We move on to a track called “Way Down Low” and it’s a fast song, at least the beat is as it has this electronica mixed with a pop sound going on. The tempo is really well balanced since she sings pretty quick, the actual speed of the beat itself is actually kind of slow in places, so it was cool to see this happening and not feel like it was chaotic in the process. Next there’s “Counterfeit” and her voice is a bit sassy but I liked it because the song was a little gritty and it needed that extra edge to it. And then there’s “$$$$” and this is another song with an unique beat, I feel like it would be perfect for anyone dancing the Argentine Tango or Paso Doble on Dancing With The Stars because the beat is just gorgeous and dare I say, seductive in every aspect. I really love that violin solo a lot. It just brings that sex appeal to it. I actually wasn’t going to review this at all. I had deleted it off of my Spotify and everything, but then a couple of days later I was watching music video and I ultimately decided I needed to bring it back.

The sixth song is “Starz” and this is sort of slower and I’m so kind there’s at least one of these types of songs on this because everybody needs a break of those heartier beats. This has a soft appeal that a lot of people could get behind on it. However, I feel like she has read my mind over the years and the violin is pretty prominent in the beat, and instead of giving it a sexy vibe, it actually helps with the somber beat. Lastly, we have “Savior” and we go back to the upbeat, kind of hip hop type of sound; although it isn’t exactly in your face as the others. I’m glad her bright voice is loud and the tempo is sort of slow. It’s a good way to end this whole journey.

Honestly, this whole thing was haunting me a bit, because I feel like I talk a lot about the famous musicians. I don’t really devote my time and space on my blog for new artists, so maybe that can be something I can do for 2019! I’m really glad I decided to listen to this album. I thought it was really different then the regular pop artists come up with, and I liked the fact that I felt like everything that I was hearing was a real instrument. That’s the one thing I hate about pop music, sounds can be altered so much that you really end up craving real sounds again.

Have you listened to Elley Duhé’s first album “Dragon Mentality” yet? If you have, what were some of your thoughts about it? I’d really like to see what you liked or didn’t care for for this?

November Playlist

Howdy!

I think November was really good for music; it’s a month where you have the most coming out for the year before it all basically disappears for next month. I don’t honestly like this layout because I’ve always been a lover of getting music for Christmas, I mean from the time I was six years old til about two years ago, I was asking for more music, whether it came from buying individual songs on iTunes or a physical CD to play on my stereo!

Here are the Top 10 songs I’ve been loving lately!

Expectations by Lauren Jauregui
Goodbye by David Guetta featuring Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj
Promises by Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith
$$$$ by Elley Duhe
Ruin My Life by Zara Larsson
Who Are You by RAIGN
Survive by Don Diablo featuring Emeli Sande and Gucci Mane
Geek’d Up by Bhad Bhaddie featuring Lil Baby
No Stylist by French Montana featuring Drake
Swizzmontana by Swizz Beatz featuring French Montana

I’ve been listening to my YouTube mix for the past three weeks so I had to really dig deep to remember what I’ve been listening to lately. I still think this is a good playlist though! A lot of different beats and vocals here; one thing I’m seeing is that I’ve been loving a lot of EDM based songs this month! Don’t forget on Saturday, around noon on both Facebook and Twitter, I will be posting FIVE more songs that I’ve been loving in November too!

One thing that I wanted to let you know, is that I will be changing up my “Best Of” posts that I do at the end of December. Those posts are always really annoying to write and it’s really my fault because I don’t keep a list of favorites throughout the year. Last time I told myself that I wouldn’t be doing those types of posts again, so I have decided to do a Top 5 favorite songs and movies until the first week of 2019! If you want to check those out, they will be posted on Wednesday and Friday on my blog’s Facebook page! I have to say, listing anything in a top five is difficult, but when it’s for the whole year is even worse!

As far as thinking ahead for what’s to come on here for December, I can’t really answer that question. I mean, I don’t even know and I’m only saying that because it might be a hectic month anyways. We’ve doing something that’s fairly big right now and so, we’re trying to get everything finished and so, my blog might have to be put on the back burner for a week or so. Once everything is good again, you’ll finally get to see the finish product and of course, my regular blogging schedule will resume too.

Here were some of the reviews I did for this month as well!

The Fire Within by Jennifer Thomas | Disconnected by No Triffak | Suncity by Khalid | Honey by Robyn | Cinematic Songs Vol. 5 by Tommee Profitt

What have you been listening to?

The Baby Name Tag – Extended

Howdy!

If you’re a frequent visitor to YouTube, there’s a big chance you’ve seen a lot of videos talking about baby names! It’s a tag open for anyone that either have their future children’s names picked out like me! I have decided to include two separate tags into one post, the first batch of questions comes from SJ Strum as she’s the one who created the tag in the first place. While, the second part comes from browsing my WordPress Reader and finding another large collection on Lucy Niblock’s blog. 

Since finding both of these tags, I’ve changed some of the questions below because for repeats and other little things, but for the most part, everything is still the same from the original layouts. When some of the questions ask for both genders, I’ve also decided to share what I’d use for the middle name(s) as well. I am a big fan of adding more than one name after the first, but don’t worry I don’t get too carried away with my choices though!

If you had a baby tomorrow, what would you call them? Boy & Girl

When I first read this question, the girl name popped out at me immediately! Sophie Rivers. I really love the name Sophie a lot, but I thought it was strange for me to choose “Rivers” as a middle name. Now for a boy, it was more difficult, but I did think of Luxor and the only reason why I’d pick it is because I love everything about Egypt!

What would you rename yourself keeping your same first initial?

When I was in middle school, I tried to make everyone call me “Monique” because nobody ever spelled it right and I just got tired of it all, and for some odd reason I thought this was a perfect fit! I actually remembering signing my name that way on a friend’s end-of-the-year-tye-dye-t-shirt. I really hope she no longer has that top because that’s just embarrassing!

What would you have been/wish you had been called if you were the opposite gender?

I’ve actually never known what my parents would have named me if I was a boy, so I had to ask her about this one. She told me, I would have been “Derek” and honestly, that’s not too bad compared to “Salem Rachelle” (my original name) and it is one of my favorite, casual boy name too!

Favorite Vintage baby name for boy and girl?

This is like the second worst question, because I love vintage baby names! For a girl, I have: Cecily Anne Victoria and the boy would be: Arthur Hugo Michael.

Favorite Nature baby name for boy and girl?

Apparently I like nature names a lot more than I thought I did! We had a cat named Wren years ago, and I still love that name so I’d probably go with Daisy Wren. I think thought be a really cute, girly name! For boys, I really enjoy the name Forest, but I feel it’s becoming popular again so my second favorite is Leif.

Favorite YouTuber’s name and/or baby name?

I love Jonathan and Anna SacconeJoly’s oldest daughter’s name: Emilia. It’s like the Italian version of my sister’s name! I also think Emilia Jane sounds so feminine too!

Recently I found Tania Licciardo-Toivola also known as the “mom of 10” the other day and I’ve been learning her children’s names and I’m actually loving them. I’m still missing at least two of them, but so far the names are Leonardo, Jerusalem, Cleopatra, Shakespeare, Nefertiti, Aphrodite, King James, and Omega. So, they’re really out there, but I actually really like them! I’ve always wanted to use Nefertiti in some way because she’s one of my favorite Queens ever, so I tend to put it as a middle name, but I really love that it’s front and center for her daughter.

Favorite Literary name?

I grew up in the early 90’s so the name “Jessica” was very popular in school, and even though I had to mesmerize about 8 different ones, I never lost my love of the name itself.

Favorite “O” name that isn’t Oliver or Olivia?

This is really difficult because I really love both Oliver and Olivia a lot, but the first boy name that popped into my head was Otto, and apparently it was pretty popular with several other people who took this tag too! It doesn’t hurt that it reminds you of Rocket Power, right? The girl “O” name I really like is Oona, which is Irish. I am really obsessed with Irish names! If that didn’t work, I’d exchange it with Olympia, which is Greek. I fall in love with this one long ago, so I see myself using it more than Oona unfortunately!

What did you wish you were called when you were younger?

I really like my name “Meghan” but I have never enjoyed having the letter “h” right in the smack dab in the middle. So, honestly, I would have kept it but maybe have it spelled just “Megan” to make things easier on everybody!

What name would you immediately VETO?

When I originally began working on this post, I bravely put that I didn’t have too many names I would veto, but after a few days and I searched for other names, my veto list actually grew so I managed to really surprise myself! The names I had mentioned for this question were: Nova and Sailor, but after thinking about it, I felt that I needed to add both Fergus and Tillie. It just reminds of an old lady in her 90’s! I don’t like Fergus because I just want to automatically change it to Ferguson!

What is your favorite boy and girl name from the Top UK names list?

I think for a boy my favorite is Jack and for a girl, I really love Nora.

What is your least favorite boy and girl names from the Top US names list?

I’ve never liked Asher or Grayson for boys, maybe because they are so common nowadays. As for girls, this was a lot harder because generally I love girl names, so to find one or two girl names that I hate isn’t very ideal, but I don’t like Addison, which is strange because at one point I loved it!

If you had twins, what would you call them?

If they were both boys, they would be Mason David and Michael Brandon. Now if it was a girl and a boy, I would do Saint Isabella and Amerik Morgan. If I had two girls, then it would Emily Catherine and Leah Reverie.

You have four children, any gender, their names have to start with the same letter. What names would you choose?

Madeleine, Mason, Micah, and Magnus.

What’s your favorite celebrity’s baby name?

Since I love Celtic Woman a lot, and we’ve already established my love of Irish/Gaelic names. I really love both Mairead and Eabha a lot! Mairead means “pearl” and it’s pronounced as “MY–arade” while Eabha means “life” now the pronunciation is different as it’s “AY-va” like the name Ava.

What’s your favorite animals inspired name?

Besides Wren for a girl, I don’t like too many girly animal names, except for one other name. Sparrow! I’ve never cared for it as a boy name, but for girls it always makes me smile! However, I really love both Hawk and Robin for a boy. I am obsessed with hawks and robins and cardinals we see and use to remember my papaw. So, apparently I love birds!

What’s your favorite color inspired name?

Honestly I love the name Lavender, whether or not I’d actually use it for my future children or characters one day is still a mystery, but it’s really cute! I love Scarlett as well, but it has been used a lot lately. And then for a boy (or a girl) there’s Navy! I like that Jason Aldean and his wife Brittany, are naming their second child, a girl Navy Rome. I think it’s a beautiful, unisex combination!

What are your top 3 favorite boy names?

This has always been a VERY difficult answer, but my favorite three names are: Milo, Hudson, and Sebastian.

What are your top 3 favorite girl names?

I thought I’d have a better idea for my three favorite girl names but unfortunately I don’t, so I wouldn’t surprise me if I change my mind later on! Anyways, the names I love right now are: Harlow, Francesca, and Siobhan.

What is your ultimate guilty pleasure name?

Ooh! My ultimate guilty pleasure name! Honestly, I think it’s Charlotte or Elizabeth. I really enjoy old-timey names for babies, but when it comes to boys I like the outlandish ones like Aspen or Ever.

Choose a baby based on a food/drink

This was REALLY difficult, but I actually don’t like using food or drink inspired names but I do have an exception to one and that is Clementine and what’s interesting, is that when it comes to herbs and some spices I have a lot. I really love: Ginger, Anise, Basil, Caraway, Lavender, Saffron, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme.

Choose a baby name based on a month

I’ve always wanted to use August in some way. I’ve had Levi August picked out since I was in middle school. I do love May but I would have to use it like Mae because of the way it’s used in my family, but those are the only two that I really liked.

Choose a baby name from a movie

Here we go again, another hard one to answer because I like to watch a lot of movies! For a girl it would be Mavis from Hotel Transylvania and then my boy name would probably be Benjamin after The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button!

Choose a name that’s already in your family

Oh boy! Since I know more about my mom’s side, I’ve realized that we tend to like the letters: E, L, and M a lot! I’d love to have as many family names as I can in some shape or form, but I’m not allowed to use the name Mary because my mom (who is one of the inspirations for using it in the first place) thinks it’s too old fashion for this generation. So I’ve had to find other names that were similar to it, like “Margaret” and as much as I love it, I’d still like to have “Mary” instead.

My three times great-aunts all had very unique names. The oldest was Regina and she didn’t pronounce it like everybody else would of course. It was “Ra-kee-na” and I have a combination that I’ve created recently that I really like, it’s Ava Regina Elizabeth. We have had a few Marys’ and so she’s the second reason for my inspiration there. I’d like to use it for Mary Louise. Third was Elsaleah, and her name is probably my favorite of the bunch. I’ve picked out to use it in Maud Elsaleah. And then finally we have Lula. She was given the middle name Thomas, and this was before unisex names were a thing! The only way I’d have it as Lula Rose.

Hope you have enjoyed this tag! If you decide to do it too, please send me a link of it after it’s published, okay? 

Album Review: “Cinematic Songs Vol. 5” by Tommee Profitt

We’re back with another batch of cinematic songs by record producer Tommee Profitt! I was so excited to hear that we would be getting another album, especially the fact that it would come out the day after my birthday! Unfortunately, I had to wait over two weeks to finally listen to it because I’ve had some issues lately, but it’s only added the fuel to the fire that I need to listen and review this for all of us!

If you’ve never listened to a Tommee Profitt cinematic volume before, he usually has close to 12-13 songs in some type of epic sound. So, you might have these powerful, in your face tracks that everybody seems to go for immediately, but he’s also started to come out of his shell and experiment with other genres and tempos too. The majority of them with independent, based in Nashville artists of various genres. For this one, we have six “veterans” coming back for this collection along with a few newcomers too. Tommee also likes to include a couple of instrumentals to the layout as well and I think it always give the album an edge to the whole thing.

The first track we have is “Heroes Rise” and it has Sam Tinnesz on it. I really love Sam’s soulful voice against these hefty beats. For this, I really like the slow build to the whole song. Despite having a strong ending, it’s actually pretty gentle and will inspire your inner fighter to come alive. Now for the next song, “You Made Me Do It” can be about anything you want it to be, actually all songs can be about whatever you want, you just have to change your perspective! I am really in love with this one though. It has a sassy sound all around, and I think Ruby Amanfu has a terrific voice to give it that extra edge that it needed to take it over the top! It’s definitely a favorite of mine for sure!

We all know and love Fleurie’s voice, and I’m so glad that she continues to work with Tommee because he always seems to make her sound even more beautiful than the last one. “Can You Feel The Heat Now” was the first song I actually listened to, I was on YouTube listening to my mix and it automatically came on, and since I didn’t recognize it at first, I kind of figured it was probably new. I like the calming piano introduction along with her sweet voice and then all of a sudden, this electric guitar sound would appear and gave it a nice rock-ish vibe. From the moment it starts, you get this feeling that it may not be as good as you originally thought, but what I really liked about it was not knowing what could come next. Would it stay in this tempo? And then towards the end, it does grow but not as grand as we’re used to with an average Fleurie song. Jung Youth is a Christian rapper, that has worked with Tommee before and I really love that we’re hearing a hip hop-cinematic fusion. “Who’s Gonna Stop Me’ is a great workout song to listen to gain that motivation when you need it the most!

For this next song, “Witching Hour” we hear a newcomer by the name of Brooke Griffith. It’s an extremely spooky track when it first starts, which will fit naturally with the paranormal television shows like The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, Riverdale, and Legacies. The cinematic elements to this song really made it come to life. I just wish it was longer! Our first instrumental is “Dark Conscience” and it really continues the ominous vibe we had going with the previous song, except the original beat is gone. I really like the usage of the horns and violins, because they each have a creepy factor to them. I just feel like a monster is going to be unleashed at the end of it. The seventh track, is “Follow Me” featuring my favorite Ruelle. This has a lively, but cosmic feeling everytime I listen to it. I get a real futuristic sense, and weirdly enough I actually liked it.

Sam Tinnesz comes back with “Far From Home” and it also mentions that it’s the trailer version, so there must be an original somewhere. Even though I’ve never heard of the other one. It’s kind of has a mellow sound to it, but towards the end of the climax, it gets faster and almost louder. I think it’s pretty good! Afterwards we move on to, “Rise Above This” and the singer on this one is Trella. Unfortunately, I was really torn about this because initially I didn’t like her “ahhs” up and down the scales, but the rest isn’t that bad. So, I’m still questioning that one a bit. “I’m A Ruler” is up next and Ruby Amanfu comes back for a second round. She brings that sassy voice again, and what I loved about it is the pop-bluesy sound you get with this. It’s not a song that could really work with a action based film, unless there’s a female-comedy vibe going on.

“Unbreakable” starts the end of the album, with Mike Mains on the vocals. I really adore Mike’s voice as well so I was happy to see him on the tracklist again. The song itself has an awakening kind of vibe going on, and I really like the lyrics with this and I definitely approve of the mellow beat it has with it. It was in your face, but not overwhelming! We have our final instrumental, “Infidels At Bay” and for once we have a makings of a ballad, but it doesn’t really stay like that. I would love to hear at one softer song or ballad with these albums to kind of give the listeners a nice little break. This was a good attempt. Our last song is “A Storm Is Comin” by Liv Ash. I like the thunder rumbles with the fast going piano playing, I thought that was a cool combination. The cinematic part does break through like a storm and it really has a fiery ending. It was just perfect!

 I was really impressed with this, but I’m pretty sure I say that about every volume so far! Oh, I don’t care. Cinematic music in any form makes me really happy and I really love hearing new artists being featured on these songs, that maybe you wouldn’t hear otherwise. If you’ve never heard anything in the cinematic/trailer music world, you should really look into Tommee Profitt’s other four albums! Just go in order, you’ll thank me later!

Have you listened to Tommee Profitt’s new volume of cinematic songs yet? What were some of your thoughts? Before checking this out, had you ever listened to any other composers in the epic music? 

 

Album Review: “Honey” by Robyn

I think my mom and I have been in love with Robyn for several years now! Technically, my mom only likes one of her earliest tracks, whereas I have been listening to her music since 2010. So to say that I was excited to see the Swedish EDM singer back with a new album is a bit of an understatement! “Honey” came out in late October, but I’ve had to wait a bit to finally listen to it all the way through and share my thoughts with you guys!

This review will be kind of short in a way, as the album itself consists of only nine tracks. I figured it would be a lot more than that, but I’m willing to deal with this.

The first song that begins our musical journey is “Missing U” and I was so happy to hear that standard Robyn sound. She’s really into the electronica sound, I feel like the ones she usually uses always remind me of how EDM used to be in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. She also has a very high-pitched, sweet voice that tends to make you feel loved while you listened to each one. The song though, is a really good starter, as it’s light but has enough of a dance-y vibe going on that it still makes you happy! Next is “Human Being” and this was the only track that has a featured singer on it: Zhala. Now I’ve never heard of this person before, which isn’t uncommon for me, but all I’ve been able to get out of my research is that she’s pop singer too and what’s really cool is that she’s signed to Robyn’s record label! I actually like this one as it has a darker tone, it’s still pop-y and has a nice groove to it but the sound itself is sort of mysterious and makes the two of them sound like one person, which I don’t usually like but in this case I was okay with it.

Third is called “Because It’s In The Magic” and the synths on this made me think of Christmas music! I don’t know if it was because I have Christmas albums to review later on and I’m just getting myself in the holiday spirit, but then I look at the title and I figured maybe this was on purpose, this might be the song I’ve ever come across that isn’t a Christmas song that sounds exactly like one in every way! Afterwards, there’s “Baby Forgive Me” and this has a real sensual feeling all throughout the song. I liked the atmospheric vibe going on, it kind of took over quickly, but I didn’t mind that calmness it brought to me.

“Send To Robin Immediately” is on now and I was a little confused with this at first, but when it first started I thought it was going to continue on with the same lyrics of the previous song, just with a different beat. After we get to the middle of it is where it kind of breaks off into its own track, but really it’s sporadic with its words, so mostly all you hear is this somewhat annoying beat all the way through. The sixth track is the title track “Honey” and I really enjoyed the lovey dovey vibe you get with this one. I also really liked the stripped beginning–as she just sang in a capella. It has a nice trance type of sound to it, but it was really light so it fit really well with the lyrics of the actual song.

We’re almost finished with the album, but continuing on we have “Between The Lines” and I really liked the seductive lyrics with this one, which threw me for a loop. Oh and the male voice featured in it! But don’t ask me who it is, because even I don’t know, but I think what really sold it to me was this cosmopolitan beat, the best way to describe what I mean is literally “perfect catwalk music” more like a Victoria’s Secret fashion show since it does have a sexy attitude to it.  If I thought the last one was bringing me old Madonna vibes, “Beach2k20” just added onto it! There’s really no lyrics, but you definitely have a beach-y vibe going on with this, it’s not in your face and I think that’s why I really liked it. Lastly is “Ever Again” and we go back to a normal pop beat with real lyrics! One thing I thought was interesting was the fact that this had a less of a dance worthy type of beat with it, and so it has more a pop-rock sound going on instead. It was kind of a motivational song too, for all of those broken hearts out there! It really good for the final song!

I thought this was a really nice album! If you’re missing the summer, which majority of us are at the moment, because we’re already tired of wearing layer after layer of clothing or seeing giant piles of snow in your front yard, this could be perfect for you, because it does have a bubbly, bikini, and summer fling going on throughout the entire thing.

Tell me, have you listened to Robyn’s new album “Honey” yet? Do you think it was as good as her last or are you okay with the new sound she’s bringing with this?