Music Monday | Tommee Profitt

Hello!

For my last post for this series, I will be talking about Tommee Profitt. A music producer, composer and songwriter that I’ve been keeping up with since probably the end of 2017. I still don’t really know how I found him in the first place; I do remember I was on Spotify, but the connection between the two is still a little foggy. Anyways, it happened and it’s been incredible journey so far!

What a lot of people don’t understand is that, everything is connected in some form or another. Everything happens for a reason.

To me, there really isn’t a big jump between symphonic metal and cinematic/trailer music. I think there are a lot of similiarities between the two of them, epesically when it comes to writing the concept. The lyrics are easy to read and can be filled of different emotions. They both encourage the use of choir and big orchestra elements depending on the mood of the song itself.

Now as I say “trailer” music, I don’t necessarily mean Hans Zimmer, Alan Silverstri, etc. Nowadays, composers like Tommee and vocalists you have probably never heard of yet somehow they are (mostly) all located in Nashville are creating these gorgeous songs for various promos and they are becoming the new generation of what is cinematic music. Lately, the world has started to see the genius of Tommee’s work, which is really awesome! Two years ago, Tommee teamed up with a long time contributor Fleurie to do a tribute album for the final season of “Game Of Thrones”. I previously listened to the soundtrack that was put together Travis Scott, Ellie Goulding, Hallie x Chloe, etc. However, this one was worthy to be part of the score I thought because it was so beautiful with Fleurie’s dreamy vocals and fierce compositions behind her in the music.

You may not know this, but last year he worked with Christian rapper NF on his album The Search. I think the two of them have worked together before this release, but I’m not too sure about it. I feel like I can judge what feels and sounds like something Tommee would create, but in the last two cinematic compilations, he is starting to expeiment with other genres like country and a little bit of rock, which is great but sometimes I have issues with figuring out what Tommee has produced for him or not. There are other artists he tends to work with a lot, and they are Sam Tinnesz, Ruelle and Jung Youth. If you haven’t heard of anybody featured in this post, you should definitely give everybody a listen, trust me, you’ll end up loving something among the people I’ve included in here.

Have you heard of Tommee Profitt’s work? If you have, list that person or any others below in the comments for me! Do you have a favorite track too?

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: “Cinematic Songs Vol. 1” by Tommee Profitt

Today, I have something a little different for you. This isn’t your regular album review. No, this is totally unique  I think in the way that it all came together. I hope you like what you read in my review below and if you decide to listen or purchase the album digitally, as that’s the only way it is released right now, please tell me your thoughts on it as well.

If you are familiar with my music tastes, you know how much I love anything epic cinematic, it can mean “trailer music” as a lot of people seem to categorize it like that. I think my infatuation with it started while I was finding more and more symphonic metal bands. Epic cinematic music is more like alternative pop to me, as it’s not entirely pop nor symphonic either. It’s a nice medium and I just love it to pieces because it too, can tell a deeper story than a normal pop song can in my opinion.

The album is produced by Tommee Profitt. He is also a composer and songwriter. You might have heard of his music on different networks like Freeform, ABC and the CW. In the “Cinematic Songs Vol. 1” he has a mixture of both instrumentals and tracks that feature different artists.

The track that starts us off is “No Escape (Genesis)” and it is an instrumental and if you know me well enough, you know I like a good, powerful beginning and just as epic end to it all. This track is no different. It’s a perfect beginning to the album. I like the air-y dreamscape it delivers. Despite it having a clear, war scene type of image in your mind, it also has a beautiful body of various emotions you can hear within as you would be able to see if it was a movie. The second is “Caught In The Fire” featuring the first singer of the album, it is Sam Tinnesz, who is a singer/songwriter from Nashville and he is also the lead vocalist of Wave & Rome.  I think this one is fairly quiet compared to the first, it does built once the chorus begins; that’s what is so interesting with cinematic music, you might have a peaceful introduction but by the ending, it has erupted into this glorious fire of sounds. No pun intended.

Third is called “Who Side Are You On” and it features one of my favorite pop-cinematic artists, the main reason why I’ve been so interested in the genre in the first place: Ruelle! She has the power to make a song like this, choosing a side between right and wrong, and twisting it on its head a little. I really love the synth drums and strings throughout the end of the choruses, it gives a sense of chaos I think of figuring out which side you believe. I think the best part of this is at the end, I love the last two high octaves the choir gives before finishing the song completely. I like paying attention to details, especially in music. It always leaves me curious and wanting more!

Next is a track called “Free” that is performed by singer Svrcina, unfortunately I couldn’t find a lot about her on her Facebook page like I could with the others, so I’m just going to have to wing it. Sorry! This one has a different sound compared to the first 3 songs, which is always nice. Svrcina has a nice deep voice, she kind of reminds me of Birdy in a way. I think they should play this for the Pretty Little Liars finale. I don’t watch the show, but I think it would be perfect for the main characters! Anyways, the fifth track, we’re back with the instrumentals! It is called “Insurrection” and I love the ominous feeling in the intro, best thing ever! I love the sounds that horns tend to give off in these types of tracks, a sense of war on the way, so they’re preparing, getting their strategies just right, and eventually fighting with one another. Those are always my favorite sections and let’s be honest, they usually have the best music sequences too!

Afterwards, we have a slightly softer sound by an artist Wondra, for the track “I’m Not Afraid” but again, it builds as she begins to sing, because at first all you hear is Wondra vocalization, it doesn’t sound like the previous tracks. I like the soft piano at the beginning and end. It’s very beautiful! It has a pop atmosphere but I actually like it though. Next we have Sam Tinnesz back with a second song called “Glass Heart” and we have another piano introduction with Sam’s gorgeous, questionable voice. I like the chorus section mostly because of the zigzag sounds you hear with the high-pitched notes of the piano with subtle low, sort of deep drums give it a dramatic feel. Surprisingly, I thought it could do without the string section at the end.

This one is called “Soldier” and it is performed by Fleurie, she’s another artist that is featured on our favorite television shows like The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. This is very pretty. I like the soft beginning that her voice brings to the table. It’s not too much or too little. The song is also very catchy, so it’s an ideal pop cinematic track. The ninth track is another instrumental, it is called “Rising Tombs” which explains a lot, because within the first seconds of it, it’s very quiet and then you start to hear these sounds like somebody walking up stairs. All the while the orchestra’s power grows and it becomes very energetic. I want to say, this one has more of an electronic sound to it, which I know sounds weird but it does!

We are on the last four songs, starting “Sleeping With A Ghost” and this one definitely has an electronica vibe to it, probably a little more than the last one. The singer featured in this is CAPPA and she is an indie-pop singer from Nashville. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say most of the artists on this installment are from the country music capital of Nashville. I love the diversity though! Next is a track called “I’m Seeing Red” and I’m in love with the title! You know it’s going to be badass with that kind of title and it is! So creepy but light and air-y with Aron Wright’s voice, but of course everything needs to grow and become a massive beast and that’s the best way to describe how this sucker concludes. It’s pretty unique!

We have our last single to feature Fleurie and it is “Hurts Like Hell” and I have to say both this track and the other are both featured on her EP “Love And War” that came out in November. This is a very beautiful track, I love her soft, almost quiet voice and a piano together. I’m only just discovering her and she just takes me away from the pain in my daily life and that’s what I love about cinematic music the most, it has the power to do that to you. Anyways, my favorite section is the bridges, you still have this eternal sound but like a bubble pops and the sounds intensifies but then it calms back down again. The last track is a bonus, it’s “Carol Of The Bells” and this makes me think of Christmas when I first heard it, I’ll be honest, but it’s a classic. Everyone has heard of it in their lifetime. I certainly have, I’ve just never known the title of it. It’s so beautiful though and the perfect finish!

I will be honest, I found this whole album on accident one night. I had been listening to Ruelle and was on her “Related Artists” on Spotify and found Fleurie and I have been curious to check out her music for about a year and I finally did and this was included at the bottom of her overview. So I thought I would do a review of what I thought of it as a whole and this is the result. I think Tommee has a fantastic group of tracks and featured musicians, everybody did a great job! All I have to do is wait for Volume #2 now!

What do you think of cinematic music? Are you lover or unsure about the entire genre? 

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