She's only 13, but Ivory West is releasing her first CD.
Titled "Mixed Emotions," the CD features the Lakeview Middle School eighth-grader's own songs. West wrote and plays guitar on each of the 13 tracks.
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, West said the CD was made at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne in one day. It contains no special effects.
"Individually, the longest it's ever taken me to write a song was three weeks, but some took just five minutes," she said. "Most of them are love songs. Some are about nature, and others are about life in general."
Track No. 2, "Running Out of Flowers," is her favorite, she said.
"It's really upbeat, clever and funny," West said.
She's played with making a CD before, but "Mixed Emotions" is her first full attempt at it.
"I thought it would be fun and I really wanted to," she said of why she made the CD. "I thought it would be a fun project."
And she said she's happy with the result.
"It sounds really nice. Sweetwater is awesome," she said.
West said her sound is comparative to Jason Mraz, Colbi Caillat or Zee Afi.
West will be performing over the next two weeks for anyone who wants to hear her live. She already performed last Saturday at the Blue Lion Coffeehouse in Pierceton.
Tonight from 3 to 7 p.m., West will be playing and singing at Ruby, downtown Warsaw.
On Dec. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m., she will be at Blockbuster in Warsaw.Anyone interested in purchasing the album has several alternatives. They can buy it online at cdbaby.com; any Wooden Nickel store in Fort Wayne; Tree of Life bookstore in Winona Lake; or at A Nu U on Center Street in Warsaw. West said they also are working on getting the album at Karma. The CD is $10.
