Oahu-based worship group New Hope Oahu is proud to announce the release of their ninth album, Brand New (DREAM Records), on Good Friday.
The album is available now on all digital and streaming outlets globally. The thirteen song album features incredible tracks like “Speak” and “Brand New.”
“Brand New is the latest album from New Hope Oahu, celebrating 25 years of God’s faithfulness and leading at New Hope. There is a journey that unfolds through each song, remembering God’s faithfulness in where we have been, and looking forward with hope to all He will do to make all things BRAND NEW. Our prayer is that these songs will become anthems that will unite the body of Christ, and bring comfort and joy through every season.” – Christopher Sanders
Curb | Word Entertainment powerhouse vocalist Blancahonors her Latin American heritage with the release of Renovada, her first set of all-original Spanish music, available today, 4/2. The five-song EP already boasts a chart-topping hit, thanks to the meteoric rise of “Soy (feat. Christine D’Clario),” which went No. 1 in Blanca’s homeland of Puerto Rico.
Historically, Blanca has naturally translated her lyrics from English to Spanish, but for Renovada, she intentionally crafted every song from the ground up in her native tongue. Renovada, which means “renewed,” pays tribute to Blanca’s late parents, both of whom she previously lost to cancer.
The new project honors her parents’ legacy and her Puerto Rican lineage. “My Spanish culture and deep Latina roots play a huge part in this,” she explains. “My parents always desired for me to embrace this part of me and create music for my people and my family. So here I am, finally doing just that. They aren’t here to see it happen, but I’m hoping through the music and the songs, I can keep their legacy alive.”
Ahead of Renovada’s official release, a lyric video debuted for emotive, identity-focused track “Soy (feat. Christine D’Clario).” Blanca also dropped a music video for confident anthem “Zone (feat. GAWVI).” Watch the tightly choreographed clip HERE.
To celebrate Good Friday and Easter this year, Crossroads Music announces the release of their EP, “Conquered Grave.” This EP will feature four songs: “Conquered Grave,” “We Say Yes,” “God of the Breakthrough” and “That Name.”
The Crossroads Music team strategically released this EP on Good Friday as a timely reminder that Jesus conquered the grave and reigns victorious over death! In 2020, only a few weeks into quarantine, Austin Livingood, Dustin Smith (from Here Be Lions) and Robbie Reider penned the lyric, “Death has died, crushed by nail-pierced hands,” as a reminder that our ultimate struggle has already been laid to rest by what Jesus did on the Cross.
Little did they know that those lyrics would become the anthem for Crossroads Church this Easter. They are eagerly looking forward to having their community sing out, “Every day we wake to a conquered grave,” to celebrate Easter this weekend!
Co-writer, Austin Livingood, said “This album is a constant reminder of the reason I have new mercies every morning. I have a reason to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes I tend to focus so much on Jesus dying on the cross, that I forget about the conquered grave and the freedom and joy that comes with it. The cross is important, but the cross without the grave means nothing.”
One of the featured songs on the EP, “God of the Breakthrough,” is an anthem written out of desperation to have God intervene in impossible situations. The Crossroads Music team had seen people in their community go through maddening life circumstances: cancer treatments, heart attacks, surgeries and friends passing away.
Regarding “God of the Breakthrough,” Livingood said, “When we wrote this song, our church was going through a difficult season. We started chasing down an idea, and in the middle of the session, we got an email that one of our Executive Pastors had a heart attack. It completely changed everything. We immediately prayed, and I was reminded of these lines I had just written a few days ago:
“God of the breakthrough Your promises stand true You haven’t failed us yet.”
That was all I had, and from there, we built a song of petition for God to show up. Time and time again since writing this song, it has served as a reminder that when I have nowhere else to go, I go to a place of surrender.”
Director of Crossroads Music, Robbie Reider, said, “When we have nowhere else to go, we want God near; His presence can change everything. Though it may not be specific results, it can change the posture of our heart, mind and spirit towards Him. This song is a reminder to us that though we don’t have all the answers in life, we can always depend on his presence being near to us in broken times, to hold onto his faithfulness. This song is as much an invitation to the miraculous as it is miraculous that we can have God to lean on in times of hardship.”
The Crossroads Music team wants this album to be something that doesn’t just produce self-reflection and somberness…but is a cause for celebration! Their hope is that this Easter weekend, the church will celebrate and have confidence in the fact that Jesus paved a way to life.
Composer, keyboardist and former Christian radio broadcaster Michael Canaan releases his solo debut project, Caught Up In The Clouds. A trailblazer in the Smooth Christian Jazz genre, Canaan’s seven-song EP is hallmarked by easy-listening grooves and peaceful melodies inspired by Scripture.
Caught Up In The Clouds showcases four instrumental selections and two vocal tracks—each solely penned, arranged and produced by Canaan—as well as a reimagined rendition of the beloved hymn “For The Beauty Of The Earth.” With Canaan’s keyboard-driven melodies at the heart of the project, the EP also boasts multiple guest appearances.
The ethereal “Spirit Rain” features Los Angeles-based saxophonist Donald Hayes(Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan), while the upbeat “Secret Place” displays the talents of guitarist Tristan Auman of South Carolina rockers The Unapologetic Kind. In addition, vocalist Jennifer Robbins is featured on the Psalm 23-inspired “Surely,” and “Like A Thief In The Night” showcases vocals from Southern California Christian music recording artist Athena.
“For a long time, I felt that my gift for music was intended only to please God in my quiet place, but I have lately begun to realize I was burying a talent He gave me,” Canaan explains of the EP’s genesis. “I believe worship music can take on any musical form imaginable, and since I’ve always been drawn to the chord progressions and lyrical stylings of jazz, it’s become my desire to use that for the Lord’s glory. Ultimately I hope my music can be a blessing to those with similar stylistic inclinations.”
“Not only do I hope listeners will perceive the motivation behind this music—to draw people closer to God—but I pray this project speaks directly to spirits by the Holy Spirit, and that the lyrics serve as devotion and reflection upon the goodness of God,” he adds.
Michael Canaan (pronounced Kuh-nahn) has been instrumental in the advancement of the Smooth Christian Jazz genre over the past two decades. In 2000, he founded and hosted “The Dove,” a Charlotte, North Carolina, radio program giving voice to the burgeoning Smooth Christian Jazz scene. He also launched one of the genre’s leading websites, which featured the latest faith-based Smooth Jazz releases, reviews and exclusive artist interviews. Stepping aside from these media pursuits, Canaan married and began a family while continuing to hone his skills as a composer and arranger. Caught Up In The Clouds marks his return to the spotlight, fulfilling a dream to write, record and release original music.
Kira Fontana, singer-songwriter, producer, and composer releases her worship album titled Refuge.
Influenced by her background in classical music and film score composition, Fontana integrates compelling orchestral arrangements into many of her songs.
In addition to her own music, Kira is an active music producer and the founder of KINGDOM SOUND, a boutique Christian label and production company dedicated to creating amazing music that glorifies God and points people to the One who made them and loves them.
Acclaimed chart-topping Michigan rapper NF releases his latest project and first mixtape, CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE), which is now available for download or streaming via NF Real Music/Caroline here.
With “CLOUDS,” NF outlines his reasons for releasing this mixtape now. “Hanging onto songs this long is daunting,” he raps, matter-of-factly. He then playfully delivers clever lines in unison with a sparse violin melody before his delivery becomes more fiery, matching a thundering, industrial beat. Throughout, the technically gifted MC passionately strings together intricate rhymes about his continued ascent and the gravity of his ambitions: “It’s probable / That I might press the envelope / Ideas so astronomical / Sometimes I find them comical.”
Dove Awards Winning Christian Hip-Hop artist GAWVI debuts his first Spanish-language project titled Noche Juvenil.
GAWVI, being an influential hip hop artist, has also elevated his artistic career, developing into a renowned producer that has worked with many trailblazers in music such as Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Mandisa, TobyMac, Blanca, among others.
Undoubtedly, one of the more challenging processes on this project for GAWVI was singing in Spanish for the first time, even though he knows and speaks the language because of his Salvadorian and Dominican roots. However, through this musical discovery, he shares, “As you grow up, you are figuring out your identity and you sometimes have to backtrack to find out where you first started and that was me with this album. I’ve been on a journey and just about connecting with my roots, my Latin culture, and discovering more about myself. The six-time Dove Award winner has built a career that has broken barriers, making him a pioneer in the music industry. This is why one of his objectives with this album, beyond connecting with the Latino community, is to pave the way for youth that feels voiceless and to provoke the change he wishes to see in music and in the journey of faith.
Acclaimed worship band, North Point Worship completes their EP titled Live from Decatur City. The group started dropping live versions of their tracks on New Year’s Day leading up to today’s release.
The EP is available for download now. “We are praying that God uses these lyrics to help you start 2021 with your eyes fixed on Jesus,” the group shared on social media.
seven-time GRAMMY Award winner Carrie Underwood follows the extraordinary success of her recent Christmas album, My Gift, with an album of gospel hymns, titled My Savior. My Savior is co-produced by Underwood and GRAMMY Award winner David Garcia, with whom she co-produced her critically acclaimed 2018 album Cry Pretty, her seventh album to be certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum by the RIAA.
My Savior, which consists of covers of traditional gospel hymns Underwood grew up singing, is a spiritual companion to Underwood’s first-ever Christmas album. “It’s been such a blessing to make music like this, inspirational music that is near and dear to my heart,” says Underwood. “These two albums have been on my musical bucket list since the beginning of my career and were planned long before the events of the past year, but somehow it feels like the perfect time to share these beloved songs with the world.”
Underwood’s co-producer on My Savior, David Garcia, is a multi-platinum selling, four-time GRAMMY Award-winning record producer and songwriter. With his early roots in Christian music, over the past decade he has achieved chart-topping success across multiple genres of music with over 20 #1 songs to his credit. He has twice been named ASCAP’s Christian Music Songwriter of the Year (2015 and 2019), has written three ASCAP Award winners for Christian Music Song of The Year, as well as won nine Dove Awards. In addition to co-producing the Cry Pretty album, Garcia and Underwood’s collaborations include co-writing tracks such as her #1 hit “Southbound” (with Josh Miller), “Drinking Alone” and “Love Wins (both with Brett James), all of which have been certified Gold by the RIAA, as well as the original tracks “Let There Be Peace” and “Sweet Baby Jesus” (both with Brett James) on My Gift, among others.
platinum-selling artist and award-winning songwriter Dante Bowe releases what insiders are already calling ‘his most personal recording to date,’ circles [Bethel Music]. The much-anticipated follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut, Son of a Father, details his road to self-discovery and lessons learned on his journey from homelessness to hits.
On circles, Dante combines the simmering spirit of nineties-style R&B with foot-stomping soul and skyscraping gospel. The 13-song collection honors those that helped make him who he is, provides perspective on the struggles he’s faced and sets out to inspire others.
“This past year has really allowed me to reflect,” says Dante. “Stories I’ve been told about my family’s journey gave me an understanding of the role that they’ve played in my life. So, I wanted to explore that on this album – so much that I scrapped two fully recorded projects, to make circles. To me, it feels that in sharing my own lessons, that others might not only see the importance of their pasts, but see how they can apply what we’ve learned to our futures.”
Following his grandfather’s passing in 2020, Dante became closer than ever to his grandmother. He found comfort and perspective in their conversations and learned about his family, which provided a deeper insight into his formative years. He learned what it was like as family of color, their experiences and their ability to persevere despite the circumstances and he realized how much he was just like them. Dante Bowe has something to say and he courageously bares himself through his musicianship and songwriting on circles.
