Knúið áfram af von, leitt af sálinni — Powered by Hope, Driven by Soul

Better Than I Found It (feat. Kierra Sheard)

Rise

What Love Can Do

Never Be The Same

Hope In Front of Me

Pretty Beautiful

“O Lord, open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim Your praise” (Psalm 51:15)

Young Oceans has been, from the start, a deeply gratifying and enlightening project.  I’d like to believe that we’ve approached art for art’s sake at our best moments, and I hope to keep pushing in that direction.  So it's been a bonus to hear from listeners around the world who have stumbled upon the music and felt a personal connection with these songs.

The impetus for the first Young Oceans album was to take songs that were written for my church community and arrange them as a meditative soundscape.  As we’ve progressed through ‘Advent’ and now 'I Must Find You’, the aesthetic has admittedly moved even further afield.  Ironically, one of the most consistent requests we have received over the years has been for help in adapting the songs for use in the local church setting.    

Cue several seasons of fits, starts, lengthy philosophical conversations, and artistic self-loathing.  Eventually and thankfully, we connected with a talented new friend named Jonny Macintosh.  Jonny helped us cast a vision forward: a group of outside vocalists capturing an album of songs that could be a resource for Christian communities.   Simple, humble progressions flowing underneath a wave of human voices… other people’s voices.  As Jonny put the album in motion, a humbling list of artists expressed interest in being involved and, all in, close to 30 people lent their musical talents to the project.

It was my middle school music teacher who first taught me that, compared to any other other instrument, the human voice is the most dynamic, versatile and fundamental.  Anyone who’s sung a hymn in church or a pop song in the shower knows that something mystical happens when your voice box resonates and stretches and forms a wild melody.  Something even more profound occurs when we sing as a group, crying out together with songs of faith, longing, praise and lament.

I don’t claim for one second to have cracked the code on how to write songs for the Church to sing.  Writers across the ages that have already provided enough songs to last a lifetime.  This is just our small attempt at joining that great chorus and we hope it blesses you richly.    

- Eric Marshall, Brooklyn NY, 2016

VOICES, Vol. I

We Sing As One (ft. Mike Donehey)

Since winning over millions of hearts on season 8 of American Idol in 2009, Grammy nominated Christian singer singer/songwriter Danny Gokey has been soaking up the essence of the human condition and pouring it into various musical expressions across five studio albums, starting with his 2010 debut album, My Best Days. 

Known for the “grit” in his expressive vocals that fuse “soulful, hopeful, pop,” the one-time truck driver from Milwaukee has amassed Billboard chart success, toured the country with big band acts like Sugarland, and earned numerous awards and accolades that confirm his mainstream appeal.

For the follow-up to his 2017 acclaimed album Rise, the Capitol recording artist released Haven’t Seen It Yet, on April 12th, 2019. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian & Gospel Chart.

Inspired by his father’s collection of Motown records at a young age, Gokey found his voice “when I was making my ‘Hope in Front of Me’ record in 2014.” Today, the accomplished musician stands stronger and wiser than he was when he recorded his debut album, and the heartbreak and rejection that tend to colorize the life of an artist also helps shape the experiences that “play into knowing what people like and what they don’t like” and how to translate that into songs and storytelling. 

“When you have a lot more experience, you have the ability to talk about more things from an experiential place. I think that’s what makes songs good, experience and telling stories, and I applied that to this record. Music that makes the most impact is when you are thinking about the listener, and you are thinking about how can they relate to the subject I am talking about; and all that growth has gone to the album.”

The married father of three with another baby due in August 2019 bounced back from tragedy in 2008 when his first wife died four weeks after his American Idol audition, and life after the music competition series proved quite challenging. Gokey achieved yet another milestone with his first number one single for the resonating song “Hope in Front of Me” - and it came 5 1/2 years after hitting the American Idol stage. 

“I can only credit God for making me get this far today.”

Gokey used his unwavering devotion to Christ to explore a different direction for his latest effort, which arrives in April; choosing to convey a wider array of emotions to “keep people motivated who feel like they are in a situation that’s tough.”

“Haven’t Seen It Yet is saying, hey, you are closer to the change than you think you are, so don’t give up yet. Don’t go bitter. Don’t get discouraged. There’s things happening that you can’t even see, and you are going to come out on top.”

“Fighter” is another track on the album which encourages those “going through a tough time” to keep the faith and never give up. 

This new project also explores for the first time “my love for my children, my family and my wife” which Gokey had not done on a previous album. 

“The sentiment of the record was to entertain and to bring hope.”

Gokey lends his free time to bringing “hope” to homeless families through his Better Than I Found It foundation. The organization is a “massive part of my career,” as is his eyewear line, Danny Gokey Eyewear. 

“My biggest inspiration has been life itself. Walking through circumstances and being around people who have just kept positive attitude to evolve through tough times.”

Gokey is currently on tour previewing his new material for fans while “starting to look at life from a different place because I want my children to have a good life. I want to be a good voice for people to follow when it seems pretty dark.”

What Love Can Do

Danny Gokey

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