Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Today, we’re joined by the talented Brad Sevy and Living Love to discuss his latest single, “A New Hallelujah.” Brad, great to have you here!
Great to be here on this SoCal afternoon! Hallelujah!
“A New Hallelujah” is such a powerful title. Can you share the inspiration behind the song and what it means to you personally?
Well it’s kind of the band’s theme song. Living Love started off as a church and we put together a great band, a really great band, and when we would do our worship this song came up and sort of became our theme song. We took the words and tailored them to our needs and had it fit into what Living Love was doing, singing a new song and making the Church arise again like a Phoenix. That’s the message.
How would you describe the musical journey you’ve taken with this single, and how does it differ from your previous works?
This song is upbeat and positive. It’s also more of a cross-over song that can fit in with rock and pop. Not saying that our other songs are not but this one you can dance to if you wanted to. No dance remix yet! LOL! With the single edit, we took out the guitar solo but pretty much left the rest to accent the message of the song.
The lyrics of “A New Hallelujah” seem to carry a significant message. Can you delve into the themes and emotions you aimed to convey through this song?
I feel we need to look at the world differently so that it’s time for Love to lead the way. Let the good of this world be the leader. Let’s let God’s love dominate, which it does but we all need to be willing to let it shine through us.
Can you hear, there’s a new song, Breaking out from the children of freedom,
Every race and every nation, Sing it out sing a new Hallelujah.
Living Love sings a new song, Reaching out with the new Hallelujah,
Every son and every daughter, Everyone sing a new Hallelujah
Arise, Let the song arise, Let love reach to the other side, Alive come alive, Let the song arise.
What was the creative process like for this single? Did you face any challenges or breakthrough moments during its development?
These things seem to happen to us in the studio, the music itself inspires us and will inspire you to. While recording we kept hearing the song as a live song, in a stadium so one of my best friends, Bruce Barris is a sound mixer for movies, he also helped record various vocals parts on the album, and we had him do a sound design that fit the various moods of the song and how a crowd would react to the interactive part with the audience. I think it came out really good and convincing too. Can’t wait to play it live again. The guitar solo also came from the sound design of the crowd too. (You can hear the guitar solo on the album version). But I just love the creative part that gives us the freedom to ebb and flow with the inspiration that God is sending our way.
In terms of musical influences, were there any artists or genres that particularly inspired you while working on “A New Hallelujah”?
We were inspired by the band Pvris. The way they mix their guitars and synths is a great balance for us. Also Red has a great balance with their instrumentations, a little harder rock than us but cool stuff. And Phil Wickham from his earlier stuff and Children of God album. We just were not thinking of just CCM with this song. We thought that this could reach the rock crowd, the FM radio crowd. We can all rejoice, be grateful, it just isn’t limited to religion, we can all raise a Hallelujah to our families and friends and loved ones. Raise a hallelujah to the beauty in this world.
“A New Hallelujah” has a captivating sound. Can you shed some light on the production elements and musical arrangements that contribute to its distinctive vibe?
We added Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes sounds along with a mandolin to give it a classic rock sound but yet use a sequencer and synths to give it a modern sound too. We also talked earlier about the “live” feel we gave to the song, which I think makes the song so fun and unique. While recording the vocals the harmonies for the chorus were just breathtaking and while we were mixing them we were just blown away by how they came out. So we pulled a verse and just kept it around. We used it on the web site and a few ads for the album. So when we went into the studio for the single edit, it was like, we have to use this, so we put it at the beginning of the song. I think it is super cool.
Thank you, Brad, for joining us today and providing insight into the creation of “A New Hallelujah.” We wish you continued success in your musical journey, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.
It was so cool to be here today with you. Thank you.
Keep up with Brad and his music here!
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