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Publication Date: 26 February 2006
UK Gospel.com's
BEHIND THE BEAT
INTRODUCTION
You know me. I like to ensure UK Gospel.com has as rounded a musical offering as possible.
While there's an undoubtedly 'Urban sheen' on UKG's affairs, I try and keep the editorial base as broad as possible, frequently drawing on a format that has undoubtedly fed the foundations of contemporary gospel music: Praise and Worship.
This edition of BEHIND THE BEAT focuses on MUYIWA OLANREWAJU's recently-released DECLARING HIS POWER album (you've probably heard about it). Under their RIVERSONGZ banner, he (along with his co-producer and musical partner EDDIE MARTIN) self-produced their debut album RESTORATION to huge approval both locally and internationally. RESTORATION sold 7000 copies in the UK alone, and easily multiplied that number several times over abroad (a bare minimum of 10,000 in their native Nigeria alone). Those are very respectable numbers in the context of our emerging industry.
If the best accolade any music project can receive is a very natural, unforced consumption of what it has to offer, then MUYIWA is already on to a good thing with DECLARING HIS POWER.
I haven't seen the promo copy sent through by his label, ONE VOICE RECORDS since
While there's an undoubtedly 'Urban sheen' on UKG's affairs, I try and keep the editorial base as broad as possible, frequently drawing on a format that has undoubtedly fed the foundations of contemporary gospel music: Praise and Worship.
This edition of BEHIND THE BEAT focuses on MUYIWA OLANREWAJU's recently-released DECLARING HIS POWER album (you've probably heard about it). Under their RIVERSONGZ banner, he (along with his co-producer and musical partner EDDIE MARTIN) self-produced their debut album RESTORATION to huge approval both locally and internationally. RESTORATION sold 7000 copies in the UK alone, and easily multiplied that number several times over abroad (a bare minimum of 10,000 in their native Nigeria alone). Those are very respectable numbers in the context of our emerging industry.
If the best accolade any music project can receive is a very natural, unforced consumption of what it has to offer, then MUYIWA is already on to a good thing with DECLARING HIS POWER.
I haven't seen the promo copy sent through by his label, ONE VOICE RECORDS since
I opened the package a few weeks ago. My wife hijacked the CD after one listen, and it now semi-permanently resides in the CD player in the kitchen, a soundtrack to the cooking of most of our recent family dinners
ONE VOICE RECORDS is an imprint of KINGSWAY COMMUNICATIONS (formerly KINGWAY
MUSIC), and the brand has been developed to focus on what they define as a "World Worship Sound". According to their mission statement, this sound "reflects international indigenous instrumentation and the sound of the nations as the cultures of the kingdom gather and record together".
MUYIWA himself has gone on to be a very popular figure on the UK circuit, sharing rare space with the likes of NOEL ROBINSON and LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR in achieving credible crossover status in both the Black and White churches, and some in the Black gospel media have already started to offer him up as possibly the UK's first major international gospel music figure, an accolade MUYIWA himself responds to with his typical warm smile and humble sidestep.
ONE VOICE RECORDS is an imprint of KINGSWAY COMMUNICATIONS (formerly KINGWAY
MUSIC), and the brand has been developed to focus on what they define as a "World Worship Sound". According to their mission statement, this sound "reflects international indigenous instrumentation and the sound of the nations as the cultures of the kingdom gather and record together".
MUYIWA himself has gone on to be a very popular figure on the UK circuit, sharing rare space with the likes of NOEL ROBINSON and LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR in achieving credible crossover status in both the Black and White churches, and some in the Black gospel media have already started to offer him up as possibly the UK's first major international gospel music figure, an accolade MUYIWA himself responds to with his typical warm smile and humble sidestep.
But what cannot be denied is how busy
MUYIWA has become in the past two
years or so, fronting his popular nightly
GOSPEL TONIGHT show on PREMIER
RADIO, keeping up his varied and heavy
workload, as well as being on the road
MUYIWA has become in the past two
years or so, fronting his popular nightly
GOSPEL TONIGHT show on PREMIER
RADIO, keeping up his varied and heavy
workload, as well as being on the road
promoting this new project.
His BEHIND THE BEAT email arrived in my inbox a few weeks ago. I've been busy too. But it's time to share the story of DECLARING HIS POWER with you. Photos from the actual recording...
Yinka Awojobi
Content Development
UK Gospel.com
His BEHIND THE BEAT email arrived in my inbox a few weeks ago. I've been busy too. But it's time to share the story of DECLARING HIS POWER with you. Photos from the actual recording...
Yinka Awojobi
Content Development
UK Gospel.com
BEHIND THE BEAT
RIVERSONGZ: DECLARING HIS POWER
ALMIGHTY POWER
Like many of the songs that we write, this song came very quickly when writing it. It's based on the words found in Jeremiah 10 and the idea was to start the party off with bang, and what better subject to kick off with than His power (especially when the album is about His power)
GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS
This song was written when I heard HERE AND REAL. It's odd how a song like HERE AND REAL can inspire a song like this...
MUYIWA INTRO
On this 60-second track, the listener gets the full whammy!! From
an African, specifically a Yoruba (South west Nigeria) name. In
Yoruba culture children are given names not only to identify them
but also to tell the story of who they will be, so you are expected to
grow into the name...
IMELA
Like many of the songs that we write, this song came very quickly when writing it. It's based on the words found in Jeremiah 10 and the idea was to start the party off with bang, and what better subject to kick off with than His power (especially when the album is about His power)
GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS
This song was written when I heard HERE AND REAL. It's odd how a song like HERE AND REAL can inspire a song like this...
MUYIWA INTRO
On this 60-second track, the listener gets the full whammy!! From
an African, specifically a Yoruba (South west Nigeria) name. In
Yoruba culture children are given names not only to identify them
but also to tell the story of who they will be, so you are expected to
grow into the name...
IMELA
The word 'Imela' is taken from the (South east Nigeria) Igbo
language, one of the 250 languages in Nigeria. In its simplest form
it means 'thank you Lord'. We then took the words and message of
Psalm 89 and weaved a song with the two. The guitar and drums
gets you dancing, even if you don't want to...
I WILL SING
Many people actually think this song is 'Part B' of IMELA but actually it's our take on what a hymn would look like if JOHN WESLEY or any of the other cool hymn writing cats had been writing one today. Trust me, I think they would definitely have that African groove going through
it...
ALL POWER
This song was written whilst I was in a local airport in Africa. I was waiting for a flight to another
African city and had been told about the magnificent buildings that the Mormons were building in Africa. The words of Isaiah 40 came to mind and, verse 29 in particular and this song followed
immediately and was written 5 minutes later..
language, one of the 250 languages in Nigeria. In its simplest form
it means 'thank you Lord'. We then took the words and message of
Psalm 89 and weaved a song with the two. The guitar and drums
gets you dancing, even if you don't want to...
I WILL SING
Many people actually think this song is 'Part B' of IMELA but actually it's our take on what a hymn would look like if JOHN WESLEY or any of the other cool hymn writing cats had been writing one today. Trust me, I think they would definitely have that African groove going through
it...
ALL POWER
This song was written whilst I was in a local airport in Africa. I was waiting for a flight to another
African city and had been told about the magnificent buildings that the Mormons were building in Africa. The words of Isaiah 40 came to mind and, verse 29 in particular and this song followed
immediately and was written 5 minutes later..
ONCE YOU HAVE SPOKEN
Psalm 62 ALL THE WAY BABY!!!! There are a number of
scriptures that have excited me from a young age. One is
Psalm 62, another is Deuteronomy 6:4 'The Lord Our God is
One Lord'
YOUR MAJESTY
It's amazing the amount of people who say that this songs
sort of reminds them of BOYZ 2 MEN's 'END OF THE ROAD'
I know that when EDDIE was writing it, God was his focus,
Psalm 62 ALL THE WAY BABY!!!! There are a number of
scriptures that have excited me from a young age. One is
Psalm 62, another is Deuteronomy 6:4 'The Lord Our God is
One Lord'
YOUR MAJESTY
It's amazing the amount of people who say that this songs
sort of reminds them of BOYZ 2 MEN's 'END OF THE ROAD'
I know that when EDDIE was writing it, God was his focus,
A Section Of The Crowd...
not the end of a relationship
LORD YOU ARE MY GOD
Like most of our songs, we tend to use the words of the scriptures. Inevitably this means that the people who will get with the songs first are those who are Christians. This is taken from the words of Psalm 63.
ALLELUIA EH
This song is proving to be what OUR GOD IS GOOD was to our first album, 'RESTORATION'. This song wasn't even supposed to be on the album. Generally, a week before we record our live albums, we would go into 12 hour rehearsals. When the rehearsals started, I was in Barbados broadcasting from the Gospel Festival over there.
On one of the evenings, I got a call from EDDIE who produced the album. He told me that one of the songs we had wasn't really working and that he needed to have a song for the band and singers by the next morning. Well, that was it; by the next morning we had ALLELUIA EH.
LORD YOU ARE MY GOD
Like most of our songs, we tend to use the words of the scriptures. Inevitably this means that the people who will get with the songs first are those who are Christians. This is taken from the words of Psalm 63.
ALLELUIA EH
This song is proving to be what OUR GOD IS GOOD was to our first album, 'RESTORATION'. This song wasn't even supposed to be on the album. Generally, a week before we record our live albums, we would go into 12 hour rehearsals. When the rehearsals started, I was in Barbados broadcasting from the Gospel Festival over there.
On one of the evenings, I got a call from EDDIE who produced the album. He told me that one of the songs we had wasn't really working and that he needed to have a song for the band and singers by the next morning. Well, that was it; by the next morning we had ALLELUIA EH.
HERE AND REAL
One of the RIVERSONGZ team is a young lady who is an International Risk Assessment expert. I knew she wrote songs and approached her during a period when she was going through some great difficulties. She wrote HERE AND REAL and I loved it, I asked her if she would let us use and publish it, and here it is...
YOU ARE A MIGHTY GOD
This is a great song that comes out of West Africa. If you ever find
yourself having to lead worship in West Africa, particularly Nigeria
raise this song, and they are with you all the way... RUTH LYNCH is the
guest vocalist on the song, and you wouldn't believe it if I told you that
she didn't have one rehearsal singing lead on that song, so when we
were recording it was the first time, and she tore it up!!!!!! We also had
some testimonies on the song. There is one particular testimony that
you can only hear on the DVD; it is the story of an ex drug dealer turned
RUTH LYNCH
choir member. It's amazing...
WE DECLARE YOUR POWER
This is the title track of the album and we wanted to end as we began with a bang. Sing of his power!!!!
WE DECLARE YOUR POWER
This is the title track of the album and we wanted to end as we began with a bang. Sing of his power!!!!
BEHIND THE BEAT
RIVERSONGZ: DECLARING HIS POWER
LINKS
::RIVERSONGZ SITE:: ::BUY THE ALBUM:: ::LCGC:: ::NOEL ROBINSON:: ::ONE VOICE::
::PREMIER::
TRYUMF
LAIN
NOEL
29th CHAPTER
LAIN
NOEL
29th CHAPTER
MORE BEHIND THE BEAT:
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