Music Monday 05: Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken - TN EP

It’s no secret that I have a giant musical crush on this real life couple. Individually, Webb and McCracken are two of my favorite artists, and Webb’s production style is one that I look up to immensely. He is fantastic about mixing together colors in ways that would seem strange, but create an amazing result.

Their first EP together, 2008’s “Ampersand EP” is still one of my favorite albums 3 years after its release. When they first tweeted that they were working on a follow up, I could not have been more excited. Ampersand was the beginning of the development of Webb’s production style, and it has grown significantly since then. I could not wait to hear it on new songs written by both him and McCracken.

I’ve had my hands on the “TN EP” for 2 weeks now, and I have not stopped listening to it. It has surpassed my very high expectations. I was about to list standout tracks, but really the only song that I’m not in love with is a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.” This however, stems more from me not being a big fan of the original more than not liking their arrangement. I wasn’t raised on Simon and Garfunkel and am just not familiar with much of their music, so the cover doesn’t touch something I already know and love. It’s just not as accessible to me. The rest of the songs however, are fantastic.

If I had to choose a song to recommend first, it would be “We Will Never Have Tonight Again.” It is a beautiful song and one of my favorite vocal performances from Sandra. Also, you can hear the opening track “From You To Me” in the attached music video.

You can purchase the album at tn-ep.com as well as iTunes and Amazon. Do yourself a favor and buy it now.

Senior Recital Video 4 of 5 - Thy Mercy, My God

Nearly 2 years later, my senior recital videos are not the work that I am most happy with.  I have moved on to things that I like a lot better in that time and grown as a player and programmer.  However, some of the moments in it, I am still proud of what I accomplished at the time.  So I’m not going to post all 5 videos.  Just the 2 or 3 that I like the most.

This song from my recital is the one that I’m the most proud of, and the one I played the least guitar on.  It is my arrangement of John Stocker and Sandra McCracken’s hymn “Thy Mercy, My God.”  I arranged and recorded all of the synths and strings.  Though my track wasn’t turned up as loud as I would have liked, you can still hear it.  My friends Emily and Jonathan Martin sang it for me and did a fantastic job.  Enjoy Thy Mercy.