00:00:02 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 00:00:04 Speaker 2: Hey, Tommy, thanks for joining me, David, thanks for having me. Tommy, Prophet Award winning composer and producer, has a new album, The Resurrection of a King. I really liked it. It's really really good. It reimagines beloved hymns as modern worship anthem speechers well known singers as well, CC wy EN's Crowder, Jen Johnson, John Reddick, Ben Fuller, J M McDonald, Phil Wilkom among them. Tommy, this album reimagines classic hymns with a cinematic sound. What drew you to this idea? How did you decide to pick which songs? I mean, that's a good question. 00:00:38 Speaker 1: It all stemmed from I did a Christmas album several years ago called The Birth of a King, and it was reimagining old Christmas hymns and carols and just giving them a movie soundtrack that felt weighty and serious and real, you know. And I thought for a long time it'd be cool to do an Easter equivalent, but I didn't know I did have the idea that it'd be hymns yet, I just was like, well, what songs would it be? And then finally when that unlocked. I mean, dude, the list was I had fifty songs, and I was like, I gotta cut this down, so it ended up still being a nineteen song album. But yeah, it was just really fun to explore these old songs that have such rich hairtene in the lyrics, but sometimes stripping them out of a melody that worked on a hundred years ago, and just doing something new with some of them, not all of them, you know, and putting an orchestral movie weight to them. Man, it was powerful working on it because it just felt like scoring the moment Jesus walked out of the two Like, how what would that powerful music sound like? 00:01:40 Speaker 2: You know what I mean? How would you describe the phrase cinematic sound? Because that's what it's being described at I remember I had a college class in rock music, and I remember reading about all the different types of rock music and reading what music sounds like in print is always kind of odd and cumbersome. But how would you describe words what a cinematic sound is if you can? 00:02:03 Speaker 1: And well, for me, everyone has a different definition, which is interesting I found out recently. For me, it's something that feels epic and grand and like it's in a movie, which oftentimes correlates to strings and brass. Naturally, That's been how we've scored movies for decades now, you know. But yeah, weighty and serious, but epic and grand as well and orchestral. 00:02:31 Speaker 2: Yeah, And like you said that, this this album, The Resurrection of a King, follows the Christmas themed The Births of a King. Did when you were when you were recording The Birth of a King, did you were you kind of thinking about an Easter album? Was that it was out of your mind? No, no, no, I had no clue. 00:02:48 Speaker 1: And honestly, even a year ago, I didn't know I was going to be doing this project. It kind of just dropped into my lap and I just felt so nudged and called to make it, you know. I felt it felt urgent, like right now, the world just needs God so bad. And I'm up here in my studio. You know, you were joking before, like it looks like spaceship here. And I love being in this room, and I love making songs and cinematic songs for movie trailers and TV shows and video games. 00:03:14 Speaker 2: You know. 00:03:15 Speaker 1: But as I'm doing that having a blast, I'm also just looking out the window and just seeing the world fall apart, right at the same time, and there was a conviction there of like they they need answers and they need hope, and I know the answer. How can I not do my part to offer light and hope into the world right now? 00:03:37 Speaker 2: You know, hey, man, of that why i'd read you said you felt commissioned to make it. I guess since that's what you're talking about, let's talk about hymns. Why are you so passionate about hims? What do we lose when we fail to seeing hymns? 00:03:51 Speaker 3: Man? 00:03:52 Speaker 1: Well, I grew up singing him in my church, and I'd go to my grammar's church and they would sing him. 00:03:57 Speaker 2: So I was very familiar. Know. 00:04:00 Speaker 1: I do think over time we're doing less and less hymns, and like I said, and we're very much these days. I think humans are about style and trends and what's current. You know, like all of a sudden, jeans are really baggy like that kind of thing, and so I think it's it ties the music as well. So like the hymns, do you just read the lyrics and the words. They're pretty poetic and rich, like I said, But I think it's hard for some people to wrap their brain around singing it feels very marching band and you know, old style, and I think there's still so much good meat in there to to pull from. And so that was that was my hope. And I didn't know if it'd be possible. Some of these hymns. I was like, oh man, what are we going to do with that one? I couldn't, you know, how can you resurrect no pun intended this old hymn and just playing around with different ideas. I just felt like these ideas were coming and it just felt really special. Those words they work in a lot of different contexts. 00:05:03 Speaker 2: You know. Yeah, they're rich, they're rich theologically, and they tie us to our past. I think that's one thing we kind of lose. We tend I think it's Protestants. We tend to think that the church began with Christ. Then fast forward to we're at Martin Lutheran. You know, now we're Billy Graham, and now we're now, yeah, are in twenty twenty six. So it's good to tie our faith to people of the past. I think that's one thing you're talking about. But like you said, we have these rich hymns and you're trying to I guess maybe bring them to a new generation that might have forgotten them, So that's yeah. So I think it feels familiar and. 00:05:41 Speaker 1: Brand new at the same time. Yeah, you know, there's lots of nods in these songs, the reimagined ones to the original melodies at times, or different parts of them, So it's not just like brand new songs. You know, on every single track. 00:05:58 Speaker 2: You've become known for your cinematics. Take us back to the beginning. How did you first get into music and how did you develop this this style that you're kind of known for. 00:06:09 Speaker 1: I always my Parry's bought me a small keyboard when I was little, and I just became obsessed with it instantly, just wouldn't stop playing it, and I would listen to a lot of things I heard on TV, like commercial jingles and TV theme songs, and I'd try to figure them out by ear. And somewhere along the way, I think I just really was fascinated by movie music and soundtracks, and not not even the scores per se, but even the trailer music. That was like the thing that really lit me up and got me excited. And so I was that weird kid that like listened to trailer music on my iPod. 00:06:42 Speaker 2: You know what I mean. 00:06:43 Speaker 1: No one else I have ever met has said that, And I'm like, why why is no one else? It's good music, right, And so I don't, dude, I don't know how it happened, but slowly, slowly, I found myself in a place where I was implementing trailer elements into pop music and hip hop music and Christian music and worship music. And I just have always had a love for big, epic, grand sounds. 00:07:09 Speaker 2: I guess one of the more popular ones that you're known for us I guess you work with n F. There's many others. I learned as I was reading your list that you you I think the elements with sylbea mackew. You helped him with that song as well. So I think your stuff is in lots of songs. We just don't know it. Tell me about the history of you at you and n F. I guess you were you guys were good friends, and you still are good friends. You still work together. It seems you kind of rose in popularity and prominence at the same time. Yeah, we are both from Michigan and I with that time. I had a side job. 00:07:51 Speaker 1: He had a side job, But we both loved music, and he came over one night just to hang out. I think we're going to watch a movie. But I had just gotten some new studio stuff and some new sounds, so we were like, well if we just make something for fun. It was kind of just two dudes hanging out making something on a Friday night, and that song that we made ended up being the song that got him signed to Capitol Records and brought us both along this crazy journey man. That's just we didn't see coming, you know. 00:08:25 Speaker 2: What I mean. 00:08:25 Speaker 1: So it was like literally I was in Michigan in my basement just making something with my friend, and then all of a sudden, it's you know, on TV and growing and these touring arenas now, and it's like just a very homegrown thing, you know when you see something from the very start, you know, knowing where we started, and we were both just you know, scrapping by trying to do any music we could. Like, it's a it's crazy god story. 00:08:51 Speaker 2: You know. At the time, what was was cinematic sound? Was that in hip hop much or was that kind of anything? 00:08:57 Speaker 1: I don't think so, maybe not quite the same way. You know, hip hop is very linear a lot of times where it's you know, eight o eight and drums and the vocal and that's it. There's not a lot of chord changes and musicality in that genre naturally, and so that was one thing that I think was different and unique, was there lots of chord changes, and you know, he also raps and sings, and he can do a lot. He's very versatile. And so to do that over a brand new sound that was kind of a little hip hop but also alternative and had movie music in it just hit at the right time in the industry. That was kind of a new, fresh sound. You know, tell me, tell me the first time you. 00:09:38 Speaker 2: Heard your your your music on television or in a movie. And that was so dude, I'll never forget it. It was a Will Smith movie trailer for Concussion, and we had a song called Soldier that was in one of the trailers. And I found out that day They're like, hey, it's going to be in a trailer. It launches today, And I remember I had my I wasn't home to listen to my big studio speakers, but I sat and I watched it on my phone and it was kind of like all my dreams of my entire life came true in that moment. Is like the fast action clips, you know, of all the movie scenes put to a song that I recorded and then boom it hits and it says the title with the little outro music that I landed in my head when I was hoping it would land in a trailer, you know. So yeah, that was that was kind of I had chills and it was I think that hooked me too. I was like, I want to do more of this music for movies, music for trailers, just making music that's emotional and powerful and enhances of visual you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's hard to imagine. Are the best movies without the music? And so so much so that you can go to a trivia night at a local school, which I do a lot, and they play the music to a movie and you know, like three night out. Do you know what it is? Are you still doing this? I mean, are you are what's what's what's your what's your year? Like? Now? Are you? Are you mostly collaborating with artists? Are you writing your own music? Are you making music? 00:11:05 Speaker 1: Yeah? 00:11:05 Speaker 2: Shows and TV? Yeah, I'm kind of just doing all of that. 00:11:09 Speaker 1: This This was a hard this album, The Resurrection of a King, was definitely a hard pivot for me because I did so much in the mainstream space and out of nowhere, I'm dropping a church album, and that's my background. I was a worship leader in my life, like and then it was just a job change to make movie music. And now I'm like, it's full circle, all kind of tying together. So I definitely feel like it's a shift for me, and I'm now just all the plans that I had for the next five to ten years, yeah, are probably gonna have to be rethought out since I'm kind of going in a different direction, which I'm very excited about. I feel like it was a god thing. 00:11:43 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was looking at your Spotify have five million streams a month in Spotify. That's more than many artists that I listened to regularly. And so the music, the person behind the music is kind of who you are. How did you come to faith? Before we let you go? How did you come to faith? Tommy? You would you grow up in a Christian I did. Yeah. 00:12:00 Speaker 1: I grew up in a Christian hall and went to a Christian school, grew up in church. I grew up playing in church and My parents really just instilled a lot of really good you know, teaching me to use talent for God. And when you're a little kid, you don't really know what that means. Like I is playing this piano piece during the offering, I was using my gift for God, like I you know, but over time, as I grew and matured and just realized what that meant, to give your talents to God, like that was a really that's something I think about a lot still, you know what I mean. 00:12:31 Speaker 2: As we're looking at your own video right now and people listening to the podcast and know what we're talking about. But is this where the magic is made? Is this? Is this your studio? Is this? Is this? 00:12:39 Speaker 3: Is it? 00:12:39 Speaker 2: Yeah? I did. 00:12:40 Speaker 1: It's pretty cool because I actually just added a light bulble over here a couple of months ago, and so now every time I'm on a zoom call, it adds this like anamorphic lens flare. 00:12:50 Speaker 2: And I did not do that on purpose. 00:12:52 Speaker 1: I don't even know how it's happening, but it kind of fits the movie theme. It looks like I'm, you know, being in a Mike Michael Baby movie or something. 00:13:01 Speaker 2: Yeah, We're we're going through space at light speed or something. I'm not sure what's going from here. It's fun though. Hey Tommy, you're talking to you. Thanks so much. Yeah, you too. I appreciate it. 00:13:12 Speaker 3: If you enjoy today's interview, please make sure to subscribe and share the episode with a friend. A big thanks to the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. 00:13:21 Speaker 2: If you go to lifeaudio dot com, you. 00:13:23 Speaker 3: Will find dozens of other faith centered podcasts in their network. 00:13:28 Speaker 2: See you next time.