(Here’s an excerpt from the bio of Hawk Nelson. Great band. Great message. Check back tomorrow for an interview with Daniel Biro.)
Some musicians who have played together for nearly a decade, released five albums and played countless shows on countless tours, could turn to album six and toss it together in their sleep. They are pros. They’ve been doing this a long time; autopilot would actually produce some pretty good music.
But what if those musicians who had written and played together for years didn’t switch to autopilot and, instead, became more intentional in their music than ever before? The result would be a set of songs that sound, lyrically and musically, like each note and word were precisely paired. The result would be Hawk Nelson’s sixth studio album Made, releasing April 2013.
In many ways, Made reflects the journey Hawk Nelson has been on since Crazy Love released in 2011. Since then, the band has found a new label home with Fair Trade Services, longtime guitarist for Hawk Nelson, Jonathan Steingard, has transitioned into the role of frontman after Jason Dunn departed to begin his solo career, and the band of four is now a trio of him, Daniel Biro (bass), and Justin Benner (drums). Many changes. Even more unknowns. But one thing is for certain: Something has clicked, and this album is the proof.
Biro, who founded the band ten years ago, has grown with Hawk Nelson this last decade and believes all of the change has resulted in an honest and God-breathed product. “This time around,” says Biro, “we’re going through all of this emotional change, physical change, and God breathed some new songs that channeled all those feelings and doubts and emotions into these lyrics.”
As much change as Hawk Nelson has undergone in the last year, new lead singer Jonathan Steingard explains the DNA of the band is still the same. “We’re still that high energy band that a church or youth group would book if they want to have a fun youth night,” says Steingard. We want to take what we’ve been and not leave it behind, but grow it a little bit and hopefully be a lot more intentional about what we’re saying.”
This intentionality shines through the two central songs on the album: “Words” and “Made.” Steingard wrote “Words” with Matt Hammitt (Sanctus Real) and Seth Mosley, the producer on the album. The song, and first single, is product of a conversation Steingard had with Hamitt and Mosley. “We were talking about how easy it is to forget how impacting we can be in the lives of the people around us just with our words,” says Steingard. As the lyrics explain, Words can build you up; words can break you down. / Start a fire in your heart or put it out.
“Words,” which features vocals by Bart Millard (MercyMe), is a response to “Made”—a building song, layered with fast-tempo strings, that speaks boldly to the listener during the chorus: You’re beautiful, wonderful, perfectly made. “The idea behind that song,” says Steingard, “is that when something is made instead of just happening, everything
about it is on purpose and intentional. If we didn’t just happen, if we were created by someone who loves us and cares about us and has a purpose for our lives, then when we look in the mirror, we should be satisfied with what we see.”
So “Made” tells us we are on purpose, and “Words” encourages us to live life purposefully.
Enter to win a copy of Hawk Nelson’s “Made” and an iTunes gift card. Just click on the link below!
