holding onto a dream ?
[ Tommee ] Like I said , it was literally a dream that I had for fifteen years . I didn ’ t know when it would happen , and I actually tried to make this album every year for the last five years , but I always just ran out of time . I never had enough room in my schedule to get to it . So finally , the only reason I was actually able to start it this year is because , when we all went into quarantine last March , that created space for me to jump into this project that I wanted to make since I was in college .
I knew it was going to happen someday and so I didn ’ t rush it , and I think that was really important . I put a lot of pressure on myself because of the fifteen-year lead up in my mind . No one else knew about the fifteen years of pressure I had on myself . I only wanted to make it once , so it had to be right ( laughs ). Now looking back I think it would not have been what it was supposed to be had I done it one year sooner . I also think that being 2020 and the year that it has been for a lot of people , I think its timely in that I really wanted this album to bring hope and to remind people that hope has already come .
Sometimes we listen to Christmas music and we don ’ t think about the powerful story that we ’ re singing about . We ’ re not expecting something to impact our spirit necessarily . I was praying that this album would bring a surprise of worship , that maybe people wouldn ’ t have their guard up because they ’ re not expecting that from a Christmas album .
You asked about holding on to a dream , I think I had this dream , but I was waiting on God ’ s time . He showed me that this was the year , and through the process He was very much involved . Sometimes even when we have a dream , I think that trusting and waiting on God ’ s time and being patient is even more important than us doing what we want in the moment .
[ WM ] I think there is going to be a lot of great music to come out of the pandemic .
[ Tommee ] I think there ’ s always a way to find positivity in any situation , and I think that creative ’ s during this pandemic all hunkered down and went to work . I think next year we ’ re going to see some of the best creativity we ’ ve seen in decades .
[ WM ] I mentioned your studio and have three related questions . Is your studio digital only , or a mix with analog ? What mic-pres are you using for vocals ? What is one piece of gear in your studio that you can ' t live without ?
[ Tommee ] I actually went one hundred percent completely in the box a couple years ago , and I love it . Its quick and simple , and