Worship Musician Magazine September 2024 | Page 11

hear now on the recording . And it just felt so moving and stirring , even just musically before the words even began . I was like , “ Okay , this feels like something .” So we wrote a whole song around it , and for whatever reason , as it goes sometimes with songs , we played it for people , a number of people . And it was almost as if it just didn ’ t land . It didn ’ t resonate with people , and no one really heard what we were feeling and hearing . So that happens a lot as a songwriter . So you learn to kind of go , “ Okay , move on , dig for something else .”
But with certain songs that don ’ t find a home straight away , some of them just stick with you . And I think after 2 , 3 , 4 years , if there ’ s still a song that ’ s living and it comes to mind and you sit down at a piano and that ’ s what you start playing naturally , I see merit in maybe considering a rewrite or relooking at the song and seeing if there ’ s still life in it . And so that ’ s what we did . We looked at the song again , and we created a very basic demo . I ’ ve got minimal skills compared to other people we know , but I created this drum loop and tried to flesh out what this could feel like with a band . And then we shared it with Joel Houston , and he brought his epic-ness in terms of a big signature bridge that felt like it really made the song feel whole . The bridge didn ’ t exist before . So yeah , between working with Joel on that and also Ben ’ s poetry , I mean there ’ s really no one like Ben Hastings . It was just a thrill . I ’ m so glad that song exists and is out there , and I feel really proud of it in terms of its weight in lyric . And I also feel really proud of the music . I feel like I am proud of how it stands out , even without adding the lyrics . It feels like a moving piece .
[ WM ] Well , I read that you made a decision for
Christ when you were 13 years old . Were you involved in music prior to that ? And if so , whom did you listen to ?
[ Hannah ] Oh , yes . That ’ s true . I was 13 . But yes , prior to that I grew up doing classical piano grades . So my first instrument that I learned was piano . And then I kind of crossed over with beginning to learn guitar . And then that overtook , that became this passion , I think because of how it became contemporary in terms of the style of music that you could lean into . Then that became my first instrument . And I would play guitar in jazz bands at school , and I would play any instrument I could get my hands on . I played percussion in the orchestra ( loved playing percussion ). I played bass at times , and I just loved music . So , but in terms of influences , I have to admit John Mayer as a guitarist , I did love it . He ’ s a show pony in a
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