More Christmas Gifts!

[EDIT: the songs below have expired from the site, but if you are interested in hearing them, just get in touch - ringrecords AT gmail DOT com]

Yup, you guessed it - cheery Christmas goodness for you and loved ones to enjoy!

  The holidays have arrived with gusto, and to tickle your highly-cultured musical tastebuds we have a couple of the more esoteric tunes which, due to time and other constraints, we failed to release last year on the highly-acclaimed 'Love >>> Begotten'. So, following the paragraphs below, which explain said delicacies, are links to each of the tunes where you can download (right-click and 'save target' if from PC, ctrl-click and 'save link' if on a Mac) or simply click to listen. We'd love to have your feedback!

Tune #1: How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
This reproduction of the Christmas hymn is a juxtaposition of familiar sacred elements with the more space-age-tendencies of modernity. Featuring the deep text of the original, the vocals of Cliff and Jen Lewis float over a bed of gossamer and silken yet edgy synthesizers following traditional chord changes (played by Matthew Monticchio). Through the music one envisions candy-coated consumerism portrayed by dancing elves in Christmas garb, yet in the words we are hauntingly reminded of the Child, the Son of Man who is the culmination of all creation - past, present, and future - and who delivers us from our selfishness.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/How_Brightly_Shines_the_Morning_Star-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #2: Once in Royal David's City
  Another re-done Christmas favorite, this arrangement evokes a sense of the earthiness and reality of our savior's birth. With the noises of a first-century village and the prophecy (in Hebrew) from Micah 5:2, we are immediately transported to the night in the stable with Mary and Joseph. Featuring the vocals of Katie Becker and the pitchy harmony of friends, travel back in time as we remember the One who fulfilled the law and the prophets, He who was what we cannot be - perfection.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/Once_in_Royal_Davids_City-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #3: O Little Child
  For those of you who missed this song a few weeks ago, you will have the opportunity to download it again on December 22 (Christmas Eve eve, eve) through http://www.itickets.com - a source of daily free downloads from all over the US!

Fig Central

On the last First Friday of 2009 (if you don't know about these monthly art and cultural evenings in Lancaster, you are sorely missing out) I had the pleasure of performing at a once-in-a-lifetime event... The opening of Fig Central! Their one-stop shop for information and events in Lancaster's downtown area is located in the shops on King Street next to Central Market and across the street from the newspaper's offices. I provided the background ambience for an evening of holiday cheer and excited gathering as most of the city passed through. Watch the clip below to catch some of the excitement!

Recording Sacred Songs Pt 2

The last few weeks (months, actually) I've been working steadily with my friend Matthew Monticchio on our albums of sacred songs. We recently recorded our friend Dan Kirby on the song 'I Hunger and I Thirst' - text that Matt put to new music. A really great tune that we are excited to be able to share with you - if all goes according to plan, we'll be able to do that early in January. Until then, check out the video below for a short voice lesson from Matt. =)

Brother James

The week of Thanksgiving my friend James from England was visiting. We visited the sites around Lancaster, including the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. Watch as we ride the trains - James is a fun guy!

We also took a trip to the Constitution Center in Philadelphia - it was well worth the trip to see the exhibits and the theater presentation. Great reminder of the unique nature of our country. In the video below we're having fun with the metal dudes in the signer's hall.