I'm heading back to the US in a couple days, and wanted to let people know about the Christmas Sampler of two of my songs that you can now download on NoiseTrade: http://noisetrade.com/hiramring - spread the love with your friends! All you do is put in your email address and you will be sent an email with a link to download the two songs.
I've been in the throes of paper-writing for two of my classes, and the papers are due next Friday, December 10th. However, I did want to give an update on the extra-curricular activities I've been involved in, most notably recording songs for another album or two. You can watch the video above for a preview.
My main project is a new solo album of 12 songs which will tentatively be titled 'Home' as many of the songs deal with this theme. I've had some really crazy experiences over the last year and a half (some of which are on this blog) with touring to promote my first album, trying to figure out direction, experiencing intimacy and loss, and traveling half-way around the world, which have really made me ponder the meaning of home. What is it and how do I get there? In this album I suppose I continue one of the themes from the first album, 'Breathe Deep'.
The second set of songs are more worship-oriented prayers and psalms that I've written mostly over the course of the last year as I've struggled with the theme of 'home'. They're directly or indirectly influenced by the time I've spent alone with God, fellowship with friends, and particularly encouraged by the album of sacred songs, '12 Gates', that I worked on with Matthew Monticchio and others. There's two kinds of these tunes - new hymns (some of which we've done in church) and general worship songs (some of which could be congregational). So I'm not sure if that'll turn into two EPs or if I'll just release a full-length album. I welcome your feedback!
It's been really great to record guitar and vocals with the guys at SoundFarm here in Singapore, and later this week I'll be doing another session to get vocals. I'll be taking the tracks back with me to the US for Christmas, where I'm hoping my friend Ross can lay down some drums while I'm there, and maybe I can get some other musicians to contribute as well. I'll try to upload some samples as the arrangements get finalized.
