After Out of Eden presented an a cappella version of an old hymn at a Focus on the Family chapel service, the audience rose to their feet. The group was struck by the power of the lyrics and their ability to transform both performers and listeners. Consequently, they thought it would be cool to explore a new side of their musical talents and show there is more to Out of Eden than what people already know.
“When you’re seen on the forefront of something,” says Lisa, “you can come to the point where you just want to branch out. We felt it was time to show a different side of us and take a big step of faith.”
And take a step of faith is exactly what Out of Eden did.
What most people already know is that this trio has sold over a million and a half albums, shared the stage with Destiny’s Child, Kirk Franklin, DC Talk (to name a few), earned both BMG and Dove Awards, and garnered soundtrack credits on Dawson’s Creek, Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Doolittle, and Christine Aguilera’s Diary. Sisters Lisa Kimmey, Andrea Baca, and Danielle Kimmey are highly regarded for their incredible harmonies, innovative arrangements, straight-ahead lyrics and high octane stage performances.
But their latest release, Hymns, represents yet another dimension of their artistic talents and personalities. Rather than look at the latest mainstream trends or musical fads, the young women looked deep inside, devoted themselves to prayer, and collectively brainstormed as to the direction and content of their next album. After meditation, council, and confirmation of their instincts, they returned to their church upbringing and the music that first touched their souls.
“There may be a song on the track list that everyone knows, but we gave it our own creative twist – and that may completely catch listeners by surprise,” says Lisa. “There are some differences musically and artistically that are immediately noticeable. But a lot of the classic elements remain, just carried out content-wise in a way that’s new for everyone.”
Their selection of classic hymns include “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise,” “Be Still My Soul,” and “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” (a duet with Tree63’s lead singer John Ellis). Also included are two original tunes, “Vision of Love” and “Have Mercy.”
Andrea explains the group’s time thumbing through hymnals searching for classic hymns. “There are so many emotions that the songs evoke, which is how we narrowed down the list to those that made the final cut. The words are so inspiring and have upheld over time, so we tried to pour our entire hearts into them. On the originals, Lisa had an incredible ability to put into words how we can overcome our everyday struggles. The combination of old and new is so hopeful and encouraging.”
For the first time, Lisa was the sole arranger and producer of the album. “It was a learning process for sure. But I got tons of encouragement from my sisters, the label, and management, so that helped me to relax and just be myself. Having chosen songs like “Be Still My Soul” turned out to be incredibly appropriate, especially in the midst of the pressure and drama of making an album.”
“As I arranged and produced these songs,” admits Lisa, “I was so moved, so struck to the core of my being, reading these incredible lyrics from people who weren’t trying to sell records, had no business motives, no due dates; they just wanted to glorify God. They were moved to write and to compose because of the experiences they had at the feet of Jesus. Their lyrics are so different from anything I’ve ever written or from a lot of what I’ve heard. Instead of self-centered lyrics, each word is God focused.”
Hymns is a compilation that fans and radio are embracing with great enthusiasm, an alternate expression of Out of Eden’s deep faith. “This doesn’t mean that every album will be like this from here on out in the future,” Lisa verifies. “It’s just another way that we’re stretching and going with what feels right at the time. This project wasn’t calculated and there was no consideration of timing with what the music industry is doing. This is us interpreting beautiful and timeless songs in a way that shows the Word of God is true and right beside us everywhere we go.”
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” and “My Faith Has Found A Resting Place” are classic songs to affirm our faith in the midst of a chaotic world. “Our only hope is to somehow capture the spirit, the essence of these songs and use our voices to carry that spirit to a new generation,” says Lisa. “As much as I’ve been blessed by these hymns, I pray that we can bless others, and, most importantly, bless the Lord. It’s our tribute.”
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”- Our mom had played this on the piano for us and then our manager suggested it again, but we didn’t want to go with the original melody. We felt the focus should be more of a churchy, praise and worship base that was very emotional. The lyrics are incredible and we didn’t change one of them. The song speaks about the glory of God, His power, justice and might, plus it’s a reminder of who God is. A lot of modern worship is focused on working us up to praise God, but this hymn is so bottom line saying that the Lord is great.
“Praise to the Lord the Almighty”- This is a known melody that keeps ¾ time, which lends itself more to a rock-esque beat and not typically R&B. Since that was the case, we wound up getting some of the guys from Tree63 to appear on this with us, which was a group we always wanted to work with. We all worked through the charts together and I feel like we all did an amazing job on the song. John did incredibly well on vocals and the song is very big and thematic.
“I Know Whom I Have Believed”- This was actually the last song we did during the demo process. We were flipping through pages of a hymnal and saw this opposite of another song we did. I began reading the words and listening to what came off the page. The words were incredible and filled with a lot of soul, basically about having faith in a time when people want to challenge who God is. It’s a really powerful song that calls you to stand and know for sure that God is real.
“My Faith Has Found a Resting Place”- This is one of the prettiest songs we’ve ever done and the guys that played on it did such an awesome and nice job. Our manager brought this song to me, I lived with the lyrics for a while and then the melody came out and just seemed to come together. It has a really laid back sound- some have even said it reminds them of Alison Krauss- and it’s just a pretty song that speaks of the fact that we can rest in the Lord. He wants to be our rest and be there to comfort us.
“Be Still My Soul”- We did this one really, really acoustic almost to the point of going old school- almost taking it back to Al Green! I read the lyrics to this song and thought of the different people in my life who’ve gone through severe, tragic moments. The song spoke of so much hope, trusting in God, waiting on the Lord and being filled. What a blessing this song could be to those in need of peace!
“Fairest Lord Jesus”- My friend David Wyatt brought this song to me knowing we were doing a hymns record, but probably not thinking we’d actually cut it. We did and wound up with an upbeat, super happy pop arrangement where there is this really awesome bridge.
“Vision of Love”- This is an original. I had an idea for a choir song a long time ago and was going to pitch it to another group, but never wound up getting it on tape. Well, for these sessions I ended up recording it and it has a real soulful gospel feel- almost gospel funk- and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
“Have Mercy”- It’s the other original song on the record! Though the weird thing when you’re a writer, you don’t feel comfortable taking a lot of the credit since there is so much inspiration that comes from God. It’s one of those songs I had an idea of when I was on the plane and I began to sing and write it down. It wasn’t even where I was in my life, but it still came to me. It’s a very desperate song focusing on the forgiveness and mercy of God. It’s a very real gospel song with the organ and strings. I hope this prayer reminds me how much we need the mercy of God and brings a conviction to those in need of repentance.
“Better Is One Day”- We all think this is such an awesome song and though a lot of people have sung it, we just wanted to put our flavor into it a little bit. We sing it in church all the time and it provides such an awesome moment of worship. Hopefully our audience will be exposed to it if they haven’t already!
“God Will Take Care of You”- The music and track is very soulful and very different from what we were able to do before. Danielle totally killed it vocal wise on this one! Sometimes we all have battles and issues with trusting the Lord, but like the title says, God will indeed take care of you with whatever you’ve got going on in your life. You’ve gotta trust and believe that he will take care of you and lean on Him for everything.
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