Three friends have come together to form a new praise and worship group, New Earth, and release a five-song extended play (EP).
Jessica Young, Sandon Weber and Tara Ashworth are part of New Earth. The EP, titled Pieces, is now available on iTunes, and it will be launched at a CD release party on May 28 at the Metachos Lutheran Bible Camp, starting at 7 p.m.
Young, Weber and Ashworth are all worship leaders at Living Hope Community Church, and Young said they have played together on a regular basis. Weber is also well-connected in the local music scene, as he has released albums in the past and has produced albums at his studio.
“Sandon came up with the idea,” said Young. “He wanted to bring a new sound to the worship scene.”
Weber is also one of the producers of the project. Young said Weber started to work on the project several months ago, and they recorded the tracks at Living Hope in February and March.
“We put together a makeshift recording studio,” said Young.
The songs on the EP were written by other worship groups.
“This project came together quickly,” said Young. “This is our launch project, so the three of us, together, chose these five songs. They all have a lot of meaning to us. They’re songs that we sing at our church at Living Hope, and so we really wanted to do this as our launch project, and we wanted to honour the original artists who wrote the songs.”
Young said they hope to have additional projects in the future, which would include original music.
“We wanted to see what people think of it, and the goal is to hopefully in the near future, to produce some more stuff,” said Young.
A number of local musicians joined them to perform on the project.
Young said the trio’s name is inspired by Revelation 21:1-3, which discusses the vision for a new heaven and a new earth.
The project marks the first time Young and Ashworth have recorded an album. It’s something Young has always to do.
Weber’s experience in the recording industry helped them a lot, she said, not just as a singer and a musician, but as a producer.
Jared Robinson of Moose Jaw mixed and mastered the EP, and produced it with Weber.
“What we sent away to Jared was one thing, and then when he sent it back and he put his own spin on it, it was really exciting to hear how it all came together,” said Young.
The release party will be an exciting night. They are looking forward to performing songs from the EP in front of their friends and family, but the evening will be more than just their music.
The event at Metochos will also feature an information session by friends of New Earth, Jeff and Brandi Morrison, who are trying to bring a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base to the Estevan area named YWAM Brokenshell.
There will also be a worship service featuring musicians different Estevan churches.
“It’s going to be a good night with lots going on,” said Young.
