(1888PressRelease)
November 10, 2008 - This Christmas, Canadian Christian recording artists, Lori-Ann McGrath & Curtis Harnanan, are treating music lovers everywhere to two new original holiday songs - "Ring the Bells!" and "Forest of Hope". Both songs were officially released on November 1st on Lori-Ann & Curtis’ MySpace website.
Following the recording of their retro, disco-inspired track, "Wonderful Counsellor (Advent Version)", Lori-Ann & Curtis were back in the studio to lay down tracks to "Forest of Hope".
"Forest of Hope" has origins that date back to Curtis’ 1997 composition "Forest of Stone" which chronicled his experiences on moving to Canada and his University friendships. Curtis recorded "Forest of Stone" as the title track of his 2001 debut album. When the opportunity arose to write a Christmas song for 2008, Curtis re-wrote the lyrics to "Forest of Stone".
Lori-Ann & Curtis re-worked the arrangements to produce a sparkling new holiday song about "savouring the feeling" of Christmas, without losing sight of the true meaning.
After playing the "Forest of Hope" demo to Megan and Stéphan Gélinas, who provided vocals on "Wonderful Counsellor (Advent Version)", a discussion arose about a possible collaboration on a Christmas single. It was agreed that the song should be lively and fun - while many Christmas standards were offered as possibilities the thought of recording something familiar with a new spin was also quite appealing. Within a couple weeks "Ring the Bells!" was written and recording began in earnest.
"Ring the Bells!" utilized the melody to James Pierpont’s well-known seasonal favourite “Jingle Bells” with a fresh set of lyrics, and a 50s Rock'n'Roll arrangement. The song invites the listener to truly enjoy the Christmas season but also to take some time to share their blessings.
Besides the underlying message of both Christmas songs, there is also an additional connection – "Ring the Bells!" makes reference to the opening lyrics of "Forest of Hope" indicating that it is, “our song our gift to you!”
So what is next for these Kanata musicians?
Already plans are afoot to start recording a contemporary Christian praise song with working title, "Praise Him!" Megan and Stéphan have already agreed to contribute vocals to this new single.
"Praise Him!" is scheduled for release in early 2009.
All of Lori-Ann & Curtis' songs are recorded and released under their own indie label, P& B Productions (Kanata).
Preview some of the new music from Lori-Ann & Curtis at:
www.airplaydirect.com/Lori-AnnCurtis
Please also visit Lori-Ann & Curtis' official site for more information and music:
www.myspace.com/lorianncurtis
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