Music
With 10 songs in the first volume focused on faith and values, each song is unique and explores a variety of musical styles with the hope that there is something there for everyone to enjoy. If you are involved in school ministry, kids clubs, Sunday School, or any other kind of children’s ministry, we suggest you take a look at Right Tracks on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, or visit this direct link: www.salvationist.org.uk/right-tracks.
Jesus, You’re All I Need
Revolution Worship dropped their newest track entitled Jesus, You’re All I Need on April 14, 2023. Revolution Worship (Australia Territory) continue their trend of releasing songs that have fantastic content in a musical setting that is accessible and usable in corporate worship.
Salvation Worship Volume 5
Back in February, Volume 5 of Salvation Worship was released. The five new congregational songs include:
In the Secret of Thy Presence
More Like You
My Security
We Are the Church
You Are My Passion
SA Worship Magazine believes that a vital part of resourcing Salvation Army worship teams is sharing new music that is being released currently by Salvationist groups around the world. Some of this can be used for worship or for personal listening and reflection.
Brand new from the Australia Territory,
Revolution Worship is the newest publication/recording available around The Salvation Army World.
Click on the videos here to see the song story that Dan Casey shares and also for the lyric video.
Don't forget to you can find Our Redeemer by Revolution Worship on all your streaming platforms.
Worship Leading Choir Una Voce
releases debut album
Una Voce is a choral group made up of young adult Salvationists in the United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. The name, meaning one voice in Latin, was inspired by Romans 15:5-6 (TPT) which also acts as the group’s mission statement: “Now may God, the source of great endurance and comfort, grace you with unity among yourselves, which flows from your relationship with Jesus, the Anointed One. Then, with a unanimous rush of passion, you will with one voice glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The essence of this passage of Romans is that as God’s people, we should value each other equally in Jesus. This is a central value of the group, that everyone equally plays their part.
We have been so excited in recent months to have recorded our debut album, with thanks to World of Sound studios. This has been a great experience for Una Voce, being able to spend time working on producing high quality music.
When it came to titling Una Voce’s debut album, the song that kept being suggested was We Are More Than Conquerors.
With the words directly from Romans 8, we are always so excited to proclaim that absolutely nothing in this world will separate us from the love of God. In my opinion, there is no greater feeling than proclaiming our faith with others in unison, as one body of Christ.
It doesn’t escape my attention that three of the 15 tracks begin with the plural pronoun, “we”. It is a beautiful thing to sing our individual, personal praises to God, and many contemporary songs and ancient hymns alike are written with a singular perspective of “I” and “my”. Within a choral setting, however, there is profound unity to be found in acknowledging that our experience of Christ’s love is shared and singing of it together.
So much of Una Voce’s mission is to celebrate and magnify Salvation Army choral music. We are pleased to have included several Army songs on the album. One in particular being Praise the Lord from the pen of Richard Phillips. This will be known to many songster fans of the 1990/early 00s. The choric speaking is quite an exciting moment, which then leads into our “McFly” moment of the album – be sure to listen out for it!
We are also keen to bring in external choral influences to our repertoire. An obvious choice was the song Indodana, which is sung everywhere by some of the most accomplished choirs in the world. It’s a beautiful thing to explore new languages and new ways of expressing our deep longing to be near to God. This song, in the traditional South African language of isiXhosa, relates with John 3:16 in a striking way.
Whenever Una Voce has a gig, we are always wanting to centre our programme around sharing in worship together. This is why it was so important to include worship songs such as Be Still My Soul and Great Are You, Lord on the album to reflect that. It is our hope and prayer that as you listen and relax in
God’s presence, you feel able to freely worship in any way you wish.
Finally, it has to be said that we have the BEST accompaniment group. Their talent is unreal! We are extremely grateful that they share their giftings with us, as it completely enhances our ministry. If anything, you want to buy this album just to hear their genius music-making, all for the glory of God!
The album is being released on Friday 29th April and will be available for download on www.sps-shop.com. Be sure to check out Una Voce on Facebook and YouTube for the latest news from the group!
Be Thou My Vision
SAWM also caught up with Lt. Erin Wikle who shared with us the heart behind the reimagining of a beautiful hymn of the church.
This is one of my favourite hymns. I’ve sung it in recent years as a reminder to fix my eyes on the Lord. He is the one who informs my vision. Coming through the past two years – experiencing the widespread impact of the pandemic, witnessing racial tension wreak havoc, and watching political upheaval cause division in my country – this song, even though it was written over 100 years ago, is still fitting. Lord, help us. Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
The chorus reads:
Jesus, my greatest reward and delight.
Pardon and freedom have flowed from the wound in Your side.
As we cry out for saving in you, will we find: we are free.
As darkness gives way to our marvellous light,
Eyes are now open, You’ve come and You’ve restored our sight.
Give us wisdom to know what is best and is right.
Help us see.
This is a reminder of real freedom and a reflection on Jesus, our Redeemer. God is faithful. He is steadfast. He transcends time and space, and He will always be exactly who He is. You will notice the sound of a clock both winding and ticking at the beginning and end of the song. We made a creative choice to include these sounds as a reminder of the very nature of God who was, and is, and is to come.
Be Thou My Vision was produced by LunarLab Audio (Israel Doria) and recorded from in-home studios in Colorado, California, and Texas.
About Nick & Erin
Nick Helms & Erin Wikle are worship leaders who are passionate about making and sharing music that might draw others into deep encounters with Jesus. They are both Salvation Army officers (pastors), serving their communities and meeting needs in Jesus’ name.
Nick and his wife are raising four young children in Denver, Colorado. Erin and her husband reside in San Francisco, California where they are also raising their four children. Life holds no dull moments.
We hope you enjoy our music and come to know (or be reminded) that you are not alone. There is a God who loves you deeply.
Nick currently serves as the Divisional Youth and Candidates’ Secretary in the Intermountain Division (Denver, Colorado).
Instagram: @nick.h.e.l.m.s
Erin currently serves as a Corps Officer in the Golden State Division at The Salvation Army South of Market Corps (San Francisco, California).
Instagram: @erin.wikle
Consider
Shalini Danielson has written and released an amazing new song called Consider. SAWM asked her to share a bit about the story of the song.
I wrote this song in a season of my life where I struggled to be content. Throughout my journey with the Lord, I’ve always heard phrases like, “Praise God through the storm” or “Worship is your breakthrough in difficult seasons.” I must admit that I knew these sayings were truths, but I wanted to know how. How do I praise God or be okay in a difficult season? How do I create a sense of inner peace with the Lord in the midst of chaos? What does contentment look like in every circumstance?
As I sat at my piano and asked the Lord these questions aloud, I heard Him speak a simple word to me. Consider.
At that moment, I felt the Lord remind me of His nature; being that He was and is always with me.
“Consider my presence, just me.”
This revelation has completely shifted my mindset. In fact, it changed my whole outlook on what it means to live the abundant life. Hello somebody! We are living it now! He is the abundant life. Before I choose to complain to Him, I now stop myself (for the most part) and consider how He has been with me and will continue to be with me every step of the way. I notice His treasures along the journey. What joy! His presence is enough, and if I look hard enough, I will see His faithfulness, goodness, and mercy all throughout my life.
My encouragement to every listener is that we never forget His goodness to us. His presence is the abundant life; it’s living and active. We get to live with Him, never separated. He is always with us.
New track from
CHECK OUT THE REMIX OF SALVATION FOR THE WORLD ON SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC AND OTHER STREAMING SERVICES.
If you are looking for something to listen to this Christmas, we have found a gem for you. Thine Advent Here is an album of wonderful arrangements of Christmas carols from Marty Mikles.
However, this is not your typical “Jingle Bells” or “…all is merry and bright” Christmas album. The arrangements are beautifully arranged and performed to help you meditate on the aspects of Christmas that the songs represent.
The first two tracks, Glory to God and Go Tell It on the Mountain, bring us in with a gentle energy in a gospel rock shuffle style. Then, the feeling of the album changes. For a long time, Marty has given us some great guitar and vocal performances on his recordings and the remainder of the album showcases his immense talent.
Carols that we know and enjoy are presented in a reflective way with a fresh sound that showcases beautiful guitar riffs. Sweet Little Jesus Boy, Still, Still, Still and In the Bleak Midwinter have a distinctive folk feel. In contrast to this, there is a wonderful full band arrangement of O Holy Night that highlights Mikles powerful vocals. The use of a vocal harmonizer in the arrangement of Silent Night is other-worldly and stands out amongst the other tracks on the album.
Without instrumentation, the synthesized vocal performance echoes the familiar words and provides a refreshing experience of this carol. My personal favourite is the haunting rendition of O Come, O Come, Immanuel. This song ties together the strengths of the previous tracks in a carol that I love. It is so beautiful, different and thought-provoking.
This is an album I know you will enjoy this Christmas season. You can support Marty by listening to Thine Advent Here on Spotify or by purchasing the album at this link:
On November 29th UNBOUND (The Salvation Army USA Eastern territorial worship band) will be releasing a Christmas album featuring original arrangements of some of your favorite Christmas songs! Tunes by John Lennon, *NSYNC and Chuck Berry are just some of the fun tracks on this album. Stay tuned to iTunes and The Eastern Territorial Trade Dept. for availability.On November 29th UNBOUND (The Salvation Army USA Eastern territorial worship band) will be releasing a Christmas album featuring original arrangements of some of your favorite Christmas songs! Tunes by John Lennon, *NSYNC and Chuck Berry are just some of the fun tracks on this album. Stay tuned to iTunes and The Eastern Territorial Trade Dept. for availability.
Charts
If you didn't catch it last Christmas The Light Has Come by transMission is a Christmas album that you will want to listen to this Christmas.
Check out the chart for Hark!, that gives a some new life and energy to a carol that we all love. Try this one with your congregation this advent season.
Hark - transMission
Chord Chart - Key of G
- Key of E
Leadsheet - Key of G
- Key of E
New Releases
Verses - NEIGHBOUR &LETTING GO
Check out these songs from VERSES
You can find this single and other tracks from Verses on
Spotify
Apple Music
Google Play
Amazone Music
iTunes
Deezer
Bearers Single - DEFINED
Check out the new single from Bearers - Defined
Below you can watch the lyric video and the acoustic version of this song.
You can find this single and other tracks from Bearers on
Spotify
Apple Music
Google Music
You may have missed a gem from last Christmas season, but make sure you don’t miss it again this year. The Light Has Come is the latest recording from transMission (USA Southern). Mixing carols you know and love with some great original songs, this album has something for everyone. If you are looking for an album to listen to this Christmas on repeat, this is the one.
The debut album by Bearers (New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory) is entitled Home. This isn’t an album with a laid back South Pacific island vibe. Combining high energy synths, soaring guitars and catchy pop melodies, Home is an honest, real and relatable expression of worship that perfectly captures the energy, excitement and enthusiasm of youth in The Salvation Army.
EP III is a brand new release from The Singing Company (USA Central). With an indie rock feel to the album, EP III includes both well-known hymns and original songs that vary from smooth piano and saxophone sounds to guitar driven rock. This album is filled with lyrics that remind us about the unity we have as the body of Christ.