EXODUS - BEHIND THE SCENES

By Shawn Williams

Over the last 12 years, I've had the privilege to work on 100+ different recording projects with musicians from all over the world! From worship to film and tv scores to secular music, each project brings a unique creative process because of the beautiful people who contribute their gifts and perspectives to the writing and recording.

When Greg and I first started dreaming of releasing a completely instrumental album for our next full length project for The Vigil Project, I immediately got excited! As a trained violinist, I've always been exposed to and have LOVED instrumental music, whether it be classical, folk, or film score. As we brainstormed, we both agreed this project would be perfect to invite the Church into the power and beauty of instrumental music - specifically when using music to pray.

Long story short, we decided to create a new project for Lent. After much prayer and discernment (and inspiration from the Holy Spirit), we knew Ben Batalla would be the perfect artist to collaborate with for this album. After several more brainstorming sessions, Ben and I both realized we had gone through Exodus 90 at the exact same time. This shared experience led us to base our entire album concept/theme around the book of Exodus. Just as we had been on a journey through the experience of Exodus 90, we wanted to musically depict the story of the Israelites on their journey through the desert.

The production process for this album was truly inspired! Prior to Ben arriving in Nashville, we spent a few virtual sessions to begin writing and concepting the album layout and sonic vision. However, much of the inspiration didn’t really become clear until we were in the same room. Ben has always used 'Musical Lectio Divina' as a way to write and pray, so this is how we approached all of the compositions. We spent 4 days in my studio reading Scripture, entering into prayer through music, and capturing it via recording... Exodus the album was born.

I know a lot of you may not know much about the recording process (as many don't). People often don't realize the number of hours that go into writing and recording to end up with a song that can be heard for $0.99 on iTunes, or even streamed for free on Spotify or Apple Music. For Exodus, it was probably a combined 250+ hours from start to finish (and this doesn't include the hours of post-production efforts to release an album). In the music industry, we joke about the recording process being similar to the process for making sausage - no one knows how it works, or even wants to, but everyone loves the outcome! As much fun as writing and recording music can be, it also has its own set of struggles and obstacles to get through (cost, time, creativity, gear/tools, etc). But, with a great team (including God 😀), amazing things can and do happen!

Now, let's get a little more in the weeds on the production and recording process... Stick around if you're interested.

The sonic pallet we chose slightly varied per piece, but in general we leaned heavily into our strengths as a team: piano and strings. Ben covered 95% of the piano parts, I covered a few added minimal piano parts (more of the textural layers), atmospheric pads, violin, and viola, and we hired Kevin Terry on cello (Kevin is the other half of Cathedral - a duo string project we started together in college).

We really approached the instrumentation more as “role playing” of sorts - each specific instrument was used to represent a different character in each Exodus story. The type of parts, dynamics, tonality of the instruments, and melodic/chordal choices all were chosen very carefully to better embody and depict the character in the story. If you participated in our Lent & Easter journey this past season, you read Ben's more detailed composer notes on all of this. When we started to enter into each piece, we almost “took on our role” during the performance/prayer. It was such a powerful experience! And it helps working with such seasoned musicians who know every corner of musicality on their instrument. As a violinist for close to 20 years, my violin feels like an extension of my arm! That may sound weird, but if you play an instrument or have devoted yourself to any craft for an extended period of time—writing, painting, a sport, etc—you understand.

Most of the pianos used were sampled instruments that ranged from full grands to intimate felted uprights to more textural ambient pads. In several pieces, we actually reversed instruments, taking a normal piano and flipping the audio direction (ie: the intro sound in Manna).

The primary violin, cello, and piano were all 'live recorded' during our Musical Lectio (meaning tracked at the same exact time). We typically did 2-4 takes per piece and kept the best representation of what we hoped to capture. After we completed the main recording of each piece, we would go back and 'overdub' our additional layers (recording new tracks over top of the existing main passes). This is how the three of us created the larger, more orchestral sounding pieces. Maybe for the next project, we will be able to hire a full orchestra??! (Just dreaming... 😁)

In the end, our entire team really feels grateful for being a part of this amazing project that was truly God inspired. We hope these compositions aid your prayer life and offer a space for deeper reflection and contemplation, especially in any season of spiritual desolation or drought. Know you're not alone.

Blessings to you and your family this Easter season!

Shawn