Fireflight: In The Studio

Album title: INNOVA
Label: Independent
Release date: May 5, 2015
Producers: Geoff Duncan, Joshua Silverberg, Rusty Varenkamp, and Kipp Williams
Number of Tracks: 12

IT ALL STARTS WITH SONGS: This has been a transformative time for our band, and we have been pushing past the limits of what we have always done to allow for growth and expansion. With leaving our label came new risks and new freedoms, which frankly, can be quite terrifying! It has caused us to rely on God in new ways and out of that comes a necessary vulnerability. That is best described as a step of faith, and as every part of your life is drawn into question, you find that faith has to be the answer at every turn. This has bred a new understanding of God’s power and reach in every aspect of life. Ultimately, these songs are about real life and real people. They’re about real troubles and real joy, and most of all, a real love that God gives us to embrace and then share with each other as we all live into our own journeys. – Dawn Michele/Vocals

CREATIVE COLLABORATION: We’ve been fortunate over the years to meet and form relationships with the highest quality of people, both personally and professionally. When we started writing for  INNOVA, we wanted to collaborate with some of the people that we looked up to as people, writers, and producers. As we began making calls, we were taken aback by how many of them were fans of the band and our prior works. Not only were they excited to work with us, but were also incredibly passionate about helping us find a new and fresh voice. Rusty Varenkamp, Joshua Silverberg, Kipp Williams, and Geoff Duncan are some of the most talented producers/writers that we have had the pleasure of working with on any project.

As for Stephen Christian (lead singer of Anberlin), we all go WAY back! We both got our start around the same time in Florida playing several shows together in our earlier years. Fireflight even had the honor of playing Anberlin’s CD release show in Orlando for “Never Take Friendship Personal.” When we approached Stephen about being on the song “Safety,” he was totally on board and made it happen! – Glenn Drennen/Guitars

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: The greatest thing that we discovered in working with multiple producers is how well-rounded it made the project. Each of the producers are fantastic at what they do, but they all do their thing just a little bit differently. They also have their own unique takes on music stylistically, which helped us create 12-songs that are all unique in their own way. – G.D.

DUE DATES: I discovered that I was going to be a mom right as we were completing the recordings for INNOVA. I literally found out as I was on the way to the studio for one of my last vocal sessions. I was in shock, so it was quite a surreal feeling as I drove along. I felt like I should pinch myself and make sure it wasn’t a dream! The band was on a strict schedule at the time, so there wasn’t an opportunity to float away in those moments—I had to go in and give it my all while inside I was bursting with this profound secret! – D.M.

INNOVA ’S THEME: Renewal. It’s about developing a new mindset where we can see God and His energy working through every aspect of our life’s experiences, whether it’s in the hard times or in the miraculous. Then, ultimately letting that revelation give us a new vision for what the future can be.

We want listeners to know that God is real and He is love. He’s looking to regain what has been lost—separation between He and us—and wants to restore our joy. He wants the best for all of us and wants us to grow in ways we never could have imagined possible. He wants to do all of this by drawing close to and loving us in a way only He can. – D.M.

“A-HA” MOMENTS: Going into the recording process, we wanted to build in some surprises for the listener’s experience. It took us almost two years to write INNOVA, so by the time we entered the studio and laid the foundations with the producers, we knew that there was going to be lots of space to be as creative as we wanted. We expect people are going to be pleasantly surprised with the end result, for sure.

Recording INNOVA was entirely a labor of love and collaboration, between Fireflight and the writers/producers, but also with our awesome fans! We could not have recorded and released this project without every single one of them. When we announced that Fireflight would be going independent and needed their support to make INNOVA, they stepped up and helped us turn it into a reality. – G.D.

INNOVA IN 5-WORDS OR LESS: Our creativity is reborn. – D.M.