Lauren Daigle – Christmastime Is Here

CCM: Because it is Christmas music, yes, the content is an easy entry for Christians—but given the overall timbre of the project, we would imagine that the music will resonate with everyone.
LD: I think…to just get a new sound in our veins—something that’s a little outside of our wheelhouse—but, yes, it’s still very approachable because it’s Christmas music and there’s obviously Christian songs on there. We were really respectful to those Christian selections—my heart was that out of everything, they would be the ones to really cut through on the record.

The other side of the pendulum is that the people who wouldn’t ever listen to Christian radio could tap in, because it has such a rich, jazz sound. It might be a little rootsy, but it also has the wonder and the elements of Christmas through a Christian perspective, as well. The goal was for it to be a kind-of blend.

CCM: Of all things, with a Christmas record, do you think Behold has the potential of not only crossing the seasonal music barrier, but also seeing it become a success in mainstream music?
LD: That barrier…these are the questions I love. I’ll say, “Yes,” but not because I’m tooting my own horn. My heart is to make that wall decrease. Not in the sense that we’re becoming “of the world,” but that we stop looking at it as unapproachable. I think that with the over-commercialization of Christmas, as with our approach to making this record, we did want to see that wall come down.

This also kind-of goes back to when we were picking songs for the album. This is why I love that you asked this question… In the process of making the record there was this overwhelming sense of connection in the studio. Every person in the room was still. They heard again. They listened again. People were sharing laughs. The instruments were corresponding with one another in a way I’ve never experienced before.

It’s like, how jazz is supposed to work—each instrument has to talk with one another throughout the entire song. When [producer] Paul [Mabury] went to comp things, he couldn’t comp because if he comped the saxophone, then the trombone gets messed up because the saxophone was responding to a lick that the trombone did—so everything is pretty much one-take from start to finish.

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