Collins getting ready for our first crash course on studio recording software.
Today we begin officially training on the software “Pro Logic X” for studio recording. We still have some things to iron out before we begin actually producing some music, but we’re rejoicing in the progress.
The vision for the studio is simple:
We want to train.
We will, by the grace of God, invest in a handful of musically gifted folks that love producing, recording and mixing music. In a culture that is still teaching en mass antiquated life skills (Eg. how to make borsch), folks that know how to record technically will own an employable life skill. In Ukraine, the ‘cup of cold water’ I believe for this generation is investing in their employable future.
By investing in someone’s future, for the sake of simply caring and believing in an individual – the doors of the heart fling open and the grace of God impacts the whole of the person. They know they are cared for, they let down their walls of reservation and ask the deeper questions. This is where Jesus shows up and answers those questions.
We want to create.
90% of the Christian music heard around Ukraine, Russia and Belarus I’ve found to be from the west. They simply transliterate the songs, which often loses most if not all the original meaning of the song – and voila, a ‘sort of’ Chris Tomlin song.
We want to provide a vehicle for producing original, indigenous music for the emerging Christian generations, by the believers here. Their styles, their heart, their lyrics – the song of the Lord rise up from His people and us these two little rooms!
We want to employ.
Most things we do here cost money. Some things, like the Widow ministry, will always be ministries that require outside financial support. However, other things, like the Cafe (one day!) and the Studio, we will strive to make them sustainable on their own.
Our hope is that by producing quality music we will be able to attract talent from Kiev and other larger cities. These bands and artists are used to paying for this, and with those potential funds we could employ a few folks part or full time.
That’s our studio vision in a nutshell. We do this by faith, like everything else unless Jesus Christ is front and center it’s a lot of work and a waste of time! Please pray for the studio efforts and for wisdom, finances to finish, and talent (like Collins) to come visit, continue training and helping it evolve into something special.
Everything we have to date has cost only $1,000 (mostly acoustic panels and software). A good friend from Crossroads brought over and donated another $1-2k of equipment. Studio’s can cost over $100k to do ‘right’ in the west – but with today’s technology and lower costs for production, we’re excited to see what will come!
Waited a long time for this moment – “We are the world” solo album (for the hearing impaired only).