Valley Worship

Featured Artist on SongDiscovery Vol. 110 with All Sons And Daughters, Kingdom, and Vertical Church Band. - Worship Leader Magazine

Featured Artist on SongDiscovery Vol. 110 with All Sons And Daughters, Kingdom, and Vertical Church Band. - Worship Leader Magazine

Featured Artist on SongDiscovery Vol. 110 with All Sons And Daughters, Kingdom, and Vertical Church Band. - Worship Leader Magazine

Rob Ekno host of in your face Christian radio interviews Valley Worship - INDIE104

On April 26, Valley Worship hosted an in-house record release at Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV) in San Dimas, Calif. for its first major album, “Valley Worship,” which debuted on April 6, Good Friday.

For being new on the music scene, Valley Worship delivers a set of worship music that is well worth the listen. It presents a good mix of vocals, instruments and sounds, offering a fresh take on the mainstream view of Christian music. The band’s members do not give off the impression that they are trying to prove themselves. According to Valley Worship’s website, each of their songs simply finds its roots in their community’s “desire to worship by the Word, worship daily and worship unashamedly.”

The album starts off with “A Rush of Color,” an instrumental track that displays the band’s creativity while purposefully mirroring the theme of divine creativity as seen in Genesis 1:1-3. It leads right into “God of Creation,” which carries an upbeat tune and a readily familiar chorus refrain that emphasizes God’s identity. A later track named “Name Above All Names” takes up the theme of identity again as the lyrics count off numerous titles for God, climaxing with “Jesus” in the chorus. Its use of the synth and steady drumbeats made me think of the oldies, just a little bit.

Valley Worship uses some nice background riffs on the electric guitars, as in “I Will Give Praise” and “We Cry Holy.” In the latter song, a solid beat and smooth work on the keys carries into the guitars at the first chorus and then builds with the drums at the second go-around. The pace lets up for the bridge and picks up right where it left, permeated with recurring praises of God’s holiness and worthiness.

“Eyes Open,” another instrumental — this time inspired by Psalm 119:18 — provides an intro to the following song, “Who Is Like Our God,” setting the stage for the words to come. “Who Is Like Our God” boasts strong vocals from band member Ashley Beckford and powerful lyrics proclaiming God’s exclusive character and extraordinary acts.

The last three songs almost blend right into each other, with the lyrics as well as the sound, with the instrumental acting like a bridge between the two.

“You Came” presents a sincere cry recounting God’s saving deeds — with attention to those past, present and future. The third instrumental track, entitled “Daylight,” consists of an electronic representation of 2 Corinthians 5:17, a statement of complete newness for believers in Christ. The album’s final song goes by the name “Renewed,” and its ending revives some of the sounds from “Daylight,” perhaps to mimic the theme of a constant cycle of freshness in a life lived by faith.

The band’s roster looks like this: Beckford and Jeremiah Mullins with vocals; Joel Ceballos with programming and vocals; Lance Beckford on drums and percussion; Michael Lee on piano; Troy Welstad on keys and programming; Matthew Ferrer on electric and lap steel guitars; Ryan Biermann on electric guitar; Jeff Jansen on acoustic, bass and electric guitars, as well as guitaret; Benjamin Stanton in charge of arranging and conducting the strings; with Susanna Kwon on the cello; Lily Mackay on the viola and Annie Hoffman and David Cano on the violin.

A majority of Valley Worship’s members have roots in APU. Jansen and Biermann are APU alumni, and Lee teaches as a professor in the music department. Mullins, a senior, and Ferrer, a junior, are communication studies majors, while Lance is a senior music education major. Mackay is a freshman violin performance major, Hoffman is a senior church music major, Cano is a sophomore film major and Kwon is a sophomore cello performance major.

Considering the way Valley Worship’s first recording can satisfy cravings of musicians and Christians alike, the team from CCV might just have what it takes to do it again someday - The Clause Press