“Freedom – A New Jerusalem” Jon Scott From the Brown Babes EP Freedom – A New Jerusalem (release date: November 17, 2020) Jon Scott, a London-based singer-songwriter (and first cousin to international singing star Seal), wrote “Freedom – A New Jerusalem” in response to President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. The murder of George Floyd only amplified Scott’s anger. With elements of Afrobeat and a U2-esque world pop sensibility, the title track of Scott’s four-track EP is an explicit call on the international community to break down the dividing walls and ...

“Without Condition” Ashy Akakpo Independent (release date: February 16, 2020) https://www.ashyakakpo.com By Bob Marovich From North-West London, England, indie gospel artist Ashy Akakpo tests industry waters with her debut single, “Without Condition.” Understated and focused wholly on lyrics about God’s unconditional love, “Without Condition” introduces a young woman who sounds for all the world like an emerging Christian version of Alicia Keys. Don’t think so? Check out the harmony section at the single’s end and get back with me. It’s like we are spying on a late night solo happening on a half-lit church altar. Yes, less is more.

Ian Copeland Green I Still Believe Cyrus Records (release date: August 7, 2019) By Bob Marovich Ian Copeland Green’s album I Still Believe may traverse different shades of gospel music, but the pop melodies, club-sized beats, and electronica of twenty-first century radio hits are the ties that bind the project together. The artist brings his experience as praise and worship leader at a church in South London, England, to bear on his craft. The radio-sized songs are almost uniformly P&W-focused in lyric and demonstrate Green’s capacity to work in a variety of styles—from the easygoing “A Hymn for Him” that ...

Hanson Asiedu Stages (EP) Independent (release date: October 3, 2018) https://hansonasiedu.bandcamp.com/ By Bob Marovich Thanks to a successful 2017 Kickstarter campaign, singer, songwriter, and musician Hanson Asiedu (formerly Kase Sounds [“Change the World”]) released a five-track EP called Stages, his debut recording under his own name. Asiedu has a brightness and flexibility to his voice, and a coolness to his musicianship, that bring to mind John Legend. While the songs on Stages traverse acres of musical territory, in general they combine the acoustic-style gospel of Jonathan McReynolds with the earthiness of Tracy Chapman. The opening track, “God of Your Word,” ...

“Forevermore” Sue Neil Sure Foundation Music (2017) By Bob Marovich A lovely acoustic piano intro makes way for a gentle prayer of praise from Pastor Sue Neil. In soft tones, she marvels at the wonders of God and all he has created. If “Forevermore” sounds sun-kissed, that’s because Neil wrote it upon waking early one morning and feeling the need to put in song all the emotions she felt about the Lord. Towards the conclusion, as Neil moves to the most passionate portion of the song and listeners anticipate a heartbeat-skipping explosion of sound, the natural resolution of her innermost feelings, her voice drops somewhat from ...