Kickstarter

Every album has a story. Here's ours:

About two years ago, I (HSH Director Alex Mejias) moved from Charlottesville, VA to Richmond, VA, into an inner city neighborhood called Church Hill. I began working at East End Fellowship, an inter-denominational, inter-racial congregation. I quickly found myself in over my head. 

The music ministry at EEF is dynamic and ambitious. Some might even say it's schizophrenic. When I first arrived, I encountered a congregation that routinely moved among gospel songs, CCM hits, hymns, neo-soul originals and more without batting an eyelash. For the first few months, I stood on stage holding my guitar and watched everyone else do what I considered a feat of musical genius/insanity. I was humbled and challenged to broaden the musical scope of my work with High Street Hymns. 

With the encouragement of my pastors and my close colleague David Bailey (Arrabon mastermind), I began to imagine how obscure hymns and liturgical music might be contextualized in this urban setting. Could it happen?  What could God have in store for us when we allow Him to bring together our gifts?   

Around the same time, I was also fortunate to step into some divinely appointed relationships with the likes of the kind folk at Lamp Mode Records and an emerging rapper/poet by the name of Shad E. Through these relationships, High Street Hymns has been sharpened and changed, and God began to shape something remarkable. What began as an experiment in hymn/hip-hop merger has become a powerful musical embodiment of the unity in diversity that is the distinctive marking of the Kingdom of God. 

The theme of this album is God's work of reconciliation and our restored relationships with each other and creation. We hope that the lyrical content as well as the sonic identity of the songs themselves will show forth the power of the Gospel to unite diverse groups of people in the name of Christ. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: 

1. By contributing financially, you make this album possible. We're hoping to raise about 50% or more of our budget through Kickstarter. Every single dollar counts, so even if that's all you can give, please consider backing us.

2. By participating in the journey. Our Kickstarter backers will have exclusive behind the scenes access and will vote on the Album Cover! We are looking for partners and want you to feel as connected as possible. As we move towards the project we'll be releasing special content through this page that won't be available anywhere else.

3. By spreading the word. Word of mouth is the very best marketing. This album will be very similar in sound to our last album "One Winter's Night" so you can give your friends and contacts a good taste of the album by directing them to that project.  

If you have any thoughts, ideas or questions, please do not hesitate in contacting me. Here's my direct contact info: alex@highstreethymns.com