Perry LaHaie Releases Cinematic Remix of 'O Come O Come Emmanuel (How Long)'
Singer/songwriter and morning drive-time radio host Perry LaHaie has released a new, cinematic remix of his popular Christmas radio single, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel (How Long)." The single is available on streaming platforms worldwide now.
The song, which was the debut single from his latest album, Him, takes on a more powerful, weighty atmosphere under the guidance of award winning cinematic composer and producer Joshua Frerichs, whose credits include his work with Grammy-nominated artists Danny Gokey and Josh Groban, Warner Chappell Music, Food Network, Bank Of America, and the USA Olympics.
“The Holy Spirit has helped Joshua create something really special,” says LaHaie. “Cinematic music can grab us, pull us in, and help us feel more deeply the weightiness of a song’s message."
"That’s why we’re giving “O Come O Come Emmanuel (How Long)” a cinematic remix - to try to help us feel more deeply the weightiness and power of the lyric," continues LaHaie. "My hope is that Josh’s remix will help give us a way to express the pain we feel that the world is not as it should be, that it is a channel of healing as we cry out to a God who understands our pain, and that it fills us with hope for the promised day of the Lord when ‘all the sad things will come untrue."
Far from being just another Christmas song, LaHaie's embellished version aches with the longing for Christ's long awaited return.
"I’ve always thought of this ancient carol as the longing of ancient believers for Messiah to come for the first time," LaHaie says. "But now I see that it slices two ways. It’s also a yearning for Jesus to come again. That’s what I’ve focused on with this reimagining--to make this version more about the second coming and more of a lament in the tradition of the ancient prophets who cried out, 'How long, O Lord, till you bring justice to the earth, till you make all things right, till all the sad things come untrue?'"
When you feel overwhelmed by the evil and injustice and pain and tears of this world, I hope you will pour out this lament to the Lord and find comfort for your broken soul, and hear Jesus saying, 'Take heart child, I hear your lament. I am coming, and when I do, all the nations, all creation will be healed.'"
LaHaie pulled inspiration for the song and his new project, Him, from C.S. Lewis' beloved classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When Lucy first enters Narnia, she discovers a world under a curse, where it is always winter but never Christmas. But when Aslan the Lion returns, the ice begins to thaw, the snow begins to melt, the sun feels warmer and the smell of spring is in the air. Aslan is reversing the curse of the White Witch.
"Before Jesus came into our world, it was always winter but never Christmas," says LaHaie. "Jesus proclaimed, 'the Kingdom is at hand!' He healed the sick, opened blind eyes, opened deaf ears, caused the mute to speak. He raised the dead, He cast out demons. In His coming, the snow begins to melt. The ice is thawing, you can smell spring in the air and soon, when Jesus returns, it will be full blown summer!"
