Graham Kendrick Releases New Album 'Salvation Songs'
Graham Kendrick unveils 'Salvation Songs', his 42nd album and first collection of singer-songwriter material since the early 1980s.
The journey to Salvation Songs began when recording artist and producer Jake Isaac heard Graham perform a song from his early days as a songwriter and challenged him to return to his roots by crafting more performance-driven material. This led to 2022’s Where It Began EP, produced by Jake, which laid the foundation for the broader story told in Salvation Songs.
Graham’s gift for lyrical storytelling shines out as Salvation Songs invites listeners into deeply personal moments from his journey, intertwined with fresh angles on familiar biblical scenes and characters.
Graham says ‘A long time ago I found my story in The Story. It’s been the source of all my songs but especially when I set out to write and sing for performance settings. I hope you enjoy this new collection - and find more of your own story here too.’
In the title track, Salvation Songs, Graham evokes fond memories of his father at the family piano, leading a singalong with friends and neighbours in their home. The album cover features an original photo from one of these gatherings. Set to Londonderry Air, Jesus of the Scars offers a profound meditation on suffering, grief, and hope, inspired by the loss of his sister.
Sister explores the sibling dynamic of Mary and Martha, while Four Days captures the powerful moment when Jesus calls Lazarus from the tomb. The nature of the project also invited a re-release of The New World Has Come, one of his finest lyrics about the Incarnation, originally written and recorded for the album Dreaming of a Holy Night.
Salvation Songs features creative collaborations with artists Lucy Grimble, Lurine Cato, Rich Dicas, Steph Macleod, and violinist Natasha Petrovic. It concludes with A Little Bit of Love, written during the early days of the Covid pandemic as a fund-raising tool for struggling charities and first performed online alongside a choir of friends.
Salvation Songs will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and all major streaming and download platforms on November 22nd. A CD version is set for release in the new year.
