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I have come to understand that my purpose exists like the One who created it—in perpetuity. All the things that God took time to make during creation week continue to exist to this day. Purpose is no different. For each individual God created, He made a purpose to guide them all the days of their life. I believe this wholeheartedly. Yet, because I believe this, I understand that rest is paramount. The problem with rest, especially in this day and time, is that it is hard to experience it without distraction. Maybe the phone rings or the children wake up from a nap. Worse yet, intrusive thoughts make an appearance. Either way, every person on this planet has experienced distraction whether internal or external. Rest from distraction cannot occur until we properly understand the purpose of rest. Coming from an age when cellphones were still a novice thing, I can remember going outside to play. I can remember playing with my friends in the wild blue yonder. But as soon as everyone had “razors” and flip-phones, my relaxation/play time started looking very different. I know it only as being even worse today. However, with age comes understanding. Today, I am much more aware that when I allow breaks through distraction in any task, it prolongs the task and frustrates my progress. Rest does the opposite. When rest is embarked upon properly, restoration takes place and we are able to continue from a space of reinvigoration. Unfortunately, the buck doesn’t stop with reinvigoration. We must be dedicated to our purpose. Distractions often cause the frustrating condition of “fits and starts”. In a culture so quick to drop one thing and pick up another, dedication takes sinking our teeth in. It takes showing up everyday despite feeling motivation wane. It takes understanding that a determined mentality often matters much more than we assume. What is beautiful about the process of purpose is that it points these things out to you along the way. We learn the distractions to avoid, how to rest and how to count our progress. For those of us who struggle with an all-or-nothing mentality, this is good news! Many times, we are tempted to waste an entire day if we believe something may be out of place. Yet, along the process we can grow to understand that life happens in the little moments and so does purpose. Friend, whatever you take away from this miniseries, please know that our God who created your purpose is kind. He is going on the journey with you–holding you up and carrying you through. Remember that purpose is for others as much as it is for you, it’s where transformation takes place, and where hope is renewed. Hold these truths close to you and if you should find yourself disconnected from your purpose in the future, God will show you the way back. I believe it for you, friend, you will see the goodness of God in your purpose because He promised to show you. Journal Prompts Now, it’s your turn. This is your opportunity to reconnect with your purpose. These journal prompts are meant to help you along your journey: 1. With everything we covered, should rest take on a new meaning for you? Take some time to think about it. Then, write down how you can plan your restoration in the future. 2. What distractions have kept you from accomplishing your purpose lately? How can you manage them? 3. Have you experienced fits and starts in your purpose? What might help you overcome them? 4. Does making progress in your purpose little by little bother you? Why or why not? 5. What is your biggest takeaway from this series? 6. How can you apply that takeaway to how you will approach disconnects from your purpose in the future? This piece is written by Esther Smith and is a part of the Haystack Creative series. Follow this series with micro-content on Instagram & Facebook.

We’ve discussed how a God-given purpose means we all have the opportunity to do something marvelous for God. Now, we will address some of the things that hold us back. First up is a lack of commitment to our purpose. Seems pretty straightforward, right? However, for those who have visited the drawing board several times, we know committing to purpose can be intensely nuanced. As some would say: There are levels to this! In order to create a steadfast commitment to purpose, we need to address the truths of our experience. Are we lazy? Do we have a lack of planning or poor time management? If so, the next step would be to address the problem. Oh, but this is a tricky step for many of us. Often we approach most of our problems with the same tactics. Here is where failure can take place. If we fail to recognize our need to ask God for help with our purpose, we can become stuck trying to apply tools that won't work to fix our problem. So, the solution? Put your toolbox down and ask God to bring His instead. Second on this list of things that can hold us back is our disdain for difficulty. Trust me, I understand. It can be harsh news to realize that the scripture John 16:33 does not miss a single beat. When Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation..." --He meant it. Why do we want God to hand us a glorious calling when we haven't proven we can be trusted with it? Sorry friend, there is no way around it. It is so important for us to develop a character worthy of our purpose. God has to be able to correct our wrong habits, thoughts, and actions. There is no easy road, and a lot of time could be saved if we stopped looking for one. Lastly, we don't understand what it means to have our minds transformed, and so our purpose suffers. Romans 12:2 says: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God". What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of your mind? Well, the work of transformation takes place alongside the things we consume. Have you heard the saying you are what you eat? The same principle applies here. To have a renewed mind, we should first understand that we hold no power over the renewal process. We cannot speed it up or change any necessary part rendering it unnecessary. Our first work in renewal and transformation is to allow God to come in and take charge. Then, in faith, we ask God to give us discernment. Next, is to ask for strength to remove anything in our environment that is positioned against what God is doing. By the way, our environment includes both external and internal things. Removing the offense from our physical environment doesn't mean the same thing took place emotionally. These are matters that demand our attention. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the frequency by which these 3 things should be monitored. As much as I would like to share that they only need one-time evaluations, I can't. Day-by-day we have to check ourselves, friend. Every day we have to ask God to help us handle our purpose with intention and dedication. Otherwise, old habits can sneak back in and destroy everything God is trying to help us build. But remember, friend, that you are more than capable of partnering with God to be successful in your purpose. From the very beginning, He created you capable. What you decide to do with your capabilities makes all the difference. Journal Prompts Now, it’s your turn. This is your opportunity to reconnect with your purpose. These journal prompts are meant to help you along your journey: 1. Have you fully committed to your purpose? Take some time to think about it. Then, write down what helped you keep that commitment. 2. Define what commitment to your purpose looks like. Explore whether that definition has ever changed for you and why. If it hasn’t changed, should it? 3. How do you handle difficulty in your purpose? Are there things you would like to change? 4. If transformation occurs alongside what we consume; how are the things you take in (TV, books, podcasts, conversations, etc.) helping or hurting you? 5. Are you afraid to allow God to take control of your purpose? Explore why this is or is not the case. 6. How do you plan to continue evaluating the progress you make? This piece is written by Esther Smith and is a part of the Haystack Creative series. Follow this series with micro-content on Instagram & Facebook.

When you think about being committed to your purpose, what do you think of? Is there a 10-step process that you imagine needing to go through? Is the end goal what you see come to life in your mind or the struggle of achieving it? Usually, when we think of our purpose, we envision some way in which we can be successful in the calling we feel in our life. Inevitably, it’s a calling we believe is mostly about us. We think this because we believe our purpose must take the shape of our own aspirations and no one else’s. The vision we have is often vibrant with all the personal greatness we can imagine. But what if your purpose isn’t about you or how you measure greatness? What if this amazing gift and dream you’ve stored away in your heart serve a larger cause? We know that purpose comes from God. It’s His intention to collaborate with us in answer to the healing the earth needs. We have been distinctly chosen for that reason--in 1 Peter 2:9 it says, “…you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The verse doesn’t say you were chosen so that “you may proclaim the praises of YOU”. Many of us get caught up in wanting the accolades we think come from “chasing our purpose”. We want to be noticed for our hard work and eventual achievements. Nevertheless, what the Bible tells us is the direct opposite of this belief: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You…” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. Clearly, it isn’t that we can’t want greatness or hope for it, we just need to understand that this is not the reason God gave us purpose. Friend, the purpose isn’t about you, it’s about what God has purposed to do for others through you. We all have the capacity to do something marvelous but, in the end, the goal should simply be about fulfilling our purpose on the earth in collaboration with God Himself. What is significant to note about the nature of purpose is that it has both internal and external work. So far, we’ve discussed the external nature of purpose, but what about its internal nature? As with most things in life, a flourishing purpose will affect us as we seek to affect others. In other words, the revolution must begin with us. At its core, the purpose has a work of internal deconstruction. In building a thing of beauty in the world, we usually discover a personal need to break something down within ourselves. That could be overcoming bad habits, cultivating consistency, or addressing past traumas, alongside any number of other things. We, by intention, don’t get to go unaffected by our own purposes. Perhaps that is where we find space for believing our purpose is only about us and what we can achieve. Friend, if we could understand that our purpose is about God and that it belongs to Him, we would create the room in our hearts for God to do “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think”. Ephesians 3:20 Journal Prompts Now, it’s your turn. This is your opportunity to reconnect with your purpose. These journal prompts are meant to help you along your journey: 1. Take a moment to examine the beliefs and desires you have about your purpose flourishing. Write down what stands out. 2. What scares you about staying committed to the fulfillment of your purpose? 3. To be successful in your purpose, there is work to be done at the heart of who you are. What internal work have you been avoiding? 4. Seeing growth in your purpose can be difficult if you don’t measure what you’re looking for. What milestones can you set in the next week related to the internal work you’ll be doing? 5. Being intentional about your purpose will create changes to your current routines. How do you plan to make room for your purpose so that the work you’ve done is reflected long-term? Friend, I want you to remember that you were specially chosen by God. He loves you deeply and He intends to see everything that He put in you come to fruition. Our problems arise when we take this journey on ourselves and run out ahead of Him; or worse, stop moving altogether. Recommit every day if you must, just remember each day is a new opportunity to flourish in your God-given purpose. Waste the opportunity and see everything stay the same. Or, stay determined and see even your smallest achievement become part of the story where you overcame. This piece is written by Esther Smith and is a part of the Haystack Creative series. Follow this series with micro-content on Instagram & Facebook.

The new year is off to a solid start for Christian Indie-R&B with a new single from Evin Nazya. A long-time favourite and friend of The Haystack, Nazya has consistently been building her repertoire over the last few years, stoking anticipation and inserting herself into the larger conversation around underground Christian R&B. Now, Evin has kicked off the new year with the lead single for her upcoming EP, due out in February of 2022. The new song, Small Talk, is once again a remarkable step up in production quality since her last song, Louvre - thanks to collaborative help from @alanfoooor and @prodxoasis. While the music continues on the trend of synth-saturated atmospheres, the sound is decisively more pop oriented that some of the trap-soul textures of Louvre. The song takes its time to get into the groove, allowing Evin's playful melodic choices to take centre stage. Drums don't come in until the halfway point in the song, but when the groove finally settles in it feels well earned. In the most un-ironic sense, Small Talk is just vibes. The mood is transcendent and free, hypnotic and trippy. The song ends with a dreamscape of vocal layers, highlighting the versatility of Evin's vocal timbre and reaffirming, even in the face of really good instrumental production, exactly who the start of the show is. Lyrically, the song plays with the idea of conflicting internal dialogue. Writing in a post on Instagram, Evin explains: "This song is a representation of the conversations had between me and the version of myself that writes freely in my diary. I really like that girl. She gets me." Ever the introspective writer, Evin's lyrical approach finds the perfect balance between relatable emotional disclosure and the kind of hook-laden impressionism that communicates less in direct indicative terms, and more in bypassing language altogether to sweep the listener up into the emotion of the music. This first single bodes well for the rest of the EP, and we thankfully won't be waiting too long. Evin recently disclosed the release date to The Haystack and we will be making more specific announcements as the release date approaches. Until then, stay tuned with us and support young Christian creatives. More about Evin Nazya Location: The Bahamas Genre: Alternative / Indie Pop / R&B Artist Links • YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music • Instagram • Twitter • Lyrics: Brb Busy talking in my sleep Girl, I just soaked my pillow I hope that no one’s onto me Buried deep into my thoughts I wanna be someone who I can trust Oh oh oh Oh, hello diary Re-re-re-re-re (3x) Have a seat I must admit it’s nice to meet the person in the pages Girl, what’s with the anxiety? Just let go (go) Don’t hold back The highs and lows have all been calculated Oh oh One way to take the edge off Engage in petty small talk Be guided by the lead, love At least you know I’ll get it Oh oh oh Oh, hello diary Re-re-re-re-re (3x) Lead with a mind of its own These pages fill themselves up Enter this world of earth tones Less talk more triggers and such One way to take the edge off Engage in petty small talk Be guided by the lead, love At least you know I’ll get it Girl, I’m so glad you get it Oh hello diary Re-re-re-re-re (3x)

Christian rapper DBrealmuzik has just dropped a high-energy new song, Born For This. Featuring the production and engineering skills of Anywaywell and Edify, and the catchy melodic vocals on the hook by Xay Hill, Born For This is a solid end-of-year entry for DB, and a great way to top off a fairly consistent release schedule for 2021. This song also comes across pretty blatantly as the strongest lyrical delivery and smoothest flow yet from DB. After a significant boost in touring performances over the past year, it seems that the rapper has gained enough new performance experience to really comfortably grow into his style. The increased ease, confidence, and finesse is audible in DB's voice, sitting overtop of the gloomy and atmospheric trap production. Clocking in just over two minutes and consisting of really only one verse, the song seems designed perfectly for the TikTok era, with plenty of replay value. The track simply refuses to overstay its welcome, which works really well in its favour. Check out the artist links below to keep up with DBrealmuzik, and don't forget to follow the Haystack Hip-Hop playlist to find more artists like DB! Artist Links: • Linktree • Instagram • Spotify • YouTube • Facebook •

Bloomington, Indiana Indie Rock trio Lightshore have just independently realeased their new EP, Sand & TIme. Drawing sounds from the best of MuteMath, Relient K, and Switchfoot, Ligtshore have made a definitive statement that they deserve to be taken seriously in the spaces between Indie-Alternative, Pop-Punk, and Post-Grunge. The record tops off and concludes a string of singles that the band has been releasing over the course of the year. Fans who have been following the band during this time will recognize tracks like In This Home, Take It, and All The Lost. Newcomer tracks I'll Go Mine and Maybe, Definitely round out the release and keep things fresh, while fitting in perfectly alongside the previously released songs. The closing track in particular adds some subtle shoegazy influences that give the EP a sense of finality and grandiosity at the end. For being a Midwest band, there is something very sonically west coast about this EP. The sound of each songs easily evokes beaches, surfing, sunsets, and long oceanside drives. Lightshore have chosen to specialize in atmosphere and mood, and the results seem to be well worth it. The production serves the arrangements exceptionally well too. While there are occasional synth layers that sneak in, the overall sonic palette is very organic. The guitar tones are classic and smooth, and the drum recording is particularly warm and colourful. Take It and I'll Go Mine in particular seem like the standout songs here. The former was the band's lead single for the year, which makes sense. But the later is a gem hidden right in the middle of the EP, which seems the band playing with the dynamics between loud and soft in a very tasteful way that definitely accentuates the lead vocals and heartfelt lyrics. And when it comes to lyrics, Sand & Time sees the band getting down-to-earth. Rather than lofty, conceptual fare, the songs generally deal with real life experiences, relationships, and emotions. The average listener should probably find most of the content here sincere and relatable, and when lead singer Tito Baez is belting out "we're not alone, we're not alone" on the closing track, the sentiment is not only understood but felt. Check out Sand & Time now on whatever platforms you prefer, and make sure to follow the band on social media. Also check out The Haystack Rock playlist to hear more great undiscovered artists. More about Lightshore Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA Genre: Indie / Rock / Alternative Members: Tito Baez - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar John Adame - Lead guitar, backing vocals Trent Ward - Bass guitar Artist Links • Spotify • Instagram • YouTube • Twitter • Facebook • Merch • Apple Music •

Back in June of 2020, singer-songwriter Kayla Naomi released her debut EP, "Diary." While I only became aware of this record in late 2021 - over a full year after the fact - I felt like this EP deserved a proper review. An EP can sometimes be the perfect release format for a new artist, since it manages to balance brevity and accessibility with just the right amount of depth to leave listeners wanting more. As such, this will be a track-by-track review. And let me say, there have been plenty of independent releases over the last couple years that have really made an impression on me, and Diary stands head and shoulders above some of the best of those. The record opens with the title track, Diary, which is a bit of a slow burn, warming the listener up gradually. This introduction is sparse and raw, with just piano and Kayla Naomi's voice. The simplicity of the arrangement allows for the melodic and lyrical themes to take centre-stage, That being said, the harmonic vocabulary in this first section is hardly standard singer-songwriter fare. There is a density and variety to the chord voicings that definitively signals the Gospel and Jazz influences that are about to take over - and at the end of the first chorus, the second verse delivers on that promise as a full band drops in and the tempo picks up. Through the rest of the track, Kayla Naomi's vocal delivery is all around solid, and contrasting perfectly with the choral background vocals. Perhaps the song's best feature is the way that it manages to maintain a feeling of intimacy even as the volume swells. "Big" doesn't ever turn into "impersonal," and when the track drops back down to piano balladry at the end, it feels in a way like we'd never left that emotional state, which speaks to the tonal consistency of the writing overall. The next track, Jesus I'm Ready, is introduced by a rough draft voice note recording that, again, puts melody and lyric into the spotlight ahead of arrangement. By the time these same lines are repeated again in the finalized version of the song, they feel like a different experience. But the raw and personal nature of this transition track serves as connective tissue between two stylistically divergent pieces of music. While the EP opened with very natural sounding Gospel instrumentation, Jesus I'm Ready takes a drastic stylistic turn that is decidedly more contemporary. Heavy 808 bass hits and fluttering trap hi-hats cut through an ethereal waft of electric piano textures and floaty, dreamlike backing vocals. The trap-soul archetypes give way momentarily during the bridge to something that sounds more like a contemporary worship ballad. Kayla's voice belting out "only you can save me," is stirring and climactic, and leads the song to its tasteful conclusion. From here, the pace picks up with what might be my favourite track on the EP, Rearview. The song is decidedly upbeat and retro. Funk. Disco, Rock, Pop, and Soul elements are all perfectly balanced. Cascading, arpeggiated synths bounce around amidst a choir of punctuated guitar lines. This track also feels the most atmospheric out of the whole EP - practically dripping with reverb and echoes, Rearview is moody, and maybe even a little dark - not dark thematically (though admittedly some of the lyrics come across as a plea for rescue) but in the sense that the song sounds like a highway drive at midnight. If any song on this EP could stand alone as a single, this is the likeliest candidate. The album closer, Go By Grace, is the fifth track, but only the fourth full song on the album. This speaks to the completeness and maturity of this collection of songs: a short track list like this can, in some instances, feel like a complete experience, almost as well-rounded as a whole album. The number of genre leaps on Diary, rather than making the project feel disjointed, lend to a feeling of expansiveness and belies the mere 20 minute runtime. Go By Grace continues the trend of challenging expectations, opening like a contemporary Gospel power ballad, only to suddenly shift to a Reggae groove in the chorus. While the song switches between these two styles, the lyrics weave in between a sense of yearning for change and a sense of arrival. The singer is both longing to be set free from her own shortcomings and vices, while also experiencing a feeling of completion and a change of identity in Christ. Even the titular line of the song, "I now go by grace," manages to do some thematic heavy lifting. Juxtaposed against another line ("Please make it so that sin don't know my name"), the phrase "I now go by Grace" speaks to an actual name change, a switch of identity from "sinner" to "saved." In this light, the statement means "please address me from now on according to the grace that defines me." At the same time, as the album closer, "Go By Grace" functions as a sort of benediction, evoking a sense of "moving forward" in the grace of God. Like a preacher dismissing their congregation from service, Kayla Naomi bids her listeners to also go into the rest of their day by grace. Aside from a couple minor production complaints - like a shrill clipping noise on the snare drum in Rearview or the somewhat abrupt cut off at the end of Jesus I'm Ready - there is very little to say in the negative about Diary. This is an extremely strong debut for Kayla Naomi and honestly seems to reflect an artist whose musical experience far exceeds this one release under this name. She has brought a wealth of emotion and life experience to this record - as is evident through this video she shared explaining the stories behind the songs - and the result is a collection of music that is equal parts approachable and challenging. Consider me eager for whatever comes next from Kayla Naomi. She's already proven well enough what she can deliver. 9/10 Hear the EP: Check out the Virtual EP Release concert here. More about Kayla Naomi Genre: R&B / Gospel / Pop Location: Miami, FL, USA Facebook • Instagram • YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music

Soul Thirst Music is a singer-songwriter duo based in the UK whose sound evokes the best of Soul, Gospel, and Jazz. The result is a smooth, easy-listening experience that puts solid songwriting and tasteful arranging at the forefront. We sat down with Soul Thirst to ask them about their journey as artists, newest single, and what it takes to be in the music business. The Haystack: Your website has mentioned that a full album could be expected in 2021. We are currently running out of 2021, slowly but surely. How soon can we expect to hear an album from you? And what should audiences expect from a full-length Soul Thirst release? Soul Thirst: 2021 brought some unexpected twists and turns. The loss of Tochi’s dad earlier this year really rocked our world as you can imagine. We’ve decided to push the full album back a little so expect something in 2022! What can they expect? Around 10 tracks of acoustic and acoustic inspired songs with lyrics that speaks directly to the Christian’s journey. From older originals like ‘Hunger and Thirst’ and ‘Rebuild the Walls’, to brand new songs such as ‘Hold on’ and hymn re-arrangements like ‘Have Your own way.’ Some upbeat R&B sounds and some more ballad-like traditional gospel sounding songs with a bit of jazz and other eclectic sounds weaved in between. We truly hope and pray these songs will resonate with our listeners and help them in some way on their journey of faith. HS: The two of you met in the mid 2000’s and have been making music together since the end of that decade. What would you say feels different now about being a musician compared to when you started? And what would you see is the most exciting part of being a musician today? ST: Now, we work a lot more seamlessly together. We’ve found our creative groove you could say; God 100% gets the credit for that. We used to have huge arguments every time we started working on a song and end up achieving very little, or just being angry (haha). But over time God has taught us our unique approaches both have value and don’t have to cause conflict but can actually compliment each other. Tochi has much more of a ‘big picture approach’ and is also super patient whereas Charlotte tends to be more into details but also quite impatient (that is a total over simplification but hopefully you get the point). I think actually as a result of spending so much time together and creating together we’ve absorbed some of each others strengths making us better artists. We definitely still have arguments at times in the creative process but we work through these so much better and create something we are both really happy with and can truly connect with. The most exciting part about being a musician/artist for me today is that I can now actually say it with my chest and believe it. I am an artist! I used to always feel like a bit of a fraud because I knew I had so much more in me to share that I was sharing. It always seemed like as an Adventist you were supposed to kinda give your ‘best’ but not really because that could make you you shine a little too brightly. Even though I do still struggle with this at times I’ve grown so much and am so much more intentional about creating doing it wherever I can. I desire to juice my gift until there is nothing left! For me (Tochi) the most exciting part about being a musician today is the scope for collaboration. The speed of technological advancements have meant that working with other musicians is easier than it has ever been and you really grow when you collaborate with other musicians. HS: On the newest song, Slow Down, the lyrics deal with the experience of making major life decisions, and the importance of taking time to seek God’s guidance when making those decisions. Since the two of you have been making music together for so long, and for some time now as a married couple, how has that need to slow down manifested itself in your lives and in the decisions you’ve made both as artists and as people? ST: Wow that is such a great question. At the time of writing this particular song we were in the thick of house hunting for our first rental (as you will gather from the lyrics in verse 1). Since getting married and especially since becoming parents to our two girls we’ve had to make so many decisions that have required us to truly slow down and listen for God’s direction. From deciding where to live, to choosing a nursery for our little girl. Lately the constant prayer is that God would guide us in how best to raise our girls and deal with each stage of their development. Parenting is the most challenging yet most rewarding responsibility either of us have ever had. Sometimes the decisions are simply which song God would like us to minister at church. We recently had an experience where God has laid a particular song on Tochi’s heart but I didn’t want to sing it so we chose a different song. When we go to church God spoke to me and laid that same song on my heart that He had laid on Tochi’s. We sang the song and it was clear that it was just the song the church needed. HS: This song also has a remarkable contrast in arrangement between the verses of the song - which are sparse and minimalistic - and the very ornate instrumentation that dominates the rest of the track. Since you operate as a duo, how do you approach translating your songs to live performance? How much does the limitation of only having two members affect your songwriting and arrangement choices, if at all? ST: We’ve been blessed to work with our amazing friend and producer Keith Bazari of Kerba Music, who has done an amazing job on our songs - keeping our sound but adding freshness and vibrancy that has really brought our songs to life! We’ve enjoyed beefing up the sound with backing vocals and additional instruments. Our signature sound however has always been acoustic and stripped back and that is what you will hear on some of the songs on the album and what we mainly do when it comes to our live ministry: simply Tochi on the acoustic guitar and Charlotte singing. We often play around with the vocal and guitar arrangement to keep things engaging but we rarely find that having just two of us is a limitation. If anything, it’s actually where we feel most at home. The opportunity to bring our listeners into the intimate space with just Char’s lush vocals and the soothing acoustic guitar is really healing to the soul. HS: Tell us a bit about the “Christian Songwriters UK” community. How did that come about? What benefits have you personally experienced from your interactions with this community? ST: Christian Songwriters UK is a group which began in September 2019. Charlotte was looking for some support with her decision to take song writing much more seriously and thought surely there must be something on Facebook. To her dismay there was not much out there at all, and definitely not something UK based, so she started the group. It’s been a huge blessing to meet likeminded Christian songwriters and help facilitate collaborations, individual writing challenges and sharing sessions. We are now 145 strong. We want to do so much more to support and engage the members. Artists are often quite isolated when it comes to the creative process. We need safe spaces to share and grow together, build collaborative relationships and grow in our faith. HS: The two of you have dipped into many different aspects of the music industry - everything from performing at nursing homes to writing music for previous Britain’s Got Talent competitors, alongside plenty of other endeavours. What advice would you give to younger/newer artists who are beginning to step into the industry but aren’t quite sure where they fit? Do you think that being multifaceted and flexible like that is essential for artists trying to establish themselves? ST: Speaking particularly to younger Adventist Musicians, I would say fear not and don’t be discouraged. I found that the majority of the teaching on music in our church is based on fear and that stifled my growth as a musician, and that in turn led to discouragement because of listening to so many of the different voices of people preaching and teaching for doctrine the traditions of men which have no basis in scripture or even the Spirit of Prophecy writings. I would encourage them to embrace the gift of creativity God has placed within them and listen to His voice so that they can explore that gift as much as possible. Pray that God will fill you with His Spirit and give the gift of music like He gave Bezaleel and the others the gifts needed for creating the art in the temple (Exodus 31:2-11). Don’t be scared to experiment and also reach out to people. The Christian/gospel music industry is more established in the States, but here in the UK it’s a bit like the Wild West. So speak to people, don’t be an island but collaborate and work with others. That will help everyone reach their goals quicker! Soul Thirst has also recently announced that they will be releasing a Christmas themed single on December 8, 2021. Follow our playlists to stay up to date with all the artists we cover. More About Soul Thirst Music: Location: London, UK Genre: Gospel / R&B / Soul Artist Links: Website - Instagram - YouTube - Facebook - Spotify - LinkTree

Australian singer-songwriter Anna Beaden dropped an infectious new single, "Awe!" in late October of 2021. Boasting crisp, sparkly production, yearning vocals, and a joy-filled atmosphere, the track is Beaden's first release of 2021. Her most recent previous releases are Reply to Ecclesiastes, a single released in 2020 alongside collaborator Kemi Ogendi, and an album in 2018 entitled Captured Epiphanies. While her previous efforts have been quality efforts with full arrangements, this song in particular sounds like a step up to another level. Beaden seems to partially credit this to the contributions of Billy Otto and Spinlight Studios. Lyrically, "Awe!" reflects on the beauty and wonder of God displayed in the natural world. While there are lighthearted moments, like a clever reference to a line in her Instagram bio about the Fibonacci Sequence, this song demonstrates that art does not have to be gritty or dark to be deep. Beaden weaves together language that evokes several scriptural passages, especially Psalm 93 and Romans 1:18-20. The song lives up to its title, overflowing with a feeling of wonder and celebration. The repeated hook "I am in awe - I am in awe" feels absolutely genuine in a musical context that is almost glistening with happiness. Writing on her Facebook page, Beaden had the following to say about the song: "My hope for this song is that it will inspire you to go for a hike, watch the birds, swim in the ocean AND to compel you to reach out the One who made it all." More about Anna Beaden Genre: Pop / Folk / Indie Location: Melbourne, Australia Website • Facebook • Instagram • YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music •

Indie-Rock youngbloods Lightshore recently announced their upcoming EP, Sand & Time, due for release on December 17, 2021. This announcement follows up a string of three singles that they have released over the course of this year, as well as another EP, "The Early Recordings," that has now been taken down from streaming. In an interview with the Haystack in May of this year, the band alluded to the goal of releasing an EP by the end of 2021. It seems that now they will be making good on that promise, just in time for the end of the year. They also have broken out of quarantine life and taken to the stage again, with a handful of live performances in the intervening time. In fact, as far as I can see it, the band has now delivered on every prediction they made about their 2021 plans in that interview. This is worth a lot of points towards their reliability as artists. Listeners should take notice. Pre-save is not yet available for the EP but we will keep you posted whenever the band updates us with more info. Until then, get familiar with their back catalogue! More about Lightshore Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA Genre: Indie / Rock / Alternative Members: Tito Baez - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar John Adame - Lead guitar, backing vocals Trent Ward - Bass guitar Artist Links • Spotify • Instagram • YouTube • Twitter • Facebook • Merch •

Over the last year and a bit, the Haystack has been networking with and keeping tabs on young Seventh-day Adventist creatives who are writing and releasing original music. The most surprising part of this journey has been discovering just how much talent is out there in this denomination with recorded music available to the world. The untapped potential of our artistic talent is remarkable. But it has been a privilege to begin to see this huge network of creative people, to to hear so many great songs. We have also begun to curate playlists on Spotify to highlight this remarkable pool of talent. These playlists cover a broad spectrum of genres, to an extent that possibly has never been done in Adventism before. Everything from Gospel to Rap, from Folk to Rock, we are keeping an eye on it all. We are partially indebted to ministries like One Sound Music in the UK and WaymakerTV in Australia, who have done a great job at highlighting the Adventist musicians in their countries. Through connection with them, we have been exposed to Adventist music "scenes" - wow, it feels cool to say that - across the world. In a time when quite a few people are struggling with what young Adventists have to be proud of, our wealth of independent recording artists is a bright spot. My personal goal with these playlists, artist interviews, and release announcements has been to foster a greater sense of living, contemporary arts culture in Adventism. So many Adventist artists exist in isolated social bubbles that don't often expand beyond their regional borders. But there is a lot of music being made within our proverbial denominations walls, to the extent that there has to be something in this mix for everybody. And that, I think, is inherently exciting. In a time when quite a few people are struggling with what young Adventists have to be proud of, our wealth of independent recording artists is a bright spot. They represent (often strongly) the theological perspectives that exist in our denomination, while also usually working independently of church support (or even in the face of misinformed opposition). These artists come from countless walks of life, and if we as a community can learn how to rally around them, I think we'll find that there is immense devotional and evangelistic potential in our midst, just waiting to be put into action. We update the playlists regularly - as often as there is new music being released. And we are experimenting with taking time to highlight specific artists at the top of the playlist and on the playlist cover photo (similarly to Spotify's curated playlists). Here are the current iterations of these playlists this week. Hope you'll find something there to be both your Sabbath soundtrack, and the tone-setter for the rest of your week as well. Independent Adventist Worship highlights music that is intended explicitly for praise and devotional purposes, and artists who are, for the most part, independent of major record label support. It's our most popular and what you might consider our "flagship" playlist. Potluck Party Night was the second playlist we put together. It's meant to be the soundtrack to youth group or school socials, Saturday evening "game nights," or other high-energy, fun-spirited church social events that need some suitable background music. This may be the first time Adventist music has ever been collected together with fun in mind. Advent Alternative leans less on the "churchy" side of Christian music and more on the artsy side. In fact, not all of the songs on this playlist have explicitly religious themes, though many do. This one leans more towards a feeling or a sound than a theological perspective, though all of the performers here are Adventists. But while the feeling is artsy, the musical styles are still all over the map here. Haystack Hip-Hop is our first genre-specific playlist. Despite being often maligned and misunderstood, there are many rappers weaving their rhymes into the Adventist cultural fabric. This is our way of giving acknowledgement to those artists in a space where they are often either unseen or actively discouraged. And for all the stigma around Christian Hip Hop ... a lot of these rappers are quite good at what they do. The Haystack Rock is exactly what it sounds like: a collection of young (and old!) Adventists who have dared to create Rock Music in a way that is integrated with their faith life. You'll find a pretty broad mix of sub-genres here, and these artists tend to be less explicitly religious. But there's plenty of depth to be found for those willing to listen beyond first impression.

On October 15, 2021, genre-blurring artist Haynza released a new single, "Thief In The Night." This is Haynza's first release of 2021, as well as the single single to follow up his 2019 album The Fall To Grace. While the song is an amalgamation of pop, hip-hop, R&B, and traditional singer-songwriter influences, the various elements of these genres are combined in unexpected ways. The opening synths and vocal hooks seem to promise a much darker and high-intensity track, but a sudden transition to tremolo-laden keyboards immediately jolts the track into subtler territory. Then this shift is re-contextualized again by the introduction of a mix of trap & EDM percussion, which, along with a sub-heavy bass line, underscore the catchy chorus hook. While this description may make it seem like the song is a disconnected mess, it actually serves the lyrical theme. Haynza's first line in the second verse may initially sound like the most anti-party sentiment possible: "People get drunk in the night but we gon' stay sober." Far from advocating prudishness, the juxtaposition of a principled line like that over an energetic song seems to subtly suggest the need for energetic motivation in a more constructive direction. There is a different kind of party to which Haynza is inviting his listeners. The song takes another unexpected turn around the bridge, with both a sudden key change and an un-announced switch to pure piano ballad. There is also simultaneously a thematic switch. Where the first half of the song dealt with thief imagery surrounding the return of Jesus as a thief in the night, the second half of the song positions the singer as the thief on the cross, having his proverbial "come to Jesus moment." The over-arching theme typing both parts of the song together are final moments and endings - both of the world (at the second coming) and of an individual life - and the existential value of sober self-awareness in the face of those endings. Haynza has consistently refused to be pigeonholed as an artist, and this release continues that trend. We have little from him in terms of announcements of future plans, but it seems for now that this Aussie still has creative energy flowing. Make sure to check out the new single, as well as our interview with him about his album. More about Haynza Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Genre: Alternative-Indie / Hip-Hop / Pop-R&B Artist Links: • Website • Instagram • YouTube • Twitter • Facebook • TikTok •