New Hope Oahu On Their Christmas Album & Jesus as the "Hope of All Hopes"

Award winning worship group, NEW HOPE OAHU, releases their first Christmas album titled HOPE OF ALL HOPES, today (December 9th) on DREAM Worship. The album brings an eclectic style familiar with New Hope fans with familiar songs like "What Child Is This", "Silent Night", "Mele Kalikimaka" and more; in addition to their original track, "Hope of All Hopes".

"We're thrilled to be able to share some new songs celebrating the birth of our Savior as well as some of our favorite Christmas classics in a variety of styles and genres." - Frederick Alcain of New Hope Oahu

The group also recently released their new album FUTURE + HOPE on September 9th which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Praise & Worship chart.  Pick it up here.

Q: Thanks for doing this interview with us.  This year must be a really busy year for you.  You have released 2 new albums with Dream Records.  How does it make you feel that "Hope + Future" was a #1 Billboard Praise and Worship album?

OUR HEART IS TO WRITE AND PRODUCE MUSIC THAT HONORS GOD, STAYS TRUE TO HIS WORD AND ALLOWS THE SAINTS TO SING ALONG.  WHILE RECOGNITION AND REWARDS ARE NOT THE GOAL, WE DO CELEBRATE THAT PEOPLE TRUST OUR INTENT AND EFFORT ENOUGH TO GO OUT AN BUY THE ALBUMS.

Q:  Now, you have a new Christmas album "Hope of All Hopes."  Why a Christmas album?

WHO DOESN'T LOVE CHRISTMAS SONGS! BESIDES, IT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WORSHIP OUR SAVIOR DURING A SEASON WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE MORE INCLINED TO HEAR THE GOSPEL MESSAGE, WHETHER THEY REALIZE OR NOT! 

Q:  What I like about this album is that it allows you to reach out to other sounds, like there were a couple of instrumentals.  Why instrumentals? 

WE HAVE SOME OF THE FINEST MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD ON OUR WORSHIP TEAM AND ALLOWING THEM TO USE THEIR GIFTS TO HONOR GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GOAL OF OUR MUSIC AND WORSHIP MINISTRY AT NEW HOPE.  KING DAVID SAID TO "PRAISE HIM WITH TRUMPET SOUND; PRAISE HIM WITH HARP AND LYRE" SO WE'RE JUST BEING OBEDIENT TO THE WORD OF GOD!

Q:  Some of the songs also had a more jazzy slant.  Was this deliberate?

YES!  WHILE OUR WORSHIP PROJECTS TAKE A MORE CONTEMPORARY FEEL, WE WANTED TO DO A PROJECT THAT REFLECTED MANY DIFFERENT GENRES AND STYLES TO REPRESENT THE MANY DIFFERENT GENERATIONS AND CULTURES THAT MAKE UP OUR NEW HOPE FAMILY.  

Q:  One of the songs I really love is "There's a Song in the Air."  Tell us more about the story behind this song.

THIS SONG IS AN OLD HYMN THAT WE REDID TO FIT A MORE CONTEMPORARY VIBE.  JEWL DOES SUCH A STELLAR JOB CAPTURING THE HEART AND EMOTION OF THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR THROUGH HER VOCAL AND CHRIS SANDERS ARRANGEMENT SETS THE SCENE WONDERFULLY.

Q:  Your senior pastor was also involved in the project where he sang lead on one of the songs.  This is quite unusual for senior pastors of churches to be involved this way.  How did Pastor Wayne get involved with this album?

OUR PASTOR HAS ALWAYS LEAD THE CHARGE WHEN IT COMES TO THE MUSIC AND WORSHIP MINISTRY AT NEW HOPE THROUGH HIS EXAMPLE OF SERVANTHOOD, HIS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE FOR JESUS SAKE AND HIS BALANCE OF HEART AND SKILL.  PLUS, THE MAN CAN SING AND PLAY GUITAR! 

Q:  Speaking of Christmas, in what ways is Jesus your "hope of all hopes"? 

ISAIAH 6:9 SAYS "FOR A CHILD WILL BE BORN TO US, A SON GIVEN TO US, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL REST ON HIS SHOULDERS; AND HIS NAME WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, ETERNAL FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE." WE WILL ALWAYS LOOK TO JESUS FOR OUR HOPE REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE OR SITUATION, IN GOOD TIMES AND IN NOT SO GOOD TIMES.  HOPE IS MORE THAN A WORD WE PUT IN OUR SONGS, MORE THAN THE NAME OF OUR CHURCH, HOPE IS OUR COMPLETE TRUST AND FAITH IN THAT LITTLE BABY BORN IN THE MANGER.  

Tags : new hope oahu new hope oahu interview hope of all jopes dream records new hope oahu new album new hope oahu hope of all hopes album review christmas albums 2016