Triumphant Quartet Reflects on their New Album "Yes"

StowTown Records artist Triumphant Quartet, 10-time Singing News Fan Awards Traditional Male Quartet of the Year, has released their newest project, which is already receiving rave reviews. With the success of not two, but three hit singles on their previous release, the bar was set high, songs were carefully chosen and production was well-planned. The result is Yes, which is available at retail and digital outlets worldwide today via Sony/Provident Distribution. 

Produced by Gordon Mote and Wayne Haun, Yes includes new songs from today's top songwriters and in true Triumphant fashion, displays a wide range of styles, from Southern to CCM.  With a killer band of musicians and great songs, they were easily on their way to success. Having two of Nashville's biggest names at the helm of Yes was not only a big deal for Triumphant Quartet, but was also a privilege for the producers themselves. 

Q: Thank you so much for doing this interview with us. Congratulations on the release of your new album "Yes." Talk to us about how and when was the album conceived.

A: (Scotty) - Thank you! This project was conceived in the spring/summer of 2018 when we began compiling songs. Since we never stop listening to songs, we already had several that we already knew we liked and were interested in.

Q: Did you approach the making of this album differently from your previous records?

A: (Scotty) - Yes, we did. We decided to use two producers on this album. Normally, we would have one producer do the entire album, but we decided to split it up between Wayne Haun and Gordon Mote, and they did an amazing job on this record. We work with Wayne a lot; he is always incredible to work with and this album was no different. Gordon brought his own flare to the record as well, and we are grateful for that.

Q: With both Gordon Mote and Wayne Haun at the helm, what are you most appreciative about their involvements?

A: (Scotty) - We are most appreciative of the fact that they were even willing to work with us! These guys are sought after in all genres! They are not just the greatest producers in Southern Gospel, they are great producers in every genre they touch! So the fact that they would take the time to produce four country boys is pretty special and we are so grateful for them. This album showcases them and their talents very well.

Q: In my review, I applauded you guys for the well-chosen songs. Did you have to sift through many songs to narrow down your choices? What were the types of songs you were looking for?

A: (Scotty) - We do listen to a LOT of songs; thank you for saying that about well-chosen songs. While we do listen to a lot of songs, it was kind of neat because we all knew what we were looking for - we all know our individual strengths. We look for songs that push the envelope a little, but still fit the individual singer. Honestly, the 11 songs that were recorded were unanimously chosen by all four of us and there were really no big debates.

Q: Have you ever passed on a song that later became a hit for another artist? If so, can you give us an example of a song you passed.

A: (Eric) - I think it was on our second record that we ever did as a group, we got an opportunity to do "New Day Dawning." It's an absolutely great song. At that point, we either just didn't see it or maybe we weren't looking for an upbeat song or that style of song. However, the Whisnants recorded it and it has become a huge hit for them. I actually had the opportunity to sing this song with them at a couple of venues - coming out to sing just on that song - and now it really makes me miss the song and wish that we had considered that one more closely. It's a great song that we passed on.

Q: Talk to us about your new single "Even Me." Why are you excited about this song?

A: (Eric) - We had about 15-16 songs that we loved and thought were great for us. Several of them were songs Scotty had co-written, but there were many songs by other wonderful songwriters. It was painful to cut those down to 13 - they were all great songs! Finally, we got down to 10 and were set. Then, (songwriter) Kenna Turner West called me and asked if we were looking for material for our new project and I told her we were not. She asked if we would consider anything else and I told her we would not - that we'd been through the process with dozens and dozens of songs to get down to the 10 we were set to record. She said that she was just going to send this one song and I told her it would have to be a song that we just couldn't turn down to change our minds. She sent it and after listening, we all sat there with tears rolling down our cheeks - we were just in awe. We had to have an eleventh song. It ended up being one of my favorite songs on the CD and was chosen as our first single. "Even Me" is an incredible song by incredible writers. We are so thankful for this song. I know it's going to touch a lot of lives.

Q: You have also have a few unusual covers: why did you choose to cover The Newsboys' "We Believe" and Ryan Stevenson's "Eye of the Storm"?

A: (David) - As you and many of your readers know, we recorded the song "Chain Breaker" back a couple of years ago and to this day, "Chain Breaker" has been one of the biggest songs in our concert ministry. It was written by Zach Williams and we just love the lyrics of the song. It's impacted so many lives. In fact, I could share testimony after testimony that has been sent to our office via e-mail and phone calls of how this song has touched listeners. So we listened to many songs in the CCM genre and tried to find another song similar to "Chain Breaker." We came across "We Believe" and "In the Eye of the Storm," two songs we had heard many times, and we felt that they had the lyrical impact that we were looking for. We are singing to a lot of people every night who tell us how they are struggling with the things of life, real life, and we feel like these two songs will impact our crowds just as "Chain Breaker" continues to do, and hopefully touch a lot of people. So far, on the nights that we have sung these songs in concert, we've received an incredible response from people telling us how much they are enjoying "We Believe" and "In the Eye of the Storm" - specifically the lyrics and how those are blessing them. For us, that's what it's all about.

Q: How do you hope these songs would impact the lives of your listeners?

A: (David) - As I said, we are seeing more and more people each night coming up to the product table to share their stories with us and it's pretty unbelievable what all people go through in life. We all go through real life situations and it's just a joy and an honor to know that people take time out of their busy schedule to come hear Triumphant, and that they would listen to the songs we sing to them and the messages that we present from the stage. If we can give them a little hope and encouragement through our songs, remind them that we have a heavenly Father who we can place all of our faith and our trust in, we're thrilled. When we pick songs, it's important to us to think about how they can change lives, so we take that part of the process very seriously. Hopefully, we choose songs with a strong lyric, a strong message of hope, strong message of encouragement, and the strong message that Jesus Christ is the answer 

 

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