A new album takes an original twist on church hymns to make them more appealing in settings outside of church.
BYU media music major Eric Robertson released his first album, “Music For My King,” on Mar. 4. The album focuses on Christ-centered songs with an electronic-sounding twist. Robertson said the purpose of this album is not only to reflect his beliefs of Christ, but to share the gospel of Christ with people of many different faiths.
Robertson said his love for music has always been a part of him, but he had never taken the opportunity to make music a full-time commitment. When he found himself without work last November, Robertson decided it was time to pursue his dream of making and producing music.
“The day I lost my job was the day that I decided to put this album together,” he said. The focus, he said, was an album that displayed the qualities of Jesus Christ.
“I wanted to make an album that included music I wish I would have had on my mission,” Robertson said. “I feel like there’s a hole in LDS music, and I wanted this album to have something different.”
Robertson’s album contains many well-known hymns, including “Abide With Me,” “Come Thou Fount” and “Be Still, My Soul.” Although each of the songs are his arrangements, he has included other vocalists in the recordings.
After listening to the album, Madelyne Heslop, an undeclared major at BYU, said it is something she will listen to on her mission and on Sundays.
“The music is unique and different,” Heslop said. “I can tell the composers are trying to add excitement and variety into songs that we all recognize.”
She mentioned her favorite song on the album is “Abide With Me.” She not only likes the message in the original song but feels like this arrangement is able to reflect the Christian values it is written to portray. Heslop also likes that the song is easy to listen to.
“I feel like this type of music is something that will be well-recognized within a much larger Christian culture than just what we have here in Utah,” Heslop said. “It could draw attention to some of the Mormon hymns in a very good way.”
Taylor Campbell, an undeclared major at BYU, agrees with Heslop and thinks that the Christian base in the album will make it accessible to a wide audience.
Campbell said her favorite song on the album is “All Creatures of Our God and King.” She likes the tone and pace of the song.
“It’s the most unique on the album,” Campbell said. “I think the vocalist is talented and it shows on this recording. My personal preference is something that is not very electronic, so that is why ‘All Creatures of Our God and King’ stuck out to me.”
There is no official distributor for “Music For My King,” but the album can be found on iTunes and Amazon.com.
