life. revisited.
If you haven’t taken the plunge to buy Heaven Meets Earth over the last year, I’ve put it up on Noisetrade for free. In return, you can help promote the album through your social networks, chose to give me a “tip,” or both. Whatever it means to you.
Man, I’m giving away all sorts of stuff!
You’re welcome. Merry Christmas! ch:
Bonjour!
For those of you who remember watching the Swiss Recap Reel, I just received my first few copies of “Le Ciel Touche La Terre” in the mail yesterday.
Wow.
In all honesty, I got blessed by my own CD–a rare happening as you get pretty sick and tired of hearing the songs over and over. But hearing it in French was like listening to a whole new record. And further still, I think a number of the songs were meant for French, and sound (and mean) so much more. There’s simply a different anointing.
And for a guy that is quite comfortable singing in his native language (American*), I am pretty blown away with how well Jennifer and I sound in French. Not because we do, mind you. That would be pretty pious (and stretching the truth). But because of how the production team made us sound. From translators to vocal coaches to producers, this team truly made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Well, not Jennifer. But certainly me. [Oink, oink]
We could not have done it without: Sylvain, Line, Marie-Elise (Momma), Gaby, Andy, Rolf, Stephan, and the Freymond Children & extended family.
So if you’d like to purchase a copy of your very own–direct from Switzerland–you can visit either sam-music.com or Net Reflet.
Merci! ch:
*Sorry, couldn’t help myself. If you didn’t notice a difference, go back to school.
Just a quick reminder to ask you all to tell any of your friends, family, of foreigners (it rhymed…what?), or even the band Foreigner, to come out to our free CD release concert at The Father’s House tomorrow night at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. It’s going to be epic, I promise that. Especially if Foreigner shows up. ch:
Order or download your copy of the new CD here.
Please join us at The Father’s House in Rochester, NY this Friday night for our official release concert! Click “attend” for details.
If you’re of age, you could be voting. Or you could be listening to our new CD, “Heaven Meets Earth.” Here are a few reasons why you should listen to it especially if you’ve voted:
1.) You’re really excited about how you think the elections are going to turn out and need some anthem music to dance to (which you’ll find lots of on “Heaven Meets Earth”).
2.) You’re depressed about how you think the elections are going to turn out and need some encouragement (which you’ll find on “Heaven Meets Earth”).
3.) You’ve actually become afraid of your mailbox for dishing out an exceedingly high amount of political advertising cards at you and need some calming tunes to help you with your nervous breakdown (which you’ll find some very quiet music on “Heaven Meets Earth”).
4.) You’re sick of the muzak that was playing over the loudspeakers in your town’s firehall while you were standing in line to vote. (*Note: there is no muzak on “Heaven Meets Earth”).
5.) You’re still confused about the difference between Tea Partiers and The Boston Tea Party, and have frequently refereed to the Boston Tea Party Massacre March on The Mall thinking it was a new HBO Documentary made in August. (There’s really no help for you in this case. The CD may only confuse you more. Buy it anyway).
Thanks again to the myriad of people that made this new disc possible, especially my wife, Jennifer Lee, for enduring my creative fits, my father, Peter K. Hopper, my dear friend and graphic designer, Jason J. Clement, and my band, who still thinks playing with me is better than playing with Elvis Costello. We’re thrilled to release it today, Tuesday, November 2nd, and believe that while voting effects culture, worship as fruit of a Christ-believing life does so infinitely more. May you call heaven and earth together in our surroundings. ch:
I decided to ask my three favorite artists to redesign my touring electric, one of the two I played on “Heaven Meets Earth.” Now I have a one-of-a-kind piece that’s not only super cool, but it reminds me of my beautiful children whenever I play.
Another benefit is the amazing name. “Rock Star Super Kah-Cha.” All their invention.
Watch the process and smile. ch:
Guitar Home Makeover (Extreme) from Grandath Films on Vimeo.
The highlight video of our sessions in Switzerland is final finished! (It’s not everyday I have an external hard drive fail four hours into creating a project). But seeing Jennifer attempt to play the biggest instrument I have ever seen was all worth it. ch:
What’s your favorite part?
CHB Swiss Sessions Highlight Reel from Grandath Films on Vimeo.
This highlight reel was shot during the vocal recordings for the Christopher Hopper Band’s French version of their new album, “Heaven Meets Earth,” or more aptly, “Le Ciel Touche La Terre.” Captured during a week of recording in September 2010 in Studio Freymond, nestled in the hilltop town of Martherenges, Switzerland. ©2010 Christopher Hopper, Sprig Records / ASCAP, Grandath Films
The “Heaven Meets Earth” Worship CD will be debuting at The Father’s House in Rochester, NY on Friday, November 5th at 7pm. Admission is free with general seating only (so come early!). RSVP on FaceBook here. It’s going to be one incredible night! Let me know if you’re coming in the comments section below. Thanks! ch:
In preparation for the November 2nd release of Heaven Meets Earth, we’ve published the chord charts for the album early! This is a special gift to those of you out there who are worship leaders–whether ushering your church into praise, or simply your goldfish–simply to say thanks. We hope these songs touch thousands of people around the world and assist in the process of uniting heaven and earth in practical ways during peoples’ day-to-day activities. So play them hard, sing them loud, and let the whole world know the Kingdom is here, the Kingdom’s in us, it’s time to let it out. ch:
I must admit, I think I was 20 before I understood the differences between Swiss, Switzerland, and Sweden.
I’m such an American.
Now, however, I’m educated; no small thanks to their patience with me.
This weekend I’ll be speaking and leading worship at the “Discerning The Times” conference in Yverdon, followed by a week in the studio in the Swiss Alps where Jennifer and I will be translating the new “Heaven Meets Earth” album into French. I’m very happy to be partnering with YWAM in this venture to reach over 40 French speaking nations in the world.
I plan on doing some live broadcasting from in the studio, as well as posting a bunch of pictures during the 10-day trip. ch:
I’m pleased to announce a special sneak-peek download off the new Heaven Meets Earth album: This Is The Day. While pre-orders will be shipping sooner, the official release date of the new record is Tuesday, November 2nd. Download it, turn it up and enjoy, leave your comments below, then consider telling your friends. As always, thanks for listening. ch:
05.12.2010 UPDATE: We’re live today, Wednesday, May 12th in-studio. Weather is causing a lot of BAD interference with the wifi however. So sorry.
I’ve had a lot of inquires as to the whereabouts of the Heaven Meets Earth album, specifically those who pre-ordered. Fortunately no fans have gotten violent (proving you people are the best listeners a guy could ask for). So thanks for that. As to the album itself, yes: we’re behind schedule. But not by much. We’re shooting for a June release (just in time for Creation in Mt. Union, PA).
In the mean time, I’ll be back in the studio all day tomorrow, Wednesday, May 11th, for a full day of mixing in a closed-session. While you can’t come visit, you can join us live via webcam which we have on all day. Please say hi when you get the chance and watch how we roll. Thanks for all your encouragement and continued support of this project. ch:
What’s your favorite new song?
The tracks that made the final cut:
God Who Saves
My Last Breath
You Alone
Words Cannot Describe
You’re Everything
Take Me Deeper
Set Me Free
This is the Day
Let It Fall Away
Jesus You Are
My Heart Is Yours
Revolution Rain
Heaven Meets Earth
Honor and Glory
With a scheduled release date of Tuesday, May 11th, “Heaven Meets Earth,” my 10th record album, is consuming the better part of my time these days. Writing, recording, overdubbing, mixing, mastering, duplication, distribution, and promoting are all labor intensive, time consuming processes that require a lot of attention to detail. And energy.
The human ear is extremely forgiving during a concert. And the brain is just plain forgetful. When you go see your favorite band, amped up on excitement and Red Bull, you walk away remembering a fantastic show–not the guitarist that forgot about the new change in the third verse. They covered it. But that cover doesn’t fly when it’s played back in the studio. We call it “the microscope.” In the studio, we see and hear everything. Everything. While my latest project is very much a live recording, there are a lot of “fixes” that need to be made simply because the consumer would never listen to the CD exactly as it was recorded over and over again. It would get on anyone’s nerves (most notably, mine!). From blown bass lines to out of tune guitars to terribly flat vocal parts, “overdubs” need to be made…for all our sakes. It’s like editing a manuscript for a new novel. Because consumers are used to a certain level of excellence (myself included), it’s safe to say that–no matter what the liner notes say on the printed package–no live recording you’ve ever heard put out by a record company is exactly “as is.” Even if they never punched a single track (meaning, made a small fix), they still sweetened the sound in the mix, and then further mastering. It’s what we do.
That being said, my band came into the studio last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and had their own shot of fixing their mistakes. And it was fun! Getting a second chance at something you love is always exciting. And challenging. Trying to capture the same sound, play with the same intensity, and perform even better than you did “the night of” is much harder than one might think. And all to fix one note sometimes. But the end result is a recording that both the consumer and the artist can actually tolerate, and still call “live.” Here are a few shots a snapped during our the three days in the studio. Enjoy! ch:
[Peter Hopper: Crafting the perfect head mix.]
[Denis Johnson Jr.: Laughing in spite of his own awesomeness.]
[Nate Cronk: At home in the cable mess.]
[Peter Hopper: At the helm of the Starship MasterView.]
