PureVolume

Members: Marc Martel, Jason Germain, Glenn Lavender, & Jeremy Thiessen.

*** Promote "Ending Is Beginning" ***

He speaks quietly, but when Jason Germain, co-lead singer and guitarist of Canadian band Downhere talks about their new album, Ending Is Beginning, he might as well be singing to the skies.

"First of all, we're not ending as a band, not by any stretch," Germain points out, laughing. "But the title does reflect the idea of coming to the end of yourself, of letting what you can't change be and letting God make His strength known in our weakness. Those things that we all experience, things that don't seem to run true, He often uses to achieve His ultimate aims for us. God uses us in our weakness. He is closest to us when we most need him. We want to capture that idea in the work we're doing now, so Ending Is Beginning in many ways reflects of where we are as a band."

"Where they are as a band" has changed through this group's emergence from Canada's alt-rock scene on the wings of their Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and two subsequent Juno Awards for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year and Best Gospel Album, Canadian Gospel Music Association Covenant Awards for Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year and Dove Award for Modern Rock Recorded Song of the Year.

"The journey to finding the right songs for Ending Is Beginning seemed to be one that was a little longer and more difficult for some reason," explains bassist Glenn Lavender. "Part of that was a really busy schedule leading up to recording which doesn't allow much time for writing. However with the end result, I really feel like many of the songs reflect things we as a band and individually have been going through and that makes it feel like more of a project that is 'ours'. We've also taken some chances with the music. We have explored some different sounds and styles and had a lot of fun doing it."

Yet every note played and every word sung on Ending Is Beginning seeks unity with listeners who have found comfort and inspiration in what downhere has offered on disc and onstage over these past seven years, while also welcoming new listeners to this epic musical journey.

From private thoughts to the most glorious vistas imaginable, Ending Is Beginning is in the end a conversation, in which Germain and Marc Martel speak candidly about how they're handling their struggles of life while also preparing for the triumph promised by their faith.

"With our previous album Wide-Eyed And Mystified, I think we found our sonic stride," says co-lead vocalist and lead guitarist, Martel. "With Ending Is Beginning, we're building on what we've discovered we really are. We've found the balance between Jason and me as lead singers."

"But we've also changed in ways to reflect how the world is changing and how that relates to faith," adds Germain. "Ending Is Beginning is probably the most positive record we've ever recorded. It's almost epic in its statement of hope. But that message is set against a backdrop of despair. There comes a point in anyone's life when you realize that some of our wounds aren't going to heal. Some of our problems won't go away. There are always going to be temptations. I mean, hope has always been at the core of who we are, but it's taken on a more complex form."

"It's been nearly nine years since downhere was born back in Canada," reflects drummer Jeremy Thiessen. "The music industry has seen some pretty significant changes and challenges in that amount of time and so have we. But the one constant in our story is the sense of calling. Were it not for a deep conviction in each of us that this is the mission the Lord has for us in this season of our lives, I doubt very much that downhere would still exist today. It is out of this conviction that we find the strength and determination to press on, pursuing excellence in all that we do until we feel this chapter is done."

Ending Is Beginning is about that too - the glory of God first and foremost, but also about how time opens more paths toward what God promises to the faithful, each treasure along the way richer than the next.

www.downhere.com
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