Touching Heaven
Influence Music
Credits: Producer, Songwriter
This is the debut album from Influence Music and features artists Melody Noel, Whitney Medina, Matt Gilman, and Michael Ketterer. It was recorded at Influence Church in Anaheim, CA and released in the spring of 2018 to critical accolades & fan praise.
“Touching Heaven” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart & #29 on the Billboard Album Sales Chart, completely independent of any major label or distribution company. The accolades were enough to forge a partnership with Universal/Capitol/CCMG for their follow-up releases.
I had the pleasure of being a co-writer on the song “Spirit Lead Me” with Michael Ketterer and others. This song wasn’t originally slated to be part of the album. In a moment of Divine intervention, our rehearsals during production week were paused for a reason I can’t remember….was it a power outage? Tech issues? Something of this nature... With the pause, the band and team of vocalists decided to take some time to try and finish “Spirit Lead Me”, and asked for my help writing the bridge. I had come up with the melody for the bridge a few weeks prior while loading in groceries with my wife and kiddos (sometimes songs strike unexpectedly — be prepared!), and the rest is history. “Spirit Lead Me” is a huge song (soon to be certified RIAA “Gold”) and was an honor to write with Michael Ketterer & Influence Music.
Well done, team!
The Team:
Produced by Gabriel Wilson
Additional Production by Jordan Sarno & Michael Barkulis
Engineered by Aaron Knott
Mixed by Chris Greely
Mastered by Drew Lavyne
Performed by:
Melody Noel
Whitney Medina
Matt Gilman
Michael Ketterer
Played By:
Tyler Lydell : Drums
Christian Lester : Percussion
Eric Macias : Bass
Jordan Sarmo : Keys, Piano
Adam Z. : Electric Guitars
Jacob Evergreen : Electric Guitars
Recorded live at Influence Church in Anaheim, CA