Reflections 2012

When one year comes to an end and another begins. Reflections. Thoughts from the year past and hopes for the one just begun.
Last year was amazing. Things happened and God showed up in ways I honestly never dreamed possible. Never dreamed. I often say that they are God’s dreams and hopes and He is certainly to credit for bringing them to life.
I believe that with all of my heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares The Lord.
These are the promises I am holding tightest to now. The wonders of 2012 bring more excitement and along with that, uncertainty. I don’t know what God’s plans are for me and my family this year. But, I know that He has plans for us. Amazing plans. Hopeful plans. My job is to seek Him, call on Him, pray, find and be found in Him. I couldn’t imagine a better existence than one that seeks God and finds Him.
My prayer is that You will seek Him and by seeking Him, you will find Him and be found.
It’s going to be a special year. Happy seeking, friends!

Album progress…how does this thing work?

How’s the album going? I must hear this question ten times a day. I love it. It means a lot more people care about how the album is going than just me and the five amazing people I make listen to it twenty four hours a day. Thank you. I appreciate you and want you to keep asking, caring and praying!

Seriously, we have been listening to the album a lot. That is my job. Listen to the album. Listen again. Listen at home. Listen in the car. Listen from another room. Listen with headphones. Listen without headphones. Just listen. That has been my job until now.

The album has been mixed without any notes from me (and my dear husband). I now have these beautifully mixed tracks of all eleven songs. Mixing of each song involves detailed attention to every note, every instrument, every moment and putting them all together to get the exact sound and feel we’re after. It takes 12-14 hours to mix each song. My album is being mixed by an incredibly talented sound engineer, Craig Alvin (Gungor). I am blessed to have him working on my record.

I’ve been listening to the first mixes for several days with an open mind and now I’m listening with a critical ear and giving my notes of any changes I’d like to hear. The changes are things like “more reverb,” “less reverb,” “less BGVs,” “more BGVs,” “softer feel,” “more driving” etc. It is really exciting and stomach-hurting nerve wrecking fun.

I had a few minutes to myself tonight at Starbucks, with headphones and a cup of coffee. I made it through two songs before receiving a text that one of the Els was refusing to go to bed. I texted back “tell him to go potty before bed. I’m on my way home.” Five minutes later I was home and he was already asleep. Momma is really not that scary! :-) But, at least he knows I mean business.

I will update you all when I get to the next step. I can’t wait for you all to hear the album. Once mixes are approved, the album will go to a master house in Nashville to be “mastered.” woo hoo!

Much love to all of you.
Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, so good to us!”

What are the Els up to?

Summer 2012 is almost here and we have been super busy this Spring. The kids are all doing really well. We had a spell with a couple of them struggling with respiratory issues, but all seems to be much better now. Here is an update on all of the ELS.

 

Trinity is 3 and a half years old. She is just finishing preschool. And, she had her dance recital last week. She is a wonderful dancer, full of energy and ideas. She loves to make new friends, tell stories and learn about family history. She still has a very low and unique sounding speaking voice. It’s fun to hear her talk. And, she talks with those big brown eyes too.

Leeland will turn 2 this Summer. He is so much fun. He loves his siblings so very much and enjoys doing everything that they do. He really loves baseball and has mastered his swing along with sound effects. He’ll also say “homerun” or “strike” when he (pretend) hits the ball. He was on breathing treatments for several weeks and as I would hold him in my lap he would point to the television with the remote control saying “baseball, baseball, baseball.” I would (sometimes) let him watch part of a game if I could find one on tv. He is a joy!

Trinity’s dance recital

Moustapha and I attended a friend’s wedding at the Hyatt Lost Pines. This is a pic from the golf cart ride to the wedding ceremony.

Listening to my album mixes has become a regular occurance for all of us. Luckily, the kids all really like the music. I’m hoping they are a good test market for the target audience. :-) If so, we’re making a really popular cd.

Bakri is nearly finished with first grade. It has been a wonderful year of growth for him. He has made some great friends. And, his reading abilities have amazed us. He loves to read big books and will spend hours reading. He is also great at spelling and art. Here he is on “all art day” doing a chalk painting on the sidewalk of his interpretation of Boats at Saintes-Marie. He still loves baseball and he and Maddux have enjoyed another year of playing on the same team.

Maddux, second from the left, is five and a half years old. He is graduating from pre-k soon and he will officially be a kindergartener. He loves his school and friends. Maddux learned to read and write this year. It helps to have an older child working along side other children. So, while Bakri was working on reading, Maddux was picking it up too. Now he can read everything. He will tell me when I’m in a left turn only lane or that I’m not supposed to cross a double white line or read any sign on the side of the road. He keeps me on my toes and remembers everything!

Trinity at the water park

Leeland, Maddux and Bakri

We are looking forward to a fun Summer. My album will be finished soon, so I will have lots of work to do as far as marketing and delivering all the products to those that pre-ordered it. It’s an exciting time. We’ll try to swim a lot and play a lot this Summer too. Enjoy your Summer. Enjoy your life. It’s a gift. “Give thanks to the Lord. For He is good, so good to us!”

Many blessings,

-Rebekah

An Album Update from Home!

Dear Friends,
I just want to say ‘thank you” again to all of you and give you a quick update on album production! I am home and enjoying being with my precious family this week.

I spent much of the last two weeks working and recording my debut album in Nashville with producer, Marshall Altman. It has been such an amazing experience so far and it wouldn’t be happening without you. Thank you for your preorders, your support, your prayers and your friendship. I am so excited for all of you to hear this record!

If your preorder included a t-shirt, I’ll be sending out an email to you requesting info soon. The album is still in production. We did three days of preproduction, 2 days of tracking with the band at the House of Blues studios, and 5 days of tracking lead vocals at the Galt Line Studios. Background vocals and more instruments are being tracked this week and in the next couple of weeks the tracks will go to be mixed by the sound engineer. He will spend an entire day mixing each song. A very detailed and necessary job! Once the mixing takes place we will have final approval before the tracks get “mastered.” All this to say, the album will not be ready in April as we hoped when the kickstarter campaign began.

However, you will still receive the album before it is released to the public and available on iTunes. As soon as I have a firm date, I will update you with that.

Until then, I’ll keep posting updates at www.rebekahme.com and I’ll keep thanking God for you!

Love,
Rebekah
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” Philippians 1:3

Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam

A funny moment...tracking vocals, day 4

Rebekah working with producer, Marshall Altman
the Galt Line, Nashville

Recording in Nashville, an amazing, eye-opening experience.

Last week I spent five days in Nashville working on my first record with my producer, Marshall Altman. The first three days we were in pre-production. We recorded scratch tracks for 11 original songs (with the exception of Be My Vision which is a contemporary version of the Hymn with a brand new chorus). The process was detailed, trying and really fun. I had to fight for things I really believed in and learn where to let go. It’s probably a good exercise in life too, right? Good therapy.

Anyway, the next two days we tracked instrumentals at the House of Blues Studios in Nashville. They are actually located in this cool area full of studios called Berry Hill and right across the street from Blackbird Studios.

The band was incredible. I’ll share more about each of them when the record is released. But, I’ll say this now: they are some of the best musicians in the world, no lie! At least that is what I’ve been told by everyone in the music business who finds out who played on my album. And, all I can say for sure is that they sounded amazing and played so incredibly well together. The songs are definitely better for having them play on the record. I am extremely grateful. In fact, they didn’t stop playing a song until they felt in the heart they did their best. It was pretty incredible.

In two days, we tracked 11 songs full band- 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, 1 drummer, 1 pianist (who played amazing organ, btw) , sound engineer, sound engineer assistant and producer….oh, and me. :-) The heart of this project is my heart. It is the love of God, the desire to share that love with others and to communicate through music. It is the heart of my family, my husband, my children and me. Together, expressing God’s love and our struggle to be near to Him and discover Him near to us in it all. I can’t wait to share the music with you.

This is a great gift I have been given. And, I promise to keep giving my whole heart and soul to make it the best gift possible. This week we’ve been recording all of the lead vocals. My prayer has been and continues to be that the Holy Spirit cover me and fill me. I definitely appreciate all of your prayers.

Much love to all of you!

love,

Rebekah 

Less than 2 weeks to go…

I know I promised updates. I’m not sure how many people really want all of the details. But, here goes a few: 

I promised behind-the-scenes videos to folks who pre-ordered them. And, I’ve been looking for a videographer. My budget doesn’t allow for me to pay for anything other than the footage right now. But, I found a great guy who is going to shoot everything- interviews, footage of the band, producer and me while recording. And he’s a photographer, so he is going to shoot candid stills as well. I’m really happy and excited about this.

 I am down to 11 songs for a 10 song album. It is really hard picking songs and leaving some behind. But, I’m really happy with the 11 we’re down to. My husband has been amazing in so many ways through all of this. He is so talented and has really helped me to make songs better than I imagined. I can’t wait to hear what Marshall and the band can do with them! I rehearse daily. I spend hours playing the piano, singing and reworking lyrics. My husband has also started working with garageband and that is a really nice way for me to hear the songs with a more finished sound. It’s a fun way to work!

I’m probably most stressed about my children. There are 4 of them. And, that’s a lot of people. A lot of very active, excited people that have places to be and things to do while momma is away. I’m nervous about that. I know in my heart of hearts that they will be fine and I’m hopeful that I will have peace about it and be able to focus on what I need to during my time in Nashville. 

Friends- during this time I’m craving time and interaction with friends. I feel like this is such a life-changing experience. No matter what the outcome is, this is going to change my life. I will be different having made a full- length studio album in Nashville of all original songs that have come from my heart and soul. I know that and I’m overwhelmed and humbled by it all. 

I think of you all often through this. Having so many special people a part of this makes this story and experience all the sweeter. 

Blessings to you today and always,

-Rebekah