Arends releases WHITEWATER from BELLSBURG-THE SONGS OF RICH MULLINS
October 28, 2022 marks the release of the new Carolyn Arends single, WHITEWATER.
The Song
WHITEWATER is a never-before-released Rich Mullins original, a song captured on cassette in 1985 and preserved by long-time Mullins’ friend Elizabeth Snell Lutz. “I’m so grateful for the chance to record this hidden treasure,” noted Arends. “It’s quintessential ‘Mullins.’ It’s so poetic. It really captures the way he seemed to come alive when he engaged with nature. And it also has that trademark ‘Rich’ longing …. it embodies the way that encounters with this creation always seemed to awaken his yearning for the New Creation to come.”
The Bellsburg Project
WHITEWATER is the 3rd feature track from BELLSBURG - THE SONGS OF RICH MULLINS, a multi-artist labour of love marking the 25th anniversary of Rich’s passing. Producer Chris Hoisington (Brothers McClurg artist, co-founder of Old Bear Records) was inspired by the passion and simplicity of Rich's final recording, now known as the "Demos" side of The Jesus Record. His genesis and the guiding vision for this project began by wondering what it would sound like for a community of artists to come together and record folk/acoustic versions of Rich's songs. The final offering includes songs recorded by Arends, Andrew Peterson, Amy Grant, Sara Groves, Andrew Greer, Cindy Morgan, Jason Gray, Mitch McVicker, Ashley Cleveland, and several others.
Recording Whitewater
While most of the songs on the Bellsburg album were recorded “live off the floor” in Rich’s old “Bellsburg” house in Nashville, Carolyn was tasked with capturing a similar sonic vibe at home in Surrey, BC. She enlisted the help of friends and long-time collaborators Spencer Capier (octave mandolin) and Roy Salmond (electric guitar), and the trio recorded the song live at Salmond’s studio.
“Given that I couldn’t get to Nashville, Roy’s studio just made sense,” Arends observes. “It’s been my musical home since it opened in 2001. I’ve made 7 albums there.”
The WHITEWATER recording session was bittersweet, according to Arends. “Shortly after that session, Roy closed the studio, which truly felt like the end of an era. I'm happy to report that Roy has since found a new creative home, and he's flourishing there. But I still miss his old place a lot. And the crazy thing is, Roy's studio was called WHITEWATER. So the last thing I ever recorded at WHITEWATER was the Rich Mullins song, WHITEWATER. I guess it was meant to be!”
WHITEWATER is available now wherever you listen to music, and a lyric video featuring raw footage from the recording session has been released on Arends’s YouTube channel. The entire Bellsburg project will release on November 4, 2022.