YEUNG
DR. ISAAC SOON UNVEILS HIS MUSICAL ALTER-EGO.
A
lthough I’m a New Testament professor by day, I have a musical alter-ego named YEUNG (after my middle name). YEUNG is a musical project that I’ve been wanting to pursue for the better part of a decade, but was delayed because of my academic work and starting a family. In a previous life, I was a song writing lecturer and teacher in a ministry school in Australia (Hillsong College), and I had the privilege of teaching budding songwriters from around the world.
Earlier this year, a colleague of mine, Ray Badham, started releasing his own music as an independent artist. Technology has made putting your own music online and distributing it via streaming services more accessible than ever, and I was inspired by Ray’s music to pick up songwriting again. At the end of Winter term 2023, I started to write new music in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre. To my own surprise and delight, new songs came! I ended up writing about nine songs for an album to be released in the spring of 2024. Most of them come from my own personal worship times in my basement—when the kids have gone to sleep and all is quiet. God’s spirit spoke to me as I reflected on ten years of growth, struggle, trial, and God’s grace. What I’m aiming for with this music is to combine both my theological and biblical training with catchy and modern musical sounds. The Christian music market is just that, a market. It’s a business, and so a lot of the music that is produced is for a particular kind of audience. As a theologian and Bible scholar, I often find a lot of CCM music lacking the kind of depth and biblical basis that it should have, especially since millions of people listen and sing along to them every day! I wrote some years ago that our songs in church and on the radio have become our creeds; people listen to this music more than they read their Bibles. So, we need our lyrics to be the best they can be. I hope that my music cuts to the heart of longstanding biblical truths while providing listeners with sounds and aesthetics that are enjoyable to listen to. I’ve released four singles so far “Alchemy,” “Noise,” “Genie,” and “Veins” (which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.). All the songs have been written and produced by me (I play all the instruments on them), mixed by Crandall alum Ron Scott ('14), and mastered by Drew Lavyne in New York City. Earlier this summer when I had just released “Alchemy,” the folks over at Joy FM in Fredericton gave me an opportunity to open for Jordan St. Cyr and have been an avid supporter of my music. My music has also been picked up by the Faith FM network in Ontario, and United Christian Broadcasters in the UK (“Genie” is currently Record of the Week on UBC1). I’ve also received messages from listeners of how the music has been impacting them. Some of my music is even being used in seminary courses, which is great to hear. I’m not expecting to make money from this music, and I’m definitely not interested in changing careers (don’t worry Dr. Fawcett!). I love being a teacher. My hope and goal with this music is just to serve Christian communities, perhaps those who feel the music they sing on a Sunday or listen to on a Monday could use a bit more theological depth or biblical grounding. Dr. Soon is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, with a focus on New Testament scholarship. His music can be found here: 16 | Crandall University
