I’m beginning to see how the philosophy “like fine wine” applies to much of my music, particularly when it comes to releasing it in album form. This specific album is very much anecdotal, taking snapshots of different observations of my experience of life around me in different seasons. Like with previous albums, there is a sense in which I’m doing yet another “purge” (i.e. sharing music with others that I’ve kept to myself for a time). As of the release of this album, I’m excited about the future. I’m allowing for the fact that I don’t know all of what it entails, but I do have an excitement in regards to some life goals that I am pushing forward to attain.

There is a distinct theme throughout the album, most clearly defined in the second track, “Ministry, My History.” It speaks to what most of humanity wants (if not all). It is this particular theme that once prompted me to dive headfirst into the deep headwaters of my mind, heart, and story. I was determined — and still am — to not be the person who never even scratches the surface of realizing his or her dreams, let alone God’s plans for his or her life.

About the title:

Like every other album that I’ve ever titled, I’m never 100% sure if the title I select is the right one. “Fading Purple Sky,” “Not Just Salvation But Recovery,” “Cairns,” … I knew that I wanted the title to be from a line from the lyrics of one of the songs. I settled on “I Saw It All From A Little Plane,” because it captured visually a metaphorical perspective of what a journey can look like when one can see the road in front for miles, which is not the case most of the time.

A few more words about this album:

1.) This album is meant to be performed and listened to in the secular sector. A number of the songs do reference God, in adherence to my belief and faith in Him (and in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, etc). The arc of this story doesn’t turn out the way it does without Him. But, these songs in themselves are marketplace songs, and not songs that would be sung in a church. Several of them even had swear words in their original drafts. (And I won’t rule out bringing them back if it feels right.) But, these songs are also meant to encourage, and I hope that the messages of the songs lifts up each person who listens to them.

2.) The order of the music in this album follows the development over time of the theme I mentioned about earlier. The pieces are partially chronological, although more so in spirit than in technicality. “Ministry, My History,” which I consider the title song, was also the most-recently-written song, first in 2016 and then amended in 2018. “World of Bliss," while written in 2015, was originally conceived in 2001 as part of a larger musical project with my childhood best friend, and in its spirit, predates every other song. Beyond that, however, the larger story arc begins in 2010, when I first wrote “To Have You Or To Lose You / Goodbye Lust” and then moves forward from there, especially as I dove headfirst into my mind, heart, and story, and discovered other gems that had led me to be the way I was by the time I was 25.

3.) In the latter stages of putting this album together, I decided to throw in three piano improvisations I recorded in September 2017, all within 3-4 days of one another. As the album theme started taking shape I considered different songs and tossed out a few that didn’t seem to fit. I recalled how I set up the album order for “Fading Purple Sky,” which I released in 2010, had a mix of songs and piano improvisations and saw that this setup could work again.

In the individual tracks, I will share more of the stories of how each song or piece came to be.