Shawn Mcdonald

The anticipated release of Shawn McDonald's special song collection has arrived - nine re-recorded raw analog-recorded live-to-tape fan favorites. With the addition of two brand new songs, The Analog Sessions is a great way to celebrate the ten-year mark of McDonald's musical career.

It was proposed by Chris Stevens, McDonald's longtime producer, to go to an old school recording studio to capture the songs live to tape. "I didn't even know if those places still existed, but we found [Nashville's] Welcome To 1979 Studio, which used to be a record pressing company back in the day," explains McDonald. "There were no computers, just tape machines, vintage amps, and old keyboards." He even used a microphone that Frank Sinatra used for years.

This old-school "analog" approach is quite different than any disc McDonald has recorded thus far, not to mention one of the most determined. "Analog is warmer and sounds better naturally," continues McDonald. "But tape is a tricky thing, and if you mess up, you have to rewind it and punch in the corrections so you just have to hope you get it. The reality is we just recorded live without stopping, trying to get all the way through without messing up. There's no stacking, overdubbing vocals or any of that studio stuff you might find on my regular records."

"I'm never been a guy who thinks 'I've arrived' because my journey is a lifelong thing," McDonald muses. "I'm always trying to better myself and grow because the instant you stop learning, you start to die. I'm in a season of growth right now, just really striving hard to be more intentional, to hone my craft and to not just give part of my heart to it, but to wholeheartedly be faithful to the gifts God has given me. I want to impact the world, be a part of change and see the kingdom of God become real and active in people's lives."

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