Gone are the days where the songs sung in church should be strictly limited to hymns. ‘Sounds of Grace’ are a group who compose their own lyrics and melodies to amplify the word of God and in doing so they evoke infectious feelings of joy and understanding. They have been performing solely for their church, ‘Graceplace’, for years now but this energy was felt amongst newcomers and regulars alike at their concert on the 19th of November.
The effort put in to preparing the concert was evident when everyone noticed the new aspects of the show differed from their usual weekly praise and worship. The professional lighting, stage, and coordinated outfits (designed by Carole Agoro A.K.A Carole Bloom) in addition to the merchandise that people were able to buy the moment you walked in set the tone for the rest of the day. Expectations were varied but high; “electric”, “energetic” and “edifying” were some of the words used to describe people’s hopes for the show and it’s safe to say the mark was hit. As the concert progressed it became harder to find someone who wasn’t on their feet dancing. With the range provided it meant that there was not one dry moment throughout the show. One wouldn’t be able to guess that a soulful song like ‘Bread in Bethlehem’ and an upbeat anthem like ‘My Energy is Yours’ would be incorporated into he same night yet ‘Sounds of Grace’ did it all with style.
Something that made the night special however was the way they transitioned each song. One performance would be followed by a snippet from a previous sermon led by Sekou Abodunrin – the pastor at ‘Graceplace’ - or a reading by one of the members of ‘Sounds of Grace’. Although the lyrics of the songs already did the job of ministering the Word of God, these short segments throughout the concert served as a reminder that every word, line, and song had been carefully crafted in order to properly spread what they believe in. You truly had to be there to experience the atmosphere in the room. It was like all burdens had been lifted and in that present moment you were just happy to be surrounded by people who loved God. But this wasn’t achieved by magic. Deola Mosaku, a regular attendant at Graceplace, said she had been “behind the scenes, watching their rehearsals” and knew “they were ready to put their all into it.”
Even though the concert has passed, it was timed so that it would coincide with the final release of their 6 singles: ‘Victory’, ‘I Know to Pray’, ‘We Go’, ‘I Live to Testify’, ‘Bread in Bethlehem’ and ‘Joy is My Postcode’. All these songs weren't written by one person and had talents working on them like Ogo Ajala, Carole Agoro, Sarah Mbadiwe, Tunde Mosaku, Francis Ovie and many more including input from Pastor Sekou. This collective effort started many years ago when the church decided to start singing their own songs ushering in new beginnings when it came to praise and worship. At first, understandably, it was challenging as they now had to practice one aspect of music that they hadn’t previously worked on. Songwriting. Carole Agoro said that sometimes it would be hard to find the music in what was being preached, asking herself “who would make a song out of this” but the goal to create songs that people would “play in their cars” but would also be “filled with heavenly scripture” encouraged them and soon Sunday services transformed from a repetition of the same songs to a mini concert every week.
Whether you’re a believer or non-believer, I urge you to give ‘Sounds of Grace’ a listen. Pastor Sekou once said that “pure doctrine is the best music to his ears” and when you have that at the back of your head whilst listening to their songs you’ll realise that that is exactly what the lyrics exude. Pure doctrine.
