“We may not see the way, but we know that there’s a path before us”

No words better encapsulate the journey of Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Caleb Lewis to releasing his debut solo album The Demo Sessions, than the line from his second track Into the Day.

“There was never actually a point where I sat down and said, ‘Let’s make an album'” Lewis explains, “But it was just like God had this amazing plan, and was putting everything in place without me even realising it. And suddenly there was this point where I was like ‘You know what, I’ve actually got something to release here.'”

Caleb has been involved for years in the Christian music scene in Australia. He has been a part of a number of bands and worship teams around the country, as well as being heavily involved in his local church (Breakthrough Church, in Bayswater, Melbourne) as the Creative Director and Lead Worship Leader. But at the beginning of 2016 he was not planning on launching a solo album.

“I sat down right at the start of the year and just asked God what I should do with my music. I knew I had these desires in my heart to do something with it, I knew I wanted to use it, but I just didn’t know what that would look like. And as is the way, I didn’t develop a grand plan, I didn’t get a blueprint for success. But I just felt that God was simply telling me to record my songs.”

So that’s what he did. Caleb spent his spare time and days off locked up in his rumpus room with his array of musical equipment he had accumulated over the years. But as he found, recording quality tracks in a household of seven people was no easy task.

“It was definitely a bit tedious at times. It’s certainly not a sound proof studio by any means. So many times I would be halfway through a take and one of the dogs would bark, or someone would walk into the room, or you’d hear the Playstation in the background. But I wasn’t too fussed to be honest because I never expected I’d be releasing the tracks. In my mind I was just recording demos that I could one day send to a producer, when I had the money and opportunity to record for real.”

But little did he know how far these tracks would reach. The thought of releasing his own recordings was first planted when his father happened to hear one of his tracks through an iPhone malfunction that placed all of Caleb’s music on his phone.

“I never really told anyone what I was doing because I didn’t think it was that big a deal. So I got a bit of a shock one night when Dad came down and told me how much he liked my recordings. He thought they were up to standard I could release them. My first response was to have a laugh, because I I thought he was probably a bit biased being my dad. But for some reason the idea stuck in my heart and wouldn’t go away.”

After a few weeks of prayer, and more positive feedback from bandmates Cameron Grant and Chris Heath, Caleb decided this was something God was pushing them towards.

“Cam and Chris were the other two that had really input into the songs, so I floated the idea with them and they were both pretty keen from the outset. It was pretty exciting because suddenly we had gone from this being something off in the distant future to ‘We’re actually doing this now!'”

The Demo Sessions released in October 2016 to much positive feedback. From the upbeat, guitar-driven  Like A Free Man to the soaring worship of This Heavenly Sound the album provides a highly engaging listening, all combined with a lyric that is honest and hope-filled. What’s more, the album’s unique journey is beautifully reflected in the central themes of the songs, further emphasising the incredible intricacy of God’s work in bringing this project together.

“A consistent theme in the songs is God’s faithfulness, and our courage in response to this. We see so many examples in the Bible of God having prepared a path for His people, even when they couldn’t see it. And their faith to step out into the unknown opened the door to seeing the amazing things God had prepared. That’s exactly what has happened with this album, and that’s how I’m tackling the next steps. I don’t know exactly what’s ahead on this path, but I know God’s got something and I’m excited to launch into it and see what happens.”

It is indeed an exciting way to tackle life, and it would appear the future is bright as Caleb and the band walk the road ahead “into the day.”