A decade ago, Out of the Grey
released their self-titled debut album, marrying Christine’s breathy,
ethereal vocals and Scott’s intricate guitar work and quickly becoming
fan favorites. The debut made the Dentés’ almost an overnight success
story and set the standard for Christian alternative music at the time.
To this day, many fans name that first record as their favorite, judging
the group’s subsequent work against the high-set bar the debut
provided. With ten number one singles on the four following studio
projects, four Dove Awards, and an active tor schedule, the Dentés proved their longevity. Then
there was silence for a four-year interval and Out of the Grey fans
wondered if this spelled simply O-U-T.
“In 1999, standing at a career crossroads, we wondered if the Out of the
Grey chapter was closing for us,” says Scott Denté. “Our friends, family
and fans encouraged us to start again and after much prayer and many
late night conversations, we felt the desire to jump back in.
Opportunities arose but
then would either fade or become cloudy. Finally, in late 2000, we
arrived
at Rocketown, and it all clicked!”
For those who don’t know, Rocketown is the label started a few years ago
by none other than Michael W. Smith, and the very small number of elite
artists Rocketown has approved for its roster has been of the highest
caliber in both music and message.
Lessons learned in the past ten years have brought a new depth and
maturity to the Dentés’ music resulting in their Rocketown debut, 6.1.
The album was so named because it is their sixth studio project and
first for their new label home. Scott and Christine believe the songs on 6.1, showcase both the energy of their earliest project and the
experience and maturity that time provides.
“I really felt a little more comfortable listening to the early versions
of
the songs and thinking, ‘OK, where can we go with these?'” says Scott.
“I
think the songs dictated what they wanted to be and we let them become that, instead of forcing them into other slots. Christine adds, “I think we’re
finally feeling comfortable with who we are, where we’ve been, and what we are right now.”
What they are now is a creative force, both musically and lyrically, who are
not only in lockstep with each other’s talents, but open enough to maximize
the opportunities that arise in working with another creative force, this
time producer, Monroe Jones (Third Day, Ginny Owens, Caedmon1s Call), who
stepped in and stepped up the job of channeling the duo’s exceptional
energy.
“We’re pretty much in awe of him right now,” Scott says. “He’s just a great
painter, he loves to just mix it up, and we clicked on a real peer level,
rather than a teacher-student level that we had in the past. It was a real
‘let’s just all get in a room and make music together’ thing.”
The result is an exciting hybrid of spirit and attitude, reflected both by
6.1’s lyrical subject matter and its musical invention. Wrapped around
Christine’s expressive vocals are sonic textures both familiar and unique to
Out of the Grey’s previous work. Consider “Truth Breaks Through,” a loping,
groove-filled breakdown based more on rhythm than melody, and built on the
observation that “change will come when love shows up.”
In “What’s It Gonna Be?” Out of the Grey put aside the guitar-based aspect
of the partnership and set out on purpose to present Christine’s gossamer vocals
within the context of a piano-driven song. “A lot of the piano-based songs I
write become guitar songs, but Monroe was, like, ‘Let’s not do that this
time,'” Christine explains.
Then there’s “Shine Like Crazy,” 6.1’s opener and first single, which, like
the chorus says, “shimmers like the sun.” With the album almost finished,
the two took a step back and realized that the album was leaning on the
ballad side. Scott went to Monroe with his concern.
“I told him I had something that might work as an upbeat song,” he says. “I
played it for him and he said, ‘Oh, yeah!’ So we finished this tune,
demoed it, lobbied hard to go record it, went in and in one, three-hour
session, got all the basics down. And it’s turned out to be the first
single! A lot of records have stories like that, but that had never happened
to us.”
In addition to experimenting musically on 6.1, the Dentés’ open the book
of
their lives and let the world take a peek at what’s going on inside.
“We tend to want to circle the wagons when it comes to things like
protecting our children,” Christine says. “We tend to live
conservatively
that way, and then we have to look inside and ask, ‘Are we living in
fear?
Are we living in a faithless way when we try to cover all these bases
when
there are sometimes things you can’t control?'”
“So thematically, there’s a lot of stuff about not holding on too
tightly to the things of this life,” adds Scott. “And things about
stepping out and living live, being bold.”
“For us, we don’t ever sit down to write and say, ‘Today we’re going to help
people with fear,'” Scott explains. “I think sometimes people craft songs in
a way that’s an attempt to solve the problem in the song. We don’t often
solve problems in our songs; we point to the problem and help to explain it.
It’s really just an expression of trying to figure these things out for
ourselves.”
“Just because you write it, doesn’t mean you have the answer,” Christine
says. “The art of songwriting allows you the luxury of writing about
something you really haven’t gotten down yet.”
“I think Christine showed her heart on this record. She’s been challenged in
the past not to be so heady, but when you try to be cool, you get a little
distance from the audience,” Scott continues. “It’s cool to be clever,
alliteration is your friend, but sometimes you give up the heart a little
bit.”
The songs on 6.1 not only show the couple’s heart, but also promise to
provide Out of the Grey fans and other music lovers the joy of finding
something new in something familiar.
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