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His last album, Real, proved Jake Smith to be one of the industry’s brightest up-and-coming talents. From out of nowhere, it seemed he seized each stage he was able to grace with his New Orleans influenced jazz-pop-rock sound. Plus his fun, catchy lyricism meshed well with the infectious musical material.

Now Smith is back with a new EP, showcasing a more somber, reflective side. We recently asked him a few questions regarding his career, his direction and what he thinks about his debut now that some time has passed.

SA: You’ve mentioned that the new EP is really focused on hope and the ability to find that in life’s circumstances. Were there specific instances that led you to want to focus on this?

Jake Smith: The last CD was based on huge events that I hope people don’t have to go through such as hurricanes, cancer, car wrecks, pretty much anything horrible. Those things aren’t every day occurrences, and it’s not as if once you go through such things like that then your life will be smooth sailing from there on out. This EP is based off of the everyday situations, politics, relationships, careers etc.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

The answers from new Canadian worship artist Joel Augé are perfect. Give a quick read below and you’ll see what we mean: thoughtful, provocative reasons and explanations to bolster his already strong melodic musical style. It’s an instant realization that even though Augé is new to the national scene, he’s clearly been considering his calling for some time now.

We recently had the chance to ask the new Integrity artist about his record, his band Hewit, his Canadian roots and the worst pronunciation of his last name. In between are some much needed answers and insights for the Western church.

Soul-Audio: An obvious place to start – your origins – actually led me to Hewit. How did you decide to pursue a solo venture away from the band?

Joel Augé: Hewit is as much a production team as a band. Although I’ve written most of the songs, we collectively share a love for getting across melodies and musical ideas that move people. As a production team we all live by the motto that “the song makes the final decision.” Whatever is the best way for the song to be everything it can be, that’s what we choose to do.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

For Matt Brouwer it’s been a slow, steady, and relatively quiet climb into the hearts of music fans. From humble beginnings at Prairie Bible College in Canada which led to the release of Imagerical to the critically acclaimed vulnerability of 2005’s Unlearning, the humble singer/songwriter has steadily added fans to his ranks, drawn by the humanity within the artist’s work.

We recently sat down with Brouwer and found him just as you’d imagine: humble, witty, and friendly as he discussed his early days, his new album, and the daunting task of being an honest artist.

SA: So it’s been a long time since the first release I heard of yours, Imagerical, and now. Are you at the place you wanted to be, or that you thought you’d be, here in ’08?

Matt: Well, essentially in ’01, I really just found myself post-college, just barely out of college, and that album, that blue album with the weird title that I released, was essentially a praise and worship record that was really just a direct result of my experiences in college. I got involved leading music at the church aspect of the college that I was involved in and it was a beautiful accident, really. I didn’t go with any idea of wanting or desiring to do that but ended up leading this thing and it was a really meaningful part of our college experience.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

It’s been a strong start for Nashville native, Brandon Heath. After some moderate indie success, the artist has seen his major label debut propel him into the spotlight, even garnering four Dove Award nominations, of which he won the award for “Best New Artist.” Add to that a solid songwriting history as well that includes collaborations with artists like Bebo Norman and Matt Wertz and you’d have to agree, Heath is on the right path to success.We recently had a chance to catch up with Heath and asked him about his recent award, his hometown benefits, as well as discuss his upcoming sophomore album, What If We.

Soul-Audio: I’d like to start with the Dove Award win for “Best New Artist.” In the moments immediately before, what was the internal feeling?

Brandon Heath: I was standing on stage with all the other nominees. We had all just opened the show with snippets of our songs. Standing next to Mandisa, I leaned over and whispered, “I feel like I’m on American Idol.” She laughed. I looked up at my dad in the balcony and he was grinning ear to ear. He was just proud that I was nominated. I think in that moment, so was I. I was thankful to be nominated for good work. And then Jeremy Camp read my name on the card and I lost all train of thought.

This just might be the best debut you’ll grab this year. And if you haven’t yet listened to Ben Shive and heard for yourself the reason we gave The Ill-Tempered Klavier a 9 out of 10, then stop reading this and head to his MySpace page. But for the already initiated, we wanted to give you a greater glimpse into the songwriting genius of Ben Shive.

From the ‘nerdy’ title to it’s brilliant pop kaleidoscope, Shive’s musical gift to us this year came earlier than Christmas, but we’ll still be enjoying it until then. It was a pleasure to sit down with Ben and have him divulge all his secrets for us - where he gets his musical ideas, how he got started, and where that title comes from.

Soul-Audio: So you’ve been working on Ill-Tempered Klavier since 2006.

Ben Shive: That’s correct.

SA: When you first started the process and you kept the same title the whole time, is the final product what you pictured two years later?

Ben: Yeah, mostly. The only difference is that I’m a young writer and I was an even younger writer then. There are a couple songs, one in particular, that we cut on this original tracking session that we recorded that was very different from where the record ended up. At the time I started writing several years ago, I was really into Peter Gabriel. So we recorded this one song that was a real Peter Gabriel kind of thing.

So in that sense, that changed since then. My vision for maybe what my sound would be started to solidify as I wrote more songs; it started to become more clear what world I wanted to land in sonically. So something that was blatantly Peter Gabriel wouldn’t fit into my world sonically. But I think I did know back then that I wanted it to have a little bit of that psychedelic Beatles thing happening.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

One of Christian music’s brightest young talents comes to us in the form of Jenn Weber. Her musical style is reminiscent of Nichole Nordeman while her vocals deliver a Bethany Dillon double-take. But it’s the heart behind it all that really begins to set her apart, and that’s what comes through in Jenn’s answers to some of our recent questions.

Her new album, World of Wonder, is ready made for radio - a smart, pop affair with the ideal blend of ups and downs, insight and reflection. The lessons she’s learned early in her artistic career are worth listening to, so we hope you’ll take some time to find out more about Weber in this Soul-Audio exclusive.

Soul-Audio: There seem a couple obvious points of reference after just a few listens to the new album, Bethany Dillon and Nichole Nordeman. Would you agree with that at all?

Jenn Weber: When most people try to explain my musical style to their friends, they usually find themselves using one or both of those women as a comparison, so I would agree! Still, we are three unique artists with different stories and varied passions that set our ministries and sounds apart; we do, however, share a similar goal: To follow hard after the Lord and set others on fire for Him! Personally, I can’t think of two other women in the Christian music industry I would rather be compared to so I’m certainly honored.

You can read the rest of the interview here.