Hospitality in Music: An Interview with Lowland Hum, Part Two

This week on the podcast, Dan continues his conversation with Lauren and Daniel Goans of the band Lowland Hum. The husband-and-wife duo reflect on what it’s like to create music together, in a way that neither of them could do on their own. They share about the back-and-forth collaboration of their songwriting, a process that can be complicated and time-consuming, but that allows both of them to feel part of the songs they share with the world.

Daniel: “We want to both feel at home in these songs.”

Dan: “It is a dream for many people to have something that they can create together that reveals something about the Kingdom of God, and you two literally live your lives—professionally, personally, corporately—creating together. And I imagine that’s both a dream and a nightmare.”

Lauren: “Even the maddening parts, though, are good for us. A lot of the things we’ve worked through in our relationship, we might not have worked through them if we weren’t working together.”

I build cathedrals in the hearts of people I know.

One song in particular, “How Long,” you can listen to around the 12:51 mark of this episode. Dan shares about a time that he was incredibly sick with pneumonia, and he listened to “How Long” probably hundreds of time on repeat. He recalls being especially moved by the line, “I build cathedrals in the hearts of people I know.” Daniel says the song is both a meditation on living with pain and hardship, as well as a reflection on the deep belief that “God is lovingly oriented toward the world.” These themes grew out of the practice of praying the Psalms when we don’t know what to say or how to pray.

Daniel: “Somehow, because God finishes what He starts, He’s in charge of my processes, and the result will be something breathtaking.”