After Receiving UTR Media Support and Collaborating with Nashville Producer, Steve Kinney, Geryah Dingle Returns with “Starting Over”

Photo by Geryah Dingle

My baby brother was the inspiration for 'STARTING OVER,' and the lyrics aim to capture the prayers I had and still have for him today - for God to put a hedge of protection around him, his household, and everything he has. Once upon a time, I knew I was the youngest in the family, and there can be a lot of expectation and pressure to perform in a certain way.

Many times, it's pretty easy for the youngest to fly under the radar, and one day, you look up, and everyone's adulting. All those influencers, chaperones, and unsolicited advice are white noise. Still, there is one relationship that will never change. And I know the words starting over often fill us with fear and excitement, but the plan God declares is to prosper and not harm you and give you hope and a future.

Produced with the incredible Steve Kinney, we encapsulated the emotion and gravity of the lyrics and melody into a passionate Christian Contemporary Music (CCM)-positive country ballad.

I wrote the original lyrics and composition back in 2002 as an acoustic guitar track, but Steve and I started working on the production in August 2021 and finished in about two months. We worked remotely, starting with just my iPhone demo recording and a brief Zoom call to communicate my vision and inspiration behind the song.

Like clockwork, I started by providing some reference tracks to shape the song's direction. This task was challenging, but there is no wrong answer. I settled on some key themes and artists.

I knew I wanted the track to have epic guitar riffs, punchy drums, and capture the emotion of the lyrics. I knew from Steve's work with Katrina Burgoyne and other musical artists; he would be able to deliver. I provided some songs from Bethel Music and Elevation Worship to help communicate the vibe I was going for with this CCM meets Nashville anthem.

We built the guide tracks first to get started and provide the session musicians with the feel and arrangement for the studio recording. We also played with the chord structure to make the chorus pop a bit more and be distinct from the verses and gave the song a little more life, speeding the tempo to 72 beats per minute (bpm). Once we completed the initial tracking session with musicians, it was time for me to track vocals.

I was super excited to team up with VORANAH (Brant June Kim) at Shyness Studios; he's a super talented producer, songwriter, and engineer in Seoul. From the jump, I loved the work with the electric guitars, the swells, and the build-up at the end of the song, as it makes you want to put the track on repeat. However, a lot of the spice came in the vocal booth.

VORANAH and I worked on the lead vocal, doubles, triples, a few different ad-lib tracks, and some creative oohs and ah's as layers. This part of the creation process was all about passion and trying to embody the song's meaning. I sent the vocal takes to Steve, and he worked his magic.

I'm incredibly excited to release this single when so many of us have to adapt, overcome, and in many cases, start over. This song reminds us to cast anxieties away, knowing that Christ cares for us.

Listen to "Starting Over" on 26 November 2021 on all platforms.