Q: Hi there! Loving the uplifting feeling of “Reason For The Season.” I love that it is a holiday song, but doesn’t go overboard, being something that can honestly be listened at any time of the year. What was your favorite part of creating this track?
MODERN TEMPLE: Thank you so much, we definitely wanted it to still feel like a song that would fit in our normal catalog! Some of the most unique parts that we like would be adding our daughter into the track when she was just learning how to walk as well as the “it’s a wonderful life” sample in the bridge because the movie itself is a great explanation for the message of the song! The music video shoot was also an awesome experience to help the track come to life even more!
Q: I’m always interested in an artist’s musical journey. Do you remember who or what first got you into music? Was your family musical growing up?
MODERN TEMPLE: Dustin: Outside of middle school band I never had a big interest in music until about 17 years old when I learned guitar for the first time in order to participate in a FFA talent competition! I began to learn garageband on the ipad and put songs together which really sparked the love for music in me.
ELLIE: I grew up in a pretty musical family, my mom would love to sing around the house, my dad and brother were very musically inclined, so I naturally grew into that! I started piano at 5 and vocal lessons at 7 which set me into motion as the vocalist I am today.
Q: I love both of your voices and the way your vocals blend flawlessly together. Who are both of your biggest musical influences?
MODERN TEMPLE: Dustin: We really appreciate that, it is pretty funny that our voices work so well together because our music influences are pretty different! I would say I have been influenced by singers/songwriters such as Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots, Jason Mraz, Cage the Elephant, The Neighborhood, and Jon Bellion. On the other hand, Ellie grew up listening and singing to Norah Jones and Adele, so the contrast is pretty large but when put together it gives us our sound!
Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
MODERN TEMPLE: Dustin: I attended Texas A&M doing agricultural business for one year, I came to the conclusion that it was not where I was supposed to be and really felt God leading me to leave and study music production at Full Sail University. Once I learned the production side of things it really began to take off from there. ELLIE: There isn’t really a specific moment I can recall, it has been more of a gradual journey. I think during my senior year in high school is when there was a strong push and desire to be an artist. I took a year off after graduation and felt God leading me to attend Full Sail University in their Music Production course. There, I met Dustin about 9 months before graduation and knew he was my husband and that God wanted our music careers to be one.
Q: Walk us through your writing and production process in making “Reason For The Season.”
MODERN TEMPLE: This kind of a funny story because I was challenged to write a christmas song for the NSAI chapter that I am in. I really had no intention of it being a Modern Temple song but after listening to where it was going I knew that it was supposed to be part of our catalog. It was a pretty quick process as I started making the song in November and we released it in December lol so challenges can be a beautiful thing. As far as production, as always I like to blend more synthesized sounds with organic instruments such as bass guitar and piano, but then I added the more ambient sounds with jingle bells etc to give it the Christmasy flair that it needed. The production came to life when we recorded vocals and focussed heavily on harmonies to carry the song where it needed to go!
Q: What would you like to say to your fans out there?
MODERN TEMPLE: We really hope that this song can become a timeless favorite for you and that the message will really help you see what is important during the holidays!
Q: Thanks so much for speaking with me! Tell your fans and everyone what exciting stuff is coming up next for you! Any shows/projects in the works?
MODERN TEMPLE: Absolutely! Thank you so much for your questions! We are currently releasing our album as singles each month so we have 5 more singles to put out and another music video coming, so it will be a busy 2023 with lots of new music!
Interviewed by Melissa Cusano
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