Joel Tanasychuk: Naomi and I (Joel) met at a Christian camp in a small town called Caroline (Alberta, Canada) in June 2016. One of the things that we bonded over very quickly into meeting each other was our love for music. We were already actively involved in our respective church's worship ministries, and already writing songs individually. Our involvement in the camp's worship music, and having worship jam sessions together was one of the huge building blocks in our relationship.

Joel: The hardest thing for Naomi to adjust to (and still is!) is being away from her family who live in England. We miss them lots! For me, I would say one of the biggest adjustments was stepping up to the plate in regards to certain household tasks like vacuuming, dishes, etc... I feel fortunate to live near family in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada).

Joel: What a great question! Naomi is re-certifying this year at the University of Alberta, so one of the big changes for her has been taking part in online Zoom calls instead of going to classes in person. For me, this school year has been very interesting. Teaching with a mask on, and teaching to students with masks on has probably been the strangest/hardest thing. I would say the most pleasantly surprising would be how well my particular group of kids has dealt with all of the many changes. They are a wonderful group!

Joel: In songwriting, I (Joel) find that inspiration quite often strikes at the strangest time. The bathroom, in the middle of teaching, while playing video games, etc... inspiration often comes when my mind is focused on something else, or I'm not focusing on anything really at all. For the both of us, I would say that life experiences, sermons, and the Bible are incredibly inspiring. One of the songs on our album, Wonderfully Made, was actually written out of a sermon that I listened to!

Joel: For both of us, we really admire Steffany Gretzinger and I (Joel) would also add Pat Barrett (from Housefires) to the list. Steffany Gretzinger is just incredibly talented as both a songwriter/musician, and anything that Pat Barrett's name is on as a songwriter is going to be good. I also have mad respect for Jason Ingram; that man is a songwriting beast.

Joel: For Naomi, she finds that melodies come much easier than lyrics, and I'm the opposite. Naomi will quite often get a melody come to her while one of us is playing through a chord progression, and I will quite often have a phrase come into my head which helps lead me into writing songs.

Joel: We have been listening to Maverick City Music, Steffany Gretzinger, Cory Asbury, Bethel Music, Phil Wickham, Gable Price and Friends (a recent artist discovery through a friend this year.... they're so good!), Elevation Worship, our stuff (Nai and J) and so many more!!! There's so much incredible music to listen to right now!

Joel: Oh man, what a question. There are so many. We would say Build My Life by Housefires. The very first time I heard that song, I was wrecked. Absolutely wrecked. It is such a good one.

Joel: Similarly to #7, Maverick City Music has been a huge recent fave. Others include Bethel Music, Hillsong Worship, Housefires, Vertical Worship or Shane & Shane. But seriously, there are so many others that are amazing.

Joel: We hope that anyone who stumbles upon this email interview, and decides to listen to our music would be impacted by it, and drawn closer to Jesus through it!!