BARUCH's music has been described as "original enough to be unique, but familiar enough to be sung at church." It's a descriptor that modestly tries to define the melodic and uplifting spirit of this Nicaraguan-native's music adorns his listeners. Since 2018, the Missionary-Songster has traveled the globe in hopes of spreading worship and praise for Christ to all his patrons around the world, and this year, with the help of the infatuating intoner, "Whitney Wood," BARUCH gathers the touchstones of Pop, R&B, and Gospel to create his latest worship single, "Wildest Dreams,"—a number about vulnerability, soul-
searching and realigning with Jesus.
It's not hard to imagine that after the first moment BARUCH's soft-tenor voice reaches your ears, you'd assume you're listening to a Pop-hit straight from the FM radio. There's an illustrious guitar sample cascading over the mix's expanses, a topline hook that synergizes over a host of amalgamating harmonies, and a back-beat that floats buoyantly under your feet. Here, on "Wildest Dreams," BARUCH takes all the sonic details and enamoring melodic hooks from the playbooks of R&B-Soul and Pop and utilizes them in a perfect sequence between a mantra-like chorus, enlightening verses, and a half-stepping bridge section that plunges you into paradise.
The production here is cleverly hushed compared to the lead vocals, and it's all in an attempt to highlight the call and response nature BARUCH's Gospel. For a moment after the initial verse, this mix takes time to lay low, allowing Whitney Wood to take control over the hook when she sings, "I don't wanna live with these regrets, I'm done with the hide. I'm done with the run; I'm living for you." Here, during the breathtaking moments of bliss that Wood's voice adorns us, it's almost impossible to not find hope and love in the narrative that these intoners so eloquently put together. As she continues her cherubic incantations, BARUCH joins in, taking the upcoming bridge and verse to the next level as the two synergize over their melodies in a unified Orison.
When you think back, it's not hard to imagine BARUCH being played on the radio. His songs borrow from the influences of genres with a full arm's length stretch, and somehow combine them on, "Wildest Dreams," with a musical maestro's proficiency. It's a track that will have you bolting for the replay button over and over again.
We absolutely love the chemistry between yourself and Whitney on "Wildest Dreams," how did you manage to recruit Whitney for this collaboration, and what was your favorite part about working with her for this track?
I met Whitney through a mutual friend who connected us last year in LA. As soon as I heard her music and how amazing she sang, I knew we needed to collaborate.
“Wildest Dreams” definitely was the perfect song to combine our strengths, she brought a gospel feel to this song which elevated the production and overall sound of the track. My favorite part of working together is that Whitney is highly professional in the studio yet so creative and fun at the same time. Our personalities and musical styles blended very well and the result of the collaboration exceeded my expectations. I’m looking forward to translating this experience live on stage sometime!
Can you tell us about some of the sentiments and emotions you were trying to highlight during Wildest Dreams?
This song means so many things to me. When I began writing the lyrics, I wanted them to be real and vulnerable. I never want to write a song just to make a hit. I always want to be real and honest and not follow the established script in today’s worship culture. When I look at the book of Psalms in the Bible, it’s filled with praise and honor, but also filled with the author’s realness and vulnerability. King David is not shy to express his love, doubts, fears, and failures. He takes you on a journey of life and worship as a whole, not just highlighting the high points but the low and dark valleys in between. “Wildest Dreams” talks about rediscovering your faith, God’s pursuit of our hearts, and choosing to trust him in the dark.
How do you traverse between cultural barriers related to your music and its messages, and what makes this so important to you as an Artist?
I believe as followers of Jesus we are called to stand out and not be boxed in. However, much of today’s worship music never reach people who think differently or don’t attend church because it’s not created for that purpose. Another reason for that genre's exclusiveness is because we’ve created worship to be a specific genre and have limited ourselves with our expression. I’ve chosen to end that toxic cycle. I want everyone to listen to my songs and be encouraged by these lyrics regardless of your spiritual walk or beliefs. I am doing this by not sticking to the CCM genre. When you look at the life of Jesus, almost 99% of his ministry happened outside of the church. That’s the example I want to follow. Reaching the unreached is what I live for. Whenever I do my world tours I intentionally do concerts and worship training in small/unpopular cities and countries. People need creators and leaders to be genuine and real, not just an orchestrated image that regular people can’t relate too. One of my favorite authors, Craig Groeschel, said, “People may admire you for your strengths, but they connect with you through your weakness”. Let’s be real, authentic, and inclusive.
What are some of the Milestones you've been aiming for this year regarding your career, and what steps have you taken thus far to get closer to those goals?
I truly believe in blooming where we are planted. The current pandemic has been a real challenge for creators and artists around the world because all or most of our work was canceled. I had a world tour scheduled for the summer and unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Honestly, the first few months were an emotional rollercoaster dealing with canceled plans and figuring out how to innovate and reinvent myself as an artist for such a time as this. During this time, I have decided to grow in areas I have previously neglected because I have either been too busy or naive of the places in my life that needed growth. some of my main milestones this season are to work on a lot of new music, writing, and recording as my team and I work on a full-length album. Some of the steps I have taken to keep going is learning to be disciplined and excellent in everything I do. I truly believe that how we do one thing is how we do everything, and with that logic, I can push myself every time to the greatest extent. In the words of Winston Churchill, “Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal; It’s the courage to continue that counts”. My definition of success is not measured by numbers or charts but by a personal conviction that I am doing what I was created to do. As long as I am well aware that I am doing what I was created to do, it immediately takes off the pressure of reaching the human standard of what success means or looks like.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
Honestly my greatest inspiration this season is coming from a deep conviction that a pandemic or a circumstance does not cancel or define my purpose. There will always be hard times and difficult years, but my purpose and creativity do not fluctuate based on a circumstance in which I have no control over. There are however some things we as humans do have control over Our attitude, our time management, and our daily habits. Once we learn to manage those three things well, the sky's the limit. I’m also constantly inspired by people who are innovating and staying creative in their industry. I’ve done some online concerts for events I had scheduled in Europe and South America via Zoom for example, which were super fun! During this time I have also discovered the power of collaboration, which is another reason why “Wildest Dreams” is so powerful. Whitney and I, as well as everyone involved in our production team, really become an unstoppable unit when we put our gifts together with a specific goal in mind. Knowing things will be better soon, that tours will resume, and that we will sing and jump together around the world again motivates me to keep going. See you guys soon!
Comments