Five-time GRAMMY®-nominated, eight-time GMA Dove Award recipient and Platinum®-selling singer / songwriter Brandon Heath releases American Sign Language (ASL) performance videos for every track of his acclaimed, ninth studio record and second LP with Centricity Music, The Ache. One of the first recording artists to release ASL videos for an entire album, Heath shares the 11 new videos on YouTube HERE.
Heath was inspired to create ASL videos several years ago by a deaf fan of his music, Ian Myers, who sent him sign language interpretations of his songs. Araya Williams, a hearing interpreter and longtime friend of Heath, helped coordinate the ASL talents along with Myers to bring his seventh studio album Faith, Hope, Love, Repeat to a Deaf audience.
“What I’ve learned from Araya and others is that Deaf culture values the arts and creative expression by Deaf artists,” shares Heath. “This is really a collaborative effort with Deaf performers, using their first language, to make my music available to all people, Deaf and hearing.”
Created in partnership with Sonshine Interpreting, The Ache ASL videos feature interpretations performed by Deaf artists: Williams, Renca Dunn, Colin Analco and Brandon Gaskin.
“The beauty and value of making any content accessible to the Deaf community cannot be understated,” states Williams, founder and visionary at Sonshine Interpreting. “We were honored to collaborate on the creation of Brandon Heath’s latest album in American Sign Language, featuring Deaf performers.
“Deaf people are one of the top three largest unreached people, mainly because of the communication barrier,” adds Williams, noting that there is only one complete ASL Bible. “Sign language is not universal, so there needs to be translation done in every other country’s sign language.”
Holding the tension of loss and longing, The Ache includes The Recording Academy- featured acoustic-pop hit at radio now, “Gospel Truth,” which sums up how Heath reconciles the heartbreaking realities of this life with what he knows to be true of God; lead radio hit, “He Does (Oh By the Way),” a cleverly penned, choir-assisted, celebratory reminder about God’s role as a consistent provider and faithful friend; and “Scars,” written after The Covenant School shooting to honor his longtime friend, the school’s chaplain Matthew Sullivan.
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