Globally renowned artist TAYA, voice of the multi-platinum global worship anthem “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” releases her highly anticipated debut full-length album. Available today, the self-titled project establishes an exciting new chapter for TAYA as she breaks ground as a solo artist.

Congrats on your first self-titled album! We know the songs you’ve already released have blessed our community so much and we’re so grateful to now have the full project. First, on a macro-level, tell us why these are the songs you wanted to release under your name? Are they tied specifically to your spiritual journey?

Well firstly, I just want to say thank you so much MultiTracks for having me and also for your sweet congratulations on this, my first self-titled debut record. I'm really humbled to know that these songs have really been a blessing to your community, and I think that's everyone's prayer when they release something into the world that it would — that by the grace of God, it would hopefully evoke a response from people to surrender their lives to Jesus. Also, because He always does far better things than we could ever do on our own — that I know for sure. So I'm humbled that you would want to talk to me about this project, and I'm so excited that it is now released into the world this Friday.

I guess on a large scale, the overarching reason of getting to release these songs under my own name is it felt like the easiest and the quickest way to differentiate from this amazing team that I've been a part of for the last nine years. I'm still a part of Hillsong UNITED and I've considered it an absolute honor to get to steward other people's songs through this team.

But with this album, it is kind of a full introduction to who I am when it comes to not just my voice, but my songwriting. And essentially, you know, I hadn't been writing for seven years. So it's seven years of devotional times with the Lord.

I think that's what ties specifically back to my journey through those seven years. I wasn't writing, but I had seven years worth of revelations and devotional times — quiet mornings and late nights with Jesus. I love that these songs came out of those scriptures that had been ruminating in my heart for a long time. And, you know, our thoughts and perhaps even theological questions that had been coming up through different seasons that just kept poking their heads out. And so it felt really sweet getting to release this under my own name.

My full expression of who Jesus is to me, in my own words, in my own melodies for the first time ever.

Tell us about incorporating organ and almost a Southern Gospel feel to the arrangement of “For All My Life.”

Firstly, I love that you have picked up that there is an organ and kind of a Southern Gospel, soulful feel to the arrangement of my very first single, “For All My Life.” This is due to the genius of Hank Bentley and Jon Guerra, who were both my co-writers in this song, but also amazing co-producers for this track on the record. I think I'm a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to my musical tastes and even my musical journey. I grew up in Australia, which is a secular nation. I didn't have Christian radio stations, so I grew up listening to Pop to American Rock, to the Beatles, to Classical music and old school hymns. I definitely like soulful gospel so I'm humbled that you would you would pick that up in this song. And also, I just love that it kind of touches a little bit on country, which is the Singer/Songwriter side of me that I love as well and feel humbled that that would come out through all these songs as well.

But I'm also just grateful for this song. It was at the end of a three week intense writing trip trying to finish the rest of the record. And it was my first time writing with Hank, and I think it was my first time writing with Jon as well or it had at least been a couple of years.

After we wrote that chorus, I realized it was just my testimony put to words.

And it's based on Proverbs 3:5-6, which is: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. I'm kind of so pumped that this is a song that ended up being the last song we wrote for this record. It ended up being the first song that's released, which is, I think classic Jesus. So many times, you know, it's the 11th hour and the 57th minute that God comes through — in this instance, it was a radio single, which, again, I hadn't been writing for seven years! Success to me at this point was just finishing a song. So to be able to have a song that we can go out of the gate with that radio wanted to pre-add is so kind and and also just classic Jesus.

His faithfulness and his kindness supersedes anything that we get to put our hand to in our faithfulness. And this was just a real joyful gift that looking back — what that scripture was saying — we make all these plans but it’s God who decides where our footsteps are actually going to be. Like with this record, we made plans and put dates together for certain things and then, you know, other things are released on that same day or other things within your world are happening and you just think, oh, my Lord, it's your timing. I'm just grateful for God's sovereignty when it comes to timing and that his timing is perfect.

I kind of just love getting to sit back and a song of joy to be out right now that I get to steward and carry now. Hopefully for the rest of my life it’s sweet in whatever season we are in. When it was released into the airwaves at that time, I was particularly grateful in a season that could otherwise be quite heavy and, you know, even wondering, God, where are you in this? And what are you doing?

Just a reminder that I'm to not lean on my own understanding, but I'm just to trust Him and go where He's calling me even if it feels like in particular places there's an emptiness there because like it says in the Bible, in The Message so this is a paraphrased translation, but it says “I will give you the fullest life in the emptiest of places.”

So I'm really thankful for this little song of joy that happened to drop when it did.

You feel a sense of spiritual renewal throughout the whole album. Tell us about some revelations you had during the process of writing and capturing these songs.

That's so kind. By the grace of God. Thank you Jesus for that.

I mean, the first revelation in the whole process of writing was the fact that this was a God idea. This was something that resonated in my heart when someone put the question out there: Hey, would you do a TAYA album? Again, I'm not the person who puts my hand up and has all the vision, but I just felt like the Lord was saying “Yes.”

I used to write songs when I was 17 and when I moved to Sydney at 21, I’d tell my parents I was going to become a signed recording artist, but I didn't have a plan or know how to make any of that happen. So I just went back to working in retail, but now in the big city, not in the country anymore.

And it was a decision of: Do I buy a piano so I can write again? Because that was the instrument that I grew up playing and where I discovered a love of storytelling and putting words to melody or melody to words. Or it was like: Do I eat or do I buy food? and food won out, of course, because it was a necessity. But then as the years kind of rolled over and then I started traveling with United, I just kept using different excuses throughout that period of seven years, and a little bit of laziness definitely crept in there and not wanting to put myself out there.

It's silly because the girl who is known for her voice all of a sudden struggled to raise it in a creative capacity — to give my opinion on what I thought, or offer words or melodies. There was a lack of feeling comfortable enough to be able to bring that which is on me, because it's actually unfortunately fake humility, which is pride.

So basically, it was me getting over myself and just going, “if this is what you have for me God, I want to be a good steward of everything that you've given me.” I do believe that I'm meant to be writing songs, and I haven't been for the last seven years, and just God's timing and kindness brought it about.

I would also just like to highlight the importance of community. I say within this whole process, it’s not just people loving on you, but also calling out the God thing when you can't see it yourself. Yeah, this is my album, but let's be honest, the people that I have had standing with me throughout this whole experience of learning to steward something from start to finish are the real gems and the real gifts to me during this process.

I guess one revelation I've had in particular is that we serve a God who speaks to us.

He's not deaf and He's not mute. But if we would wait upon the Lord like it says in the Bible, if we truly seek Him, and we seek Him with all of our heart, He's there to be found and He will be found. And I remember heading into this project, I needed a word from God because if I didn't have it, I didn't want to go into it.

It was similar to that prayer of Moses.

“God, if you don't go with this, if your spirit isn't behind us telling us go left, go right, I can't do this. I need a word from you because a blank canvas is really scary, and I didn't even know what color paint to use on it.”

And I felt like He gave me the words like, honey, that this is to be sweet, palatable, easy to digest, that His grace would heal some deep things on the inside, perhaps wounds that people didn't even know still needed tending. And so it's crazy how then, that same day, I felt like God spoke to me at the last gathering that we had as a local church before the world completely shut down.

My husband comes home that day and he didn't know. Unbeknownst to him, he didn't know that I had heard God via the Holy Spirit, speak these words like honey. And I was kind of sitting up in bed looking at this book, questioning, God, did I really hear these words? Are these the four running words that I'm to go out with with this project? And I was wondering because God always speaks to us in really personal ways because, yes, he's omniscient, he's omnipresent, but he's also personal.

And then my husband comes in. He'd been in wine country that day, had no idea that God had spoken to me. This kind of tells you who I am married to — a guy who loves Jesus, walks with him and is just obedient to the Holy Spirit, and it's like a child, not even questioning.

So he said, I was in wine country today, was helping a friend move house and I saw this thing and thought of you. And so I just bought it. I was thinking he had bought me a bottle of wine because he was in wine country. He hands me this paper bag and low and behold, there is a jar of honey in this bag.

It was just a sweet confirmation (sorry for the pun) that God spoke those words and these were the ones I was just meant to run to. I knew it wasn't the name of the album. I knew it wasn't a song. I just knew that these were the words that God had spoken to me for me to keep coming back to.

So in moments of doubt I could think: remember the honey? You don't have to force this. I'm in this. I'm here. I spoke to you about this. I'm here. Remember the honey and go with go with ease and go with the grace.

The overarching theme of this record has somewhat come out of Matthew 11:28-30 and it's The Message translation of that invitation from Jesus saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I'll give you rest. I'm going to place my yoke upon you because it's easy and my burden’s light.” He's saying walk with me, watch me. Watch how I do it. I won't place anything ill-fitting or heavy on you. Come and learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

Through this whole process, so many times I'm like, “God, are you sure I’m the right person for this? Because you knew who I was like, the innate DNA in my veins and the things that I lean towards and the things that I lean back from. Are you sure I'm the right person for this?” And yet, it's been such an amazing experience of surrendering again, and coming again, and trusting again, even when I don't know how it's going to work out or where the end will lead as well, which is all God's territory as well.

We're just meant to be obedient with whatever He puts in our hands, because results and everything else are His domain. And I'm so grateful that it is His.

The simplicity of “Getaway” is so powerful - it’s haunting and comforting all at once. What was it like writing from God’s perspective?

Well, I'm honored that “Getaway” has resonated with you. And isn't it that, like you mentioned, it's haunting and comforting all at once, which I think is also classic Jesus.

He speaks words that both pierce and heal.

I say in an unreleased song that the Lord works deeply, but he also works so tenderly. For us, writing “Getaway” was such a gift. It was at the end of this 3-week intense writing period of May 2021. I was writing for the first time in person and it was just a complete God story where I was even able to be in America because Australia was in complete lockdown. Someone had to write a letter to the government for me to get permission to leave.

W were tired at the end of this 3-week pour-out and yet it felt like, again, another reminder of God's faithfulness and goodness in the midst of just trying to be obedient to what He's saying. And the sweet thing for me about this song is that it felt like a little breath of fresh air, because I think it's just based on the Word of God.

In The Message — which I know isn’t everybody's favorite version of the Bible but for me is this beautiful version of the Bible that made it come alive to me when I was 17 — Jesus says, “Come to me. Are you burdened by all the heavy days? It's not your job to shoulder the weight. Take a real rest, walk along with me,” which again, is just a fun way of reminding us all of the joy that it is to walk with Jesus and to be yoked together with Him.

A yoke is something that binds two animals or even in this essence, two people together, so that the weight that's being carried is actually spread across the two people or the two animals, so it's actually lighter than what it would be if you had to carry it on your own.

And I just think it's a reminder that we don't have we don't have a Heavenly Father that knit us together in our mothers’ wombs, and then when we're born says, “Hey, good luck here. Do your best and I'll see you at the other end and I'll give you a score out of ten and you might make it and you might not.” But rather we have a God that says, “I'm with you. I am God, Emmanuel, God with us. I'm going. It's good.” Jesus is just the ultimate example of that sent by heaven, lived the perfect life, went through every single thing that we would ever go through down here. Understood what it was to be disappointed, to be shamed, to be spat on, to be denied, to fight every single thing that we would have in the human experience — Jesus went through.

And then after He dies the most horrific death and rises on the third day, He says that the same spirit that raised Him from the dead is going to live inside all of us. And he is the one that will reveal the mind of Christ to us because we have His Spirit. When I'm looking at him, everything else fades because it either doesn't matter or it comes into alignment.

He's the one that's carrying the heaviness with us and walking us through this life right into the other side.

Tell us about the decision to close with “Glory Hallelujah.” The song feels like a timeless, modern-day hymn!

That's very kind. “Glory Hallelujah” was one of the songs in the first batch we wrote over Zoom. I wrote this one with Jon Guerra, who's my producer and also one of my main co-writers and collaborators on this project, and also with Lindsey Sweat, who was the second main collaborator and songwriter for this project. I feel like they are both such gifts to my life and they really unlocked something on the inside for me, which I'm so grateful for and will be grateful to them for being willing to write with someone who hadn't done it for seven years. They came alongside me.

This song was in response to the murder of Mr. George Floyd and a few other lives lost that had been going on in each of our lives personally. I had also just reconnected with my primary school teacher, just before the world shut down, and a few months later, her son tragically passed away.

She reached out to me and was just explaining to me how worship music had been so uplifting to her and her family. She was thanking me during that time just for songs that I'd been able to be a part of, which I was so humbled by, because, you know, she's in the midst of grief and what's coming out of her heart and out of her life is gratitude. I was shocked by that and also challenged by that. And I realized we just needed to write a song. I needed to write a song for Mrs. Ferry.

My friend needed to write a song for her friend who had lost a loved one, and perhaps even just for a world gripped by grief and loss. So from that place, we just were trying to think about the honesty of living in a world where we're not expected a perfect time. We realize that as Christians, we need to be able to talk honestly about the human experience down here. But it has to be laced. I believe it has to be laced with hope, with the hope of Jesus Christ, because He came down here, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and was risen three days later. You know, to the right hand of the father seated in heaven, interceding for us because of Jesus, death has lost its sting.

We have ultimate victory because he had ultimate victory over sin and death and he is victorious. And because of that, even when we talk about the honesty of life, and things that happen (whether due to our own mistakes or decisions or out of our control) we have hope, and Jesus is the hope of the world and the hope of all humanity.

So we have to write from that perspective, and so that's what “Glory Hallelujah” came from. Down here, we experience moments similar to what the first verse says, that as the clouds roll in and the rains fold down and moments, when we can feel the fear creep in. With the break of day, in reference to Lamentations, His mercies are new and a portion for us every single day that he gives us hope.

He's the one that teaches us how to pray, teaches us how to say that there will be one day, a brand new day. So from that place, even when you're in the midst of grief, praise would be on our lips, because as Christians, we we know there will be a brand new day where we would get to be with Jesus, where our tears will fade. We will no longer have any sickness or sadness, and we get to see him face to face.

And just the last thing I would say is, it's that scripture of Romans 8:19 -21 in The Message version where it kind of talks about those hard times, that there isn’t any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times, that the created world itself can hardly wait for what is coming next.

Everything in creation is being more or less held back, and God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead.

Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. So I pray that this song is a joyful anticipation and that it would cause people's joy to deepen in the midst of the waiting for that brand new day. I just want to say one more time, thank you so much for letting me share and getting to speak to you. It's been really sweet to get to share about all that God's put in my heart over the last two years, just before it's about to be public.

So thank you. And I pray that this album is exactly what God has spoken to me about, that it would be like honey for you too, and that it would be sweet, easy to listen to, and like a healing balm to your soul wherever you find yourself today.

TAYA