by Scott RossySons of Korah (SOK) are a Christian music group/band from Australia. As their name would indicate, they are a psalms focused group and their very name is derived from the book of Psalms. While most of the bibles 150 psalms were credited as having been written by King David, approximately 13 of the psalms were credited to “the sons of Korah”. Psalm 42, the well known “as the deer pants for water” psalm is credited as having been written by the sons of Korah. The band does not write its own lyrics but records exclusively the psalms of the bible, beautifully and melodically setting to music the word of God.
The band was formed in the 1990’s while some of its members were attending divinity (seminary) school in Australia. While there, the founding members, already accomplished musicians discovered that they had in common a love for the psalms. From this the bands psalms project was formed. To date, Sons of Korah have recorded 6 full length studio albums along with one EP and one live album.
SOK’s musical style is centered around the acoustic guitar. They do not use electric guitars. Having said this, their music is not solo acoustic. They are a 5 piece band with a very eclectic, multi ethnic sound. It’s hard to label them as having one particular sound. Depending on the particular song they can sound folk, blues, semi classical, folk rock, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Indian, African and more. Other instruments besides the acoustic guitar that can be heard on an SOK song are drums and various percussions, bass guitar, piano, organ, violin, cello, accordion, keyboards, resonator guitar, slide guitar, synthesizer, mandolin, Hammond organ, Indian Harmonium, flugelhorn, trumpet, lap steel guitar, oboe and more. Their sound is also not restricted to one particular mood. As the psalms themselves portray varying moods, so do SOK’s recordings.
Founding member Matthew Jacoby is the main songwriter as well as the bands lead singer. Matthew has a doctorate in philosophy/theology from the University of Melbourne in Australia. He is a part time teaching pastor at his local church. Founding member Rod Gear is also one of the groups’ songwriters as well as musician extraordinaire.
Sadly, Sons of Korah are basically unknown to the US Christian community. There are numerous reasons as to why this is the case. Among them are that SOK are not under the control of a major record label. They are independent. This is a positive in that they have full control over their music and the direction of the band. They are not dictated to by a label as to what they can or cannot say. The Christian music scene has changed much since the 1970-1990’s. While it was always a for profit business it was still in the early days also viewed by the artists as a ministry. In the last 15 years the Christian music labels have been purchased by the larger secular record labels. They saw that there is a profit to be made in the contemporary Christian music scene and absorbed the Christian music as a sub genre within their labels. While this can lead to greater promotion and a wider distribution of the music it also gives the record execs the right to dictate what the content of the music will be. Thus most of the music on Christian radio is devoid of any scriptural or theological content. This is by design. It’s meant to appeal to a larger audience. It’s meant to be “crossover” music. To appeal to the non believer. It is meant to be “positive” and “uplifting”. IMHO the contemporary Christian music scene of today is pathetic and unlistenable. In the CCM world where “Jesus is my girlfriend” lyrics are the norm, and where the musicianship and song composition is sophomoric, a band of skilled musicians that sings exclusively the word of God is not going to be too popular. But thankfully, in the midst of this, SOK is a breath of fresh air. By their own admission they are out of the box of the Christian music scene. Says Matt Jacoby, “We never really fit very well into the commercial Christian music scene and so going with a label and doing the regular promo route could never have suited us.” He continues, “The reason I would listen to Christian Music specifically is to use it to draw my mind back to the things of God and to feed myself spiritually. To be honest I get a bit disappointed by stuff that sounds like it is more concerned with sexing up the Christian faith than it is with either making good art or really offering something substantial for spiritual reflection.” I agree with Matthews’ assessment and can say that SOK has succeeded in using their God given musical gifts to draw the listeners mind back to the things of God and to feed the listener spiritually with scripturally reflective songs. What better way to meditate on the word of God than to have it sung in a skilled and melodic way? SOK does just this.
Sons of Korah are my all time favorite. They are the best I ever heard. All my life I’ve been a music lover, having amassed a large collection of varying types of music and have always been drawn to those who possess superior musical skill (musicians music) and SOK are definitely extremely skilled musicians and composers. SOK view their music as ministry and they have truly ministered to me. I often find myself having one of their songs running through my mind which leads me to thinking about and meditating on the words. Since the lyrics are the word of God itself, I find my soul being fed and my mind being refocused on God’s truth.
If you’ve never been blessed to hear their music, do yourself a favor and give them a listen. All of their albums are great and you can’t go wrong with any of them but I’d recommend starting with the album “Redemption Songs”. This has proven to be their most popular and is loaded with one great song after another.
Albums
Light of Life
Redemption Songs
Shelter
Resurrection
Rain
Live Recordings, Vol. 1
Wait
Concert Trailer
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