Darwin Williams reached out to me after carrying this idea for several years. He and his wife had traveled to Jerusalem, where they were baptized in the Jordan River. About six months later, while listening to The Stylistics’ “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” he began hearing the song differently.
What had originally been written as a love song began to feel like something he could sing to the Lord. He changed parts of the lyric, replacing “love” with “Lord,” and developed an adaptation he called “My Lord (You Make Me Feel Brand New).”
By the time Darwin found me, he had already spent a long time trying to figure out how to bring the idea to life. He had contacted churches and ministries looking for singers and musicians, worked through the approval process for adapting the song, and reached a point where he needed someone who could guide the entire project.
He did not want a loose interpretation that only borrowed the melody. He wanted the recording to retain the warmth and elegance of the original while becoming a clear expression of his faith.
Rebuilding the Sound Around a New Message
One of the important parts of the original Stylistics recording is the contrast between its two lead voices. That vocal exchange was something Darwin specifically wanted to preserve. “You Make Me Feel Brand New” was originally performed with shared lead vocals by Airrion Love and Russell Thompkins Jr., which helped give the record its recognizable character. (The Guardian)
We initially explored “My Lord” with both male and female lead vocals. The arrangement was built with a full rhythm section, live instrumentation, layered background vocals, and strings to maintain that classic soul feeling.
But as the production developed, the direction changed.
When Darwin heard the female vocalist, her performance moved him to tears. At first, he considered having us create two separate versions of the song. As we talked through it and continued reviewing the production, he decided that her voice needed to become the center of the record.
We removed the male vocal from the principal lead role, kept a small amount of the male voice near the ending, and shaped the rest of the vocal arrangement around the female lead. That decision gave the song a clearer emotional center.
This was also why sharing the music during production mattered. Darwin heard the vocal options and instrumentation before we reached the final mix. We were able to make the most important creative decision while the arrangement was still taking shape instead of trying to rebuild the song after everything was finished.
More Than Producing the Record
Darwin needed help with more than the music itself. Because this was an adaptation of an existing song, there were licensing questions to work through before release. We communicated with the licensing company, clarified the difference between the audio release and a later video project, and helped him understand what still needed to be completed.
We also worked through the release title, distribution, timing, and how the finished recording would be presented online.
That became a major part of this project. Darwin had the idea and was willing to invest in doing it well, but he had never taken a recording through this entire process before. My role was not only to produce the music. It was also to help him move from an inspired idea to a finished record that could actually be released.
The production eventually included the female-led vocal arrangement, background vocals, live musicians, session strings, editing, mixing, mastering, licensing support, and preparation for distribution.
What stands out most to me is the trust that developed during the process. Darwin began with a very specific vision tied to a song he already loved. As he heard the new version take shape, he became comfortable allowing the production to move in a direction he had not originally planned.
The female vocalist changed the record, but she did not change what Darwin wanted the song to say. Her performance helped the message connect with him in the way he had hoped it would connect with others.
That became the real measure of whether we had gotten the production right.