Tony Cummings reports on hitmaking Canadian duo LOVE & THE OUTCOME

Love & The Outcome
Love & The Outcome

Canadian husband and wife duo Love & The Outcome have quite a story to tell behind their first US Christian radio hit single "He Is With Us". It began when Chris Rademaker and his wife Jodi King took a huge leap of faith, sold their Winnipeg condominium and set out on a high-stakes musical road trip that has seen them criss-cross Canada, Liberia, the Philippines and China, winning over fans both emotionally and spiritually with their blend of effervescent pop. After signing to Word Records in 2012, they retreated to the mountains of Washington state to record their self-titled debut album, produced by Mosley along with Ben Glover (For King & Country) and David Garcia (TobyMac). Spring 2013 saw the two back on the road for the Hundred More Years Tour supporting Francesca Battistelli and The Afters.

Jodi spoke about Love & The Outcome's courageous decision to go on the road. "Life on the road was all we'd ever known. So when we hit the road, we just responded to what God challenged us to be. We kept travelling and sharing our songs with anyone who'd listen. That's what makes this record so special and so different: we were living on the edge. There is a hunger, a letting go and a grabbing-hold-of at the same time. We lived in the middle of so much tension in those two years - coming to know who God was - but also coming to trust the journey."

Chris spoke about the international dimension of their travels. "We've travelled to Liberia, the Philippines and China in the last couple of years. When you're together and you're worshiping, everyone is the same. It doesn't matter what you look like or what you smell like: everyone wants to welcome you into the family."

Chris told BreatheCast about the duo's musical influences. "I'm a rocker and I've always loved the sound of British bands, so Delirious? and U2 are high on my list; they wear their heart on their sleeves and their songs are anthems that are so inspiring to see and hear thousands of people sing along to. Jodi grew up listening to Amy Grant and Sheryl Crow so it's not a big surprise where her pop sensibilities come from! She is so amazing at connecting with an audience and in turn connecting them with God."

Love & The Outcome: A worldwide road trip inspires a hit single for Canadian couple

Signing with Word Records and working with such well known producers was, in Chris' words, "like a dream come true!" Their time with producers Ben Glover and David Garcia left a deep impression on them. "They are a very creative combination. . . they can almost finish each other's sentences so the ideas flowed fast and furious when we were all in the same room together. Ben works from a more organic, lyric-driven frame of mind while David is incredibly talented at production and putting the right musical elements together. An added bonus for me is that he kind of thinks like a bass player so we came up with some of my favourite parts together. Songs like 'When We Love' and 'No Mistaking (It's You)' became these super-catchy, melodic anthems that we hope people will really enjoy!"

Chris spoke to BreatheCast about their hit song. "'He Is With Us' is our snapshot of the journey God has led us on over the last couple years, and it's an encouragement to remember that we can trust him through the hard times, always! We wrote it with our friend Seth Mosley and it kind of started with Jodi improvising the line 'Remember when. . .' over the bass line I play in the verses. . . We were trying to write something very direct, I think; my favourite line is, 'Though it might hurt now, we won't be ruined. . .' When you go through something painful like losing a loved one, you realise God is working through the people who've supported you because everyone knows what that feels like." CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.