Lowland Hum, comprised of married folk duo Daniel and Lauren Goans, have emerged with their eponymous second album — a stronger, more versatile, and even more intimate musical pairing than on their first album, Native Air.
The duo frequently shares their "origin story" with listeners — Daniel, a longtime musician, overheard Lauren singing to herself and invited her to join on a song, and their love and music grew from there — but one of the most vulnerable moments facing the couple is shared less frequently.
"It's a scary thing to write with somebody else, especially if you're in love with them and think you might want to live with them," says Daniel. "What if I hated her ideas? I think the fear was that either one of us would be diminished. But we've found it to be really augmenting."
It's this sudden sense of fragility and uncertainty in the face of the next layer of intimacy — and the corresponding joy when the leap taken finds solid ground — that Lowland Hum brought to Sojourners' Summit, where they partnered with spiritual director and storyteller Naisa Wong in a meditation on healing and grief, and later closed the gathering with a boisterous and touching journey through their new album.
While at The Summit, Sojourners sat down with the duo to ask about living and working on the road, and how in the midst of a grueling tour schedule they stay open and curious to the world around them.
"Songwriting is really to me like exploration. It's like something exists from outside of us ... you're uncovering things and sifting through things until you find it," says Lauren.
Watch the full Sojo Session below.
As an award-winning media producer, JP Keenan has worked on a variety of projects, most recently as the Multimedia Director at Sojourners.
Catherine Woodiwiss (@chwoodiwiss) is studying design, systems, and social entrepreneurship at the Austin Center for Design in Texas. She is former Deputy Web Editor for Sojourners.
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