Josh Garrels

Josh Garrels is an American singer-songwriter from the United States, born in 1980 in South Bend, Indiana. He works in contemporary Christian, folk and indie folk, and his music also sits within singer-songwriter, indie, Christian and mellow territory.

Background

Garrels grows up around a hippie commune and later moves through a range of roles, including skater, suburban drug dealer, music and design student, coffee roaster and urban shepherd. In his early twenties he comes to the Christian faith, and belief becomes a central thread in his work. He draws on a wide set of musical influences, including Cat Stevens, De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Bob Dylan, Digable Planets, Ben Harper and Gustavo Santaolalla.

Independent releases and label work

He builds his early career outside the major-label system by self-recording, self-producing and self-distributing three early recordings: Stone Tree (2002), Underquiet (2003) and Over Oceans (2006). After Over Oceans, he forms his own label, Small Voice Records. He continues to record largely on his own, often using a home studio approach.

Albums and later work

Jacaranda (2008) becomes a turning point in his career and is recorded and produced while he and Michelle Ramsdale live in an old rural mansion on a donated property by an Indiana river. Ramsdale’s art accompanies the album and also appears on Over Oceans. During this period, Garrels and Ramsdale also have a daughter, Heron Selah Garrels.

His 2009 album Lost Animals gathers singles, Jacaranda B-sides, soundtrack material and collaborations, and grows from an intended EP into a full-length release. He later releases Love & War & The Sea in Between in 2011; Home in 2015; and Chrysaline in 2019. Chrysaline is produced by Garrels in Muncie, Indiana and in Charlottesville, Virginia with Isaac Wardell.

Collaborations and media use

In 2012, Garrels works with Mason Jar Music on the music-documentary film The Sea in Between, which follows performances on Mayne Island. His song “Don’t Wait For Me” appears in an episode of The Ghost Whisperer and is also featured on American Idol in 2014.

Style and themes

His recordings combine sampled beats, lo-fi production, plaintive and soulful vocals, acoustic strumming, world instruments, beat-making, accordion and inventive guitar work. His lyrics often focus on theology, pastoral imagery, nature and faith, with an emphasis on service, revelation and unpretentious truth.