Genre: Pop/Rock, Worship
Members: Marc Martel (vocals, lead guitars), Jason Germain (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Jeremy Thiessen (drums), Glenn Lavender (bass)
For fans of: MercyMe, Sanctus Real, Michael W. Smith, Coldplay, U2, Ben Folds Five
Label: Centricity Records

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He speaks quietly, but when Jason Germain, co-lead singer and guitarist of Canadian band Downhere talks about their new album, Ending Is Beginning, he might as well be singing to the skies.

"First of all, we're not ending as a band, not by any stretch," Germain points out, laughing. "But the title does reflect the idea of coming to the end of yourself, of letting what you can't change be and letting God make His strength known in our weakness. Those things that we all experience, things that don't seem to run true, He often uses to achieve His ultimate aims for us. God uses us in our weakness. He is closest to us when we most need him. We want to capture that idea in the work we're doing now, so Ending Is Beginning in many ways reflects of where we are as a band."

"Where they are as a band" has changed through this group's emergence from Canada's alt-rock scene on the wings of their Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and two subsequent Juno Awards for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year and Best Gospel Album, GMA Canada Awards for Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year and Dove Award for Modern Rock Recorded Song of the Year.

The change manifests itself well in a dozen ways on this album alone, from the garage-rock guitar that kicks off "Bleed for This Love" to the challenge—"follow the star to a place unexpected"—posed on the final track, "How Many Kings."

"The journey to finding the right songs for Ending Is Beginning seemed to be one that was a little longer and more difficult for some reason," explains bassist Glenn Lavender. "Part of that was a really busy schedule leading up to recording which doesn't allow much time for writing. However with the end result, I really feel like many of the songs reflect things we as a band and individually have been going through and that makes it feel like more of a project that is 'ours'. We've also taken some chances with the music. We have explored some different sounds and styles and had a lot of fun doing it."

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