New release – ‘Shelter’ – was birthed beside a river in Wonder Valley, California, near Fresno, while the acclaimed Canadian worship songwriter Brian Doerksen was visiting his wife’s brother and his family. He began that morning with the word shelter highlighted to him in a Lectio Divina–style reflection. Throughout the day, he reflected on how every human needs shelter and love, not only as a newborn but throughout their lifetime.

Brian’s songs include ‘Come Now Is The Time’, ‘Refiners Fire’ and ‘Faithful One’ which are known and sung globally. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gospel Music Association of Canada.

For ‘Shelter’, he began experimenting with how to convey that need and longing and discovered a chromatic melodic movement in the chorus over an intentionally “out of key” major third chord that he was drawn to. The words flowed naturally as they followed the melody.

The first public sharing of the song took place at Dr Hilary McBride’s Holy Hurt book launch event in Vancouver in April 2025. Afterwards, a local pastor approached him and said, “We need to hear and sing more songs like this in church.” That moment became the encouragement he needed to record the song when the opportunity arose a few months later.

Brian partnered with The Online Recording Studio to demonstrate what is possible for new recording artists and songwriters. Their model allows a full song production to be completed at a lower cost and helps emerging artists get started. The TORS team paired him with a talented young British producer, Jake Stimson, and elements of a Brit-pop sound can be heard in the final production.

The artwork was designed by his Swiss friend and designer Markus Frehner, who also designed Hungry for the UK Vineyard, as well as his earlier albums You Shine and Holy God. Brian hopes the song encourages listeners.

Download or Stream ‘Shelter‘