SALT LAKE CITY — This is a busy summer for the three-man musical group Gentri.
On July 4, the trio opened for OneRepublic at the Stadium of Fire, performed in New Hampshire on July 13, finished recording the vocal tracks for their fifth studio album and, this month, will headline three concerts on the Wasatch Front.
But according to Gentri member Brad Robins, the band is just getting started.
“This new album coming out, these shows we’re presenting here and will consequently take across the country, it’s just the beginning of some really cool stuff that we’ve been working on the past few months behind the scenes,” Robins told the Deseret News.
Gentri will release their new EP, which they've not yet named, this fall and will feature seven songs. Five of the songs are originals, and the other two are versions of two popular covers they’ve released on YouTube — “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman” and “Let it Be” by the Beatles.
Robins said the majority of Gentri's fans have requested more original work.
“At the core of every original song that we do, we try to write about situations and principles that are universally understood — regardless of culture, regardless of religion,” Robins said. “We definitely strive to inspire and uplift, and try to write about things that are hopeful.”
Stephen Nelson, the group's producer and accompanist, co-wrote and composed the five orginal songs on the album. Nelson said the album features more musical elements than Gentri has ever used before, including an orchestra of about 40 local musicians and a 10-person chorus.
"Budget doesn’t always permit to be able to have such a filled out production, but when you can do it, it makes all the difference," Nelson said. "When you have every single person in this huge room and we’re all playing together, there’s a synergy and a heartbeat and a soul that is infused into the music that you can’t capture if you try to shortcut and do it another way."
Like previous Gentri albums, the new EP explores cinematic pop, which Nelson defines as epic orchestral elements fused with contemporary pop vocals. According to Nelson, the EP balances the two genres more evenly than previous albums.
“It’s a really fun album," Nelson said. "When we dove into the pop sound a little bit more in our second album, we really dove into a more driving, heavier sound, and this one is more like, 'Let’s just have fun.' The style of orchestration reflects that, the songs that we chose to cover reflect that, and certainly the originals reflect that."
If you go …
What: Gentri in concert
When: Aug. 16-17, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Covey Center, 425 W. Center, Provo
How much: $29-$49
Web: www.provo.org
Also …
When: Aug. 18, 8 p.m.
Where: Kenley Amphitheater, 403 N. Wasatch Dr., Layton
How much: $25-$55