Israel Houghton, who works as a worship leader, recording artist, songwriter, and producer, entered worship ministry on a full-time basis in 1989 and immediately sought to dismantle cultural and denominational divides. He launched New Breed Ministries in 1995 alongside his wife Meleasa and an ensemble of world-class musicians and singers. Extensive touring carried the Ministries’ powerful and diverse sound into churches across the U.S., while the 1997 albums Whisper It Loud and Way of the World launched his recording career. New Season, released in 2001, marked the first Israel & New Breed project and the first to appear on Sony, which also issued Real in 2002 and Live from Another Level on both CD and DVD in 2004. Alive in South Africa, captured in 2005 before 8,000 listeners in Cape Town, preceded the holiday set Timeless Christmas by one year and Love God. Love People. The London Sessions in 2010. Integrity released Decade, a two-disc, 26-track retrospective, in 2012, after which Houghton and his ensemble continued documenting their travels with Covered: Alive in Asia in 2015.
