WorshipCentral

Recently I was interviewed by Soul Survivor. I thought I'd post some of the questions and answers.

1) Holding Nothing Back is the title track to the album. What are you getting at with that?

Well the album catches passion. It’s a wholehearted response to the amazing God we worship. As I was trying to title the album it felt like ‘Holding Nothing Back’ summarized what the album and songs were trying to say. Worship is about surrender, holding nothing back and giving our all in response to the One who gave His everything for us. These are the days to be daring, exuberant and passionate. These are not times for half-hearted, apathetic worship. The need is great and the church has to rise up and take on board all that God is.

It also communicates our need to be real with God, to be authentic worshippers, to communicate and express all the things that are going on deep within us, and to welcome God to be the very centre of who we are, the core of our lives, holding nothing back that we would be more passionate in our worship. I sometimes get so tired and frustrated of being in churches where we just go through the motions. God is worthy of everything we can ever give Him. It should be common in our churches to see people weeping in worship, overwhelmed at the sheer mercy of God. It should be common to see people in our churches singing at the tops of their voices, passionately expressing the love that God has lavished upon us. It should be common in our churches to see people dancing, free and abandon, responding to God’s salvation. It should be common in our churches to see people stood in silence, lost in wonder, completely transfixed at the transcendence of our God. We have an amazing God, and our worship should be real, honest, authentic, engaged, expressive and wholehearted; ‘holding nothing back.’
 
2) How has recording the album been?

It’s been amazing. Trying to record the definitive of version of certain songs as well as finding fresh arrangements of brand new ones. It’s an amazing privilege - I love it.

3) Have you got a favourite track on the album?

‘Everything.’

4) What was the most enjoyable thing about recording/writing the new album?

The most enjoyable thing about this album was the freedom to be creative. I love the challenge and excitement of trying to push the boundaries and capture something fresh. It was also a real privilege to work with great musicians and great people. It was such fun to work with friends like Paul Evans, Stu G, Matt Weeks, Brooke Fraser, Nathan Nockels, Matt Bronlewee and Les Moir.

5) What was the hardest thing about recording/writing the new album?

It’s an exhausting and vulnerable process. Flying back and forth from America, constantly questioning your judgement on song arrangements and opening yourself up for criticism can be a scary thing. However I wouldn’t change it for anything.
 
6) Where do your songs come from?

Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest inspiration for me as a songwriter comes from the Bible. It’s just an incredible book. What a joy it is to learn from the past, seeing the character and the nature of God, having the book of Psalms, all these amazing songs to learn from and immerse yourself in. Almost always a song idea is birthed through a scripture, something that really challenges me or gets under my skin and gets me thinking. I then start wrapping melodic ideas around these themes. The Bible is always, lyrically particularly my key inspiration as a songwriter.

But then it’s also being open to other forms of inspiration. Maybe in church, something that the pastor is speaking on really starts to resonate and it feels like actually we as a church need to be singing about these themes. Perhaps a conversation with a friend, or a phrase that jumps out that really impacts you. But also I think musically it’s important to listen to varied sources and genres of music. I try to live off as much music as I can just because different ideas can really inspire you as a songwriter. So I guess the key thing I’d say is you need to be always open. It’s like having song-writing antennae. You’re always trying to tune into what you can learn from a situation. Every time asking is there a song idea here, is there something I can develop and use as a song?
 
7) Do you intend to write music as a personal expression of worship to God, or do you write specifically to lead a congregation in church?

My songs always start out of a private expression of worship, a Scripture or theme that’s really inspired me. If it didn’t start as a personal moment of worship then I think the song would lack a sense of authenticity. Then the song develops and it’s here that I start thinking of the congregation. I check that the lyrics and melody are accessible, I play to pastors, theologians and friends to get their feedback and then I eventually try it for a congregation. By going through this process I am able to gage whether or not the song will work in a congregation setting and for me it’s really important that it does.

8) Who else was involved in the album?

The album had 2 producers - Nathan Nockells and Matt Bronlewee. These guys were amazing at bringing fantastic ideas to the table. Half of the album was recorded in Hereford, England. It was great to have Stu G (Delirious), Matt Weeks and Paul Evans involved. The other half was recorded in L.A, USA. It was amazing to work with new musicians I’d never met before. A guy called Lyle Workman played electric. I was chatting to him and he was talking about the gear he uses. He mentioned that when playing live his boss makes him play really really loud. I casually asked who his boss was. He answered, ‘Sting.’ Now that’s pretty cool!

9) Do you find it easy to work with others in the writing/recording process?

One of the joys of this recent album has been writing some of the songs with others. Generally I’ve tended to write mainly on my own and so it’s been fun collaborating with different people. The process has worked differently at different times. A couple of the songs I wrote with Martin Smith of Delirious? With these songs I had a strong idea and had been working on the parts and took it to him for any further ideas. On the song Holding Nothing Back, there was very much a sense that the chorus needed to be more punchy and edgy so we reworked it to get that more anthemic feel. For the song ‘The Highest and the Greatest’ I wrote with a friend Nick Herbert, who’s a worship leader in London. He came with the initial idea and we developed it and worked on developing a chorus. Over time we worked on the lyrics. My wife Rachel also helped with a couple of songs which was great fun.
 

10) What advice would you give to bands/musicians who feel called to record music?

Persevere. If you feel called to make music work as hard as you can and keep going. Sometimes we expect things to fall on a plate for us. That rarely ever happens. Most bands get a breakthrough after years of hard graft. Don’t take any shortcuts. Practise as often as you can. Allow people to really critic your songs and music. Listen and watch other great bands - learn from them. Read as much as you can. All of this will only help make you stronger as a band and benefit any recordings you make.

To read the rest of the interview then click here