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Music: Taking ‘Church Music’ to the Edge
/ February 18, 2015
For a while now there’s been conversation circulating around the Christian music industry that it’s time for paradigm shift. Time to fundamentally realign how we create, and how we express the artistry of worship. As musicians get trapped by traditional expression, or secular expectation of what ‘church music’ should look and sound like, they wonder where they can bring what they hear when considering the truths of God’s Word, and where their revelation of His heart for humanity can be shared. Artists find themselves needing to move away from the branding of ‘Christian music’, to step into a space where the message and quality of lyric they want to convey remains true, but where’s there’s freedom to clothe it in new sounds and sonic temperament.
This shift doesn’t ‘threaten the future of Christian music’, or somehow erode its platform for interrupting the mainstream, rather it allows artists and churches to connect to their community in new ways… and perhaps more engaging ways. As the ‘right style’ becomes less defined, divisions between the experimental liberties of the secular music industry and a Sunday morning service are dissolved. It could even be said this brings things back to they way they should be: creation responding to its Creator, inspired by His multi-faceted creativity.
In New Zealand, one church known for their “unfair” allocation of talented individuals, has tested the waters of what ‘Church music’ can do, releasing ‘7 Days’ – a collaborative art project bringing together musicians, vocalists, filmmakers and the like, to tell the story of Creation.
Describing themselves as a “family of broken prodigals, pilgrims and triumphs” the creative team at Edge Kingsland say their songs tell their stories. Subscribing to Irenaesus’ sentiment that the glory of God is man fully alive, they seek to be just that – fully alive in creativity, dreams, and all facets of what they do.
Catching up with Creative Director and Musician Luke Oram, The Connect Press’ Laura Bennett found out more about this mission:
Find out more about Edge Kingsland via their website and buy ‘7 Days’ now on iTunes.
More: The Connect Press Music
Watch: Edge Kingsland Flashback – #Shineathon2014
