So when CCLI checked in with him as he prepares to release his latest album, Unbroken Praise, they were keen to know how he does it,\u00a0who inspires him<\/em>, and what he\u2019s learned along the way\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Matt, you have a brand new album arriving in June\u00a0featuring new songs. What can you tell us about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, the new album is titled \u2018Unbroken Praise\u2019 and there are 11 new songs that we recorded live at Abbey Road Studios in London. We invited in over 300 worship leaders and singers, and had a fantastic night of worship there. I hope these new songs will help people stand on truth and sing out strong.<\/p>\n Are there particular songs on the album that you think the church will soon be singing?<\/strong><\/p>\n A tricky question! I hope people will find themselves connecting with the songs, and I would love to think that worship leaders might find them helpful in leading worship in their congregations. But it\u2019s always so hard to say which songs might connect most \u2013 and time always tells best.<\/p>\n Both of your previous albums, 10,000 Reasons and Your Grace Finds Me were also recorded live. Has that been a conscious decision? Is it something you prefer? What are the challenges and advantages of recording an album live as opposed to the studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love hearing the songs really \u2018breathing\u2019 on a live record, and I guess if that\u2019s what the songs are designed for (being sung congregationally) then it can be nice to hear them that way. A studio recording on the other hand has more room to be able to hear musicality and detail, so I love recording that way too. But this time around we decided to do another live album \u2013 and the idea of that happening at Abbey Road with a room full of worship leaders was hugely appealing.<\/p>\n You have written or co-written 3 songs (10,000 Reasons, Blessed Be Your Name and I Will Offer Up My Life) that feature in the current top 25 songs sung by churches in the UK* The church is hugely diverse, yet so many of your songs have connected universally. What do you think it is about these songs that\u2019s made them so popular?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s so hard to say as there\u2019s definitely not an exact science to the writing of these things. I hope they\u2019re full of truth, and full of heart \u2013 and if so I reckon that\u2019s why they would connect. People love to sing, and we were made to sing \u2013 so when we sometimes get it right and everything clicks with a song being written, it\u2019s a really special thing to see people starting to own the songs and pour out their hearts through them. One of the key things I\u2019ve always aimed for is to be \u2018simple without being shallow\u2019 and I\u2019ve noticed that most of the songs that seem to land best with people have a sense of that \u2013 they\u2019re not complex, but at the same time they have some heart, and something to say.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you\/can you intentionally write songs for churches to sing?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, for sure \u2013 although of course they most often start off as an expression of worship from my own heart. I love something Bono once said \u2013 \u201cI preach what I need to hear\u201d \u2013 and I feel the same about songwriting \u2013 that first and foremost these songs are usually seasons I\u2019m walking through in my own life, or truths I need to tell myself and express to God. That\u2019s true on this new album \u2013 if you listen to songs like \u201cAbide With Me\u201d, \u201cIt Is Well With My Soul\u201d and \u201cSongs in the Night\u201d you can probably tell my life hasn\u2019t been all calm breezes and sweet-smelling roses this last little while.<\/p>\n But then, as well as pouring out our hearts when we write, we\u2019re also very much thinking about writing in a way so that other people can attach their own stories to the songs, and find them useful to sing their prayers to God.<\/p>\n A lot of worship artists, especially in North America, have covered your songs. How does it feel when those you might look up to or consider your peers hold your songs in such esteem?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s always a huge encouragement. I remember when I first heard the \u2018country great\u2019 Randy Travis singing \u2018Heart of Worship\u2019 \u2013 so special. And I was sent a great version of \u2018Our God\u2019 by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir a while back\u2013 which had more energy than our version for sure! But the thing that touches me most is when I hear of the songs showing up in unusual places and people singing them. That could be the backstreets of Mumbai, India, or, as has happened a couple of times, a Hollywood movie. Recently there was a news story of a couple of Australians facing the death penalty in Indonesia for trafficking drugs about a decade before. Even though they were, so I\u2019ve heard, very much reformed, the government decided the penalty still stood \u2013 and several news accounts told that in the very moments they were facing the firing squad, they sang \u201910,000 Reasons\u2019. I can\u2019t imagine a more powerful version of that song being sung.<\/p>\n Your first album, Wake Up My Soul, was released at the same time as you were involved in setting up Soul Survivor with Mike Pilavachi in 1993. How has he influenced you on your journey, and how much does he continue to?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ha \u2013 a blast from the past! Yes, I had a great journey with Mike P and with Soul Survivor \u2013 as you know, he was my youth leader and a huge encourager in terms of me starting to lead worship back then. I actually went back to lead at Soul Survivor last year for the first time in many years, and really loved re-connecting and seeing all that God is doing.<\/p>\n Soul Survivor has had a huge impact on the church and young people in the UK. Whenever I have asked young people in churches where they discover new songs, Soul Survivor is always mentioned. Did you have any sense that it would be so important and so inspiring for so many young people?<\/strong><\/p>\n No idea at all! What I loved was seeing it grow \u2013 year after year. And I love meeting people now who had their lives changed even from back in those early years of that movement. One of the guitarists in my current UK band actually met the lady who is now his wife there when he was in his teens \u2013 and another musician we work with a lot became a Christian there \u2013 so it\u2019s fantastic to think about all that God has done.<\/p>\n The song 27 million which you recorded with LZ7 reached #12 in the UK chart. How much potential do you see for worship songs to impact the mainstream? Is it important that they do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Now and again it\u2019s nice to see something from the church show up on the charts like that \u2013 and especially with an example like \u2018Twenty Seven Million\u2019 when it was important to give our voice to this huge issue of combatting modern day slavery and human trafficking. What I think is probably more important though is to have the church showing up in every area of society \u2013 and on every level. So in this instance that means not just trying to get a band in the charts \u2013 but bands down their local pubs and clubs, and people working in all aspects of the music industry \u2013 just shining their light in everyday ways. There might be some musicians who are Christians and who become famous \u2013 but even if that is the case we don\u2019t need to be putting all our hope on them to be the mouthpiece to a generation \u2013 that needs to come first and foremost from the everyday outworkings of our lives \u2013 wherever God has placed us. So I love it when I meet people working hard in cogs of the music industry machine who you might never hear of, but who are affecting the lives of all around them with the love of Christ.<\/p>\n Which songwriters have had the biggest influence on you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve always loved the optimism-infused pop of Sir Paul McCartney\u2019s writing. I love also the lyrical genius in some of the USA\u2019s best country music songwriting teams \u2013 a good example would be Carrie Underwood\u2019s \u2018Temporary Home\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s such a clever story with such a huge sense of heart. And then of course there are lots of my worship leading friends who I\u2019ve learnt so much from by being around them and co-writing with them \u2013 people like Jonas Myrin, Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Graham Kendrick and Matt Maher.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It seems there is an increasing trend towards co-writes, sometimes with up to four people contributing to a song. Why do you think more and more song writers are collaborating? What do you see as the advantages and challenges of writing with others?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, this has been a huge part of my songwriting approach these last few years. I think God loves us working in \u2018team\u2019 and He\u2019s been kind enough to surround me with some absolutely fantastic songwriters who have a common heart for Jesus and His kingdom. We\u2019re constantly sharpening each other to be better, and cheering each other on. And I\u2019ve noticed that we\u2019re writing a greater number of songs because of that too.<\/strong><\/p>\n Worship songs are obviously influenced by styles and trends in music more generally. What excites you most about the current direction of contemporary worship songwriting?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it\u2019s great that there are so many songwriters around the world taking the writing of worship music for the praise of God so seriously these days.<\/p>\n They\u2019re trying to compose songs that are biblical, relevant, poetic and congregational. It\u2019s not an easy thing \u2013 even a word expert like Tennyson said that \u2018a hymn is the most difficult thing in the world to write\u2019! But I love that so many people who I meet are on that quest. It\u2019s a great way to serve our local congregations. In recent years, one of the main challenges has been to try to ensure we go deeper with our lyrical content, and I hope we\u2019re all making some progress in that area too \u2013 as it\u2019s so vital in these days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You have a high profile and are looked up to by a generation of songwriters and worship leaders. What are some of the challenges that that brings?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s probably best summed up in some lyrics from the title song of this new album \u2013 \u201cLet my deeds outrun my words and let my life outweigh my songs<\/em>.\u201d I can be known for being a songwriter and worship leader through music, but if my life and actions don\u2019t complete the integrity of what I\u2019m singing about it, then it\u2019s not a very weighty offering. So that\u2019s the main challenge, I guess. The late John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Church movement once said that \u2018the real test in these days will not be in the writing and producing of new and great worship music \u2013 the real test will be in the godliness of those who deliver it.\u201d That\u2019s a huge challenge to all of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n What advice would you give to someone just starting out who wants to follow in your footsteps?<\/strong><\/p>\n See what God puts in your hands, and use it for His glory. See what doors God opens, and walk through them with humility. Love Him, serve His church, prefer others \u2013 and just keep taking the next step.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unbroken Praise was released this week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Matt Redman was speaking to Rich Burrough of CCLI.<\/p>\n Thanks for permission to share this article which was originally published on Worship Fuel.<\/p>\n *Based on reports from UK Churches.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matt Redman: Unbroken Praise Our very own Andy Chamberlain was Matt Redman’s guitarist for several years and we have used so many of his songs on our DVDs and as backing tracks. Matt’s new album, Unbroken Praise releases this week and we were pleased that our friend, CCLI’s Rich Burrough, was able to grab an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5303,"featured_media":15817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[701],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\u201cOne of the key things I\u2019ve always aimed for is to be \u2018simple without being shallow\u2019 and I\u2019ve noticed that most of the songs that seem to land best with people have a sense of that.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cThere might be some Christians who become famous \u2013 but we don\u2019t need to be putting all our hope on them to be the mouthpiece to a generation \u2013 that needs to come from the everyday outworkings of our lives \u2013 wherever God has placed us.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/drc0fhsrp02et.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Matt-Redman-520x292.jpg\")
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\u201cLet my deeds outrun my words and let my life outweigh my songs. If my life and actions don\u2019t complete the integrity of what I\u2019m singing about it, then it\u2019s not a very weighty offering.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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