Matt Redman introduced Nathan Jess at Mission Worship’s “New Songs” Seminar over the weekend by saying that Nathan had soundchecked for him at an event in Northern Ireland, and that he’d been immediately struck by the strength of his voice. Admittedly, this was high on my list of compliments for Nathan - he has a voice that projects heart, feeling, emotion, and sincerity through his songs. It also turns out that he’s quite a songwriter, as his debut offering for Kingsway - ‘I Am Redeemed’ - shows. Let’s take a closer look.

Lyrically, this song portrays the Gospel message succinctly - telling a story of a man who came to earth, was betrayed, was raised up on the cross for our sins, and rose again to remain in Heaven with His Father for eternity. This message comes across poetically and personally, and like all the best worship songs, carries a degree of ownership for the worshipper - we can all take the message of this song for ourselves - we have been redeemed by Jesus and His sacrifice for us.

The arrangement is subtle, simple and effective. The influence of Claire & David Hamilton from Rend Collective works well in to the song - David’s guitar provides subtlety in the verses and a smooth opening riff to set the tone of the song (which also provides the bedrock for the chorus). Nathan’s vocal sits well in the mix - pushed forward, but not overpowering the backing. The drop back to just the acoustic guitar and vocal in the initial “Hallelujah” refrain is particularly well done, giving the song a base from which to build. This is the catalyst from which the song gets going - a strong progressive build-up follows in the subsequent choruses, with drums, bass and guitars working together. The layered vocals sit perfectly atop the build, providing texture and substance before a heavy guitar interlude releases a free, rocky rendition of the earlier “Hallelujah” refrain.

I’m really looking forward to hearing more of Nathan’s worship in the coming years - he has a purity in his worship that will inspire and encourage others, and also has the ability to put what’s on his heart into words, and poetic words at that. The Vineyard movement has always produced writers who can sing simple, personal love songs to the Lord, and in Nathan we have that and more - a passionate songwriter who’ll sing his heart out for the Lord.

Nathan’s single ‘I Am Redeemed’ is available on iTunes for a 79p download - buy it now! http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/i-am-redeemed-single/id480153235

“My Soul Yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord;

My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God."

Psalm 84

Our heart’s cry as Vineyard worshippers has always been to know the Lord more intimately, to gain a deeper relationship with Him, and Worship has always been one of our strongest tools in doing this. John Wimber (the Founder of the Vineyard), whose song “Isn’t He” is used in a time of worship in “Lift Up His Name” on this album, was a worshipper in spirit and in truth. A good friend of mine said of this album that it really captured Vineyard Live Worship - simple songs of adoration and praise to a God who we’re called to know better.

Recorded live at the UK’s National Vineyard Leader’s Conference earlier this year, this album contains songs from recent Vineyard UK releases Creator and The Lamb Has Conquered, together with a selection of other Vineyard tracks, both older and new. Also included are a couple of insights into the spontaneous times of worship from the conference, and these come under the two parts of “Lift Up His Name”.

This album has a real feeling of consistency to it, in a similar way to the feel you get from other “brands” of worship (Hillsong, Jesus Culture, Planetshakers etc). I said when I first heard the last couple of Vineyard UK albums that I would have liked to hear them live to see how they played out, and songs such as “I Respond” and “The Lamb Has Conquered” have been given a real lift here. The simplicity of arrangement - just a couple of guitars (acoustic & electric), keys, bass & drums - gives such space for the band and the worship leaders to invite the presence of the Lord to move. The result is just that - you can almost reach out and touch the Lord’s presence when worshipping to this album.

In my opinion, the point of bringing new songs to the church as a whole, is that the whole church gets to benefit from them. Church worship teams of all sizes and technical ability should be able to pick up these songs and run with them, to edify the church and deepen times of sung worship. Presented in this light, every one of these songs does just that - with simple yet effective chord sequences and melodies that are powerful yet easy to learn, churches of all shapes and sizes should have no problems applying these songs to Sunday morning worship times. In order to further facilitate this process, Vineyard Records have made the chord charts available on their website, and even provided “SongTeach” instructional videos to help learn acoustic guitar parts for the songs.

It can often be hard to discern where to get new material from for times of worship on Sunday mornings - we are blessed with many different Worship Leaders, bands and churches to get influence from. One of the principal reasons I started going to a Vineyard church 11 years ago was it’s worship - the songs were living conversations with a living God - a God of love, peace, grace, and mercy, a God who lives through all who call upon His name and love Him above all others. I can think of no better songs to sing than ones that describe this relationship - which this album does succinctly. Bless you guys, this is an anointed worship album.

With Bethel Music’s next corporate release looking very much as if it will be a predominantly acoustic offering, I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon a great live acoustic CD/DVD from Brian Johnson (worship pastor at Bethel Church, Redding). Recorded in 2009 by Jeremy Edwardson at the Soundhouse in Redding - the venue and production team for many of the Bethel and Jesus Culture releases - this album offers an intimate insight into Brian’s heart for worship. Brian is joined by his wife Jenn (backing vocals), Jeffrey Kunde of Jesus Culture switches from his usual guitar duties to play grand piano, Martin Rosenhoff plays a stirring cello part, and Gabe Valenzuela provides percussion. A very interesting twist to the arrangement sees Garrett Viggers adding his gifts on the hammered dulcimer for the latter half of the album.

The first thing that strikes me about this album is how natural it is. To illustrate this, one need look no further than the final track - 'Light A Fire'. I’ve been to a number of workshops and seminars over the years that have gone into the intricacies of writing lyrics for worship, but nowhere have I seen anyone explain how what seems like such a simple set of lines can make such a powerful song as this. Unsurprisingly from a church that lives, breathes and prays for the coming of revival, simply asking the Lord to “light a fire in us oh God, that no one can take away” creates a powerful message for a wholehearted song of worship to the Lord. If we want our congregations to sing passionately and in abandoned praise to the Lord, then it is imperative that the songs we give them to sing are easy to learn and easy to follow. Brian’s songwriting style heavily promotes these attributes, and the result (as you can see on the DVD) brings a room full of worshippers with the ability to sing their hearts out in deep engagement with the Lord.

These themes of simple, effective, teachable and heartfelt songs continue right through the album with songs such as “Worthy is the Lamb”, “I Really Love You” and “I Love Your Name” - all marked with Brian’s humility in songwriting - giving all the glory back to the Lord in worship. Interspersed within these songs we find a couple of Bethel favourites - a contemplative version of Keith Green’s “Oh Lord You’re Beautiful”, and the title track of Bethel’s first live album “Here is Love” gets another outing here. The title track - “Love Came Down - brings to mind a talk given by Bill Johnson - pastor of Bethel Redding and also Brian’s father - where he talks about the need for storing up the Lord’s goodness, grace and love so that we always have something to hold dear, even when we seem away from Him and aren’t necessarily hearing direct from Him. I’ll leave you with the empowering lyrics of the first verse:

 “If my heart is overwhelmed, and I cannot hear Your voice,

I’ll hold on to what is true, though I cannot see.

If the storms of life they come, and the road ahead gets steep,

I will lift these hands in faith, I will believe.”

Amen to that Brian, bless you. 

In a conversation I had with Innes Johnston from eatacd.com last week, we were talking about some of the emerging artists and bands they had on the site, and Awaken found their way into the mix. A band whom Innes knows well, their efforts were mainly geared towards live playing (always with the promise of recorded material on the horizon) and the guys at eatacd.com wasted no time in getting them on board once their EP was produced. Their EP is now available for download here 

If I were to sum up this EP in one word, it would be “energy”. From the first 5 seconds, the guitar leads you into a highly charged introduction to “Known By You”. This celebration of who Jesus is (our Risen Saviour), and who we are in Him (His children, known by Him), powerfully expresses the Gospel in a lively, inspiring worshipful chorus. As could be expected from a band with two drummers, the rhythm is strong, driving, and the dominant force in the opening song, including a worshipfully uplifting display of drumming and vocals to close out the song.

I’m a huge fan of old songs and hymns being updated, when they’re done well, and the rendition of “There Is A Redeemer” definitely makes it’s way firmly into this bracket. From the subtle opening, with a clean delayed guitar, you are taken into an atmosphere of abandoned praise to the Lord in the chorus. Nothing is held back in this song, the drums are again powerful, the guitars and bass complement the heavy rhythm track well, and yet there is still space for the vocals to sit atop this mix and come to the fore. This rework of an old song is very reminiscent of Rend Collective Experiment, and would fit nicely with the latter’s version of “Thine Be The Glory” for feel, edge, and passion.

It is important when producing a short EP to display variety, and here we find ourselves at the title track. A moving, laid back introduction displays the quieter side to Awaken, with a subtle yet powerful vocal and guitar arrangement. You can almost hear the Spirit of the Lord moving in this track, building through the initial verses and choruses. The presence of the cello on this track gives a good point to drop back to, and this is particularly evident before the closing, highly charged chorus. Here, Awaken’s brand of rhythmic explosiveness and passion comes to the fore again, with rousing drums and powerful vocals.

The EP closes out with the sole acoustic track on the album - “All My Life”. A stirring declaration of faith, trust, and surrender, this song combines a warm acoustic guitar and cello backing with a moving vocal line. This song serves as a welcome reminder to us that everything we have, every gift and every treasure, is from Him and for Him. He holds all our promises, and all our hope is in Him. The message of this song is superbly put across, and will serve as a real blessing to anyone who listens.

These guys have got something. The rawness, the energy, the passion, the heart of Awaken all come across with this offering, and I pray that this would be the start of a great new chapter for them. Bless you guys.