Written by Paul Golder in Artist Feature
194
Saturday 8 January 2022, 10.16am
We’ve been playlisting tracks from Patient Chill here on Phoenix FM – you can hear them on Rising Stars and our daytime shows. But who are Patient Chill? We caught up with them to find out …
Read the full article here at PhoenixFM LondonBlogging is my day job. Making, producing and promoting music, namely Christian music, is what I do to dust off the dreams of my failed teenage attempts at being a rock star. But as a wise friend of mine once said: "Yes, there are a lot of musicians and talent out there but there's no reason you can't be part of it all."
So after fooling around with guitar and limited poetry performances for many years, I finally buckled down during the pandemic 'rockdown' and started producing demo tracks and releasing them prematurely via DISTROKID without really knowing what I was doing. But the creative impulse once let loose is hard to stuff back into the bottle. So my first two solo albums, God Plays Montana and Naked Flame, didn't make a dent in the universe as was to be expected. So I turned to what I knew about the creative arts and Internet marketing from author blogging days a few years back and shifted gears into music marketing full speed ahead. Two month laters, over 10,000 site visits and a bonafide collaboration EP with other musicians that I produced executively (and which is getting FM radio air play in European stations now), I've learned a few things in music appreciation post production.
1. The music scene ain't hardly what it used to be like back in the day. It's a quantum infinite universe accessible to anyone anywhere now and that has its advantages and disadvantages. Easy accessibility often means a lot of garbage gets into the mix so I had to retrain my ear for quality and originality.
2. Music, for the most part, has been 'de-mystified' and is not the pseudo-religion it used to be for us long hairs. People can take it or leave it now pretty much and it's just a lot more background white noise in an Atmos Dolby verse--an Internet with no intermission.
3. There are so many genres and sub genres that when a person claims to be a Christian musician, I have to ask (besides the obvious moral implications of avoiding vulgar lyrics) what he or she means by that? Christian rocker? Hip hopper? Rapper? Hymnal or acoustic? Or in my band, Patient Chill's case--Nu pop. It's all good and I've featured all genres on this blog and will continue to do so but sometimes folks seem hard pressed to classify themselves.
4. Production matters and promotion does even more but very few independent artists will focus on the latter, hoping against hope that a record label will suddenly swoop down from heaven and lift them up into the spotlight. So many are just satisfied with turning the church into a stage and claiming humility as an excuse and perhaps rightly so in a lot of cases. But if you are sharing your music on the Internet, what are you really thinking? Is it a ministry or is it a show? Maybe neither, maybe both? Do you even know? Whatever motivations, speculations, appreciations you harbor, never forget that all this is passing and God's love is better than life.
There's a saying about politics that goes something like this: Most people only see the final results of a political proclamation or passage of a law. Sometimes it is palatable and sometimes it is not, but if we could see how it looked in the making, nobody would bite into it.
Even God began with a mess on his hands before taking it into His studio and polishing creation into perfection:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters--Genesis 1:1-2
So (and I say this with reverence), God, the Executive Producer of the cosmos, had a creative score in mind and had to bring all the diverse elements together into a finished product that satisfied Himself before anything or anyone else was satisfied including humanity. Why there was such a mess in the universe before God went to work on it is a subject of scholarly debate and speculation that is beyond the scope of my post here so I won't even fake an attempt at trying to explain and understand it. But some say Satan ruined things and God went right to work making things perfect again but that can't be proven.
Anyhow, the Lord's got this mess that He's got to somehow repackage like sausage ingredients into a casing that looks, smells and sounds superb--beyond perfection--but He would like some players in the band because that's what music is supposed to be about ultimately--a conversation in tempo, lyric and sound between sentient beings. But that bad actor the devil is still lurking around in the studio hallways, envious and ready to muck up the mix. Why God allows this is another serious question for debate that will only be answered beyond the grave probably for believers and unbelievers also, both having different reactions to the same reason.
So the cosmic Maestro, Yahweh as he was called in the Old Testament, masterfully brings it all together creating perfect harmony out of total dissonance and adding countless elements into the mix that no human sound engineer would ever be capable of handling. But God does it all in just six days and takes a break to probably shuffle and repeat and listen and look to what He's accomplished with the work of His mighty hands through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And He surely decided, in spite of what He knew would happen with the fall of Adam and Eve, that it was all worth it and redeemable and could be (pardon the human expression) remixed and digitally remastered to sound brighter, clearer and more vibrant that anyone or any angel could imagine. But, in sympathy with the apostle Paul, I speak only as a human and it probably all sounds foolish. (Romans 6:19) However, I will keep watching the sausage and the music made behind the scenes and I will produce and serve what I hope is the best possible musical kielbasa to whoever wants to sit at the feast table of the redeemed saints. Yes. I will sing this new song for however long I am required to do so.
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My band's banger single, From Now to Eternity, from the recently released EP, Patient Chill (which I produced and am promoting), has been accepted for air play on a Swedish FM radio station, PulsFM. The track will be played twice daily beginning on January 3rd. Check out band's website, listen to the music on your favorite streaming platform and just keep calm and listen!
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Christian musicians have a fine line to walk between ego and humility.
What I mean is that, although you gotta have some stage presence mentality if you want to promote your music, and if you claim to be doing God's work (which I believe most are), you have that old serpent, Satan, tugging at your flesh constantly to excite and compress that Pride of Life button that he likes to push on believers. How not to be tricked into temptation by all the glitter, glory and fandom? Let's bounce this so you can add to your own mix.
First of all, you have to admit that God is not mocked or fooled. You can't say one thing to Him in public (or in private) and deep in your heart be thinking bling. The Old Testament is full of hypocrites who Jehovah burned to a crisp for doing just that sort of thing, plus Jesus himself was clear on the subject when he said, "You can't serve God and mammon. You will either love or hate the other." (Matt 6:24). But the Son of God talked a lot about money also during his brief earth gig, especially in his parables, so he knew the reality of making ends meet. And if you know what's sinful about collecting royalties for your pure creative efforts, let me know because I just don't see it. However, I'm pretty sure that it's the love of those royalties and fan sentiments that could be the stumbling block in your walk with God.
In the end, I believe we are all on our own in this matter as I see it falling under the category of 'working out your salvation with fear and trembling' because, if you are a true believer and have been washed clean with the blood and reborn, than the mysterious and super dynamite cosmic power of the Holy Spirit that created the stars, heavens and all things on earth is alive in you. And if you meditate long enough on that either through prayer or music or both, then your Humble FX effect will be snapped to grid just right. But then Clint Eastwood cut it to the quick in his classic flick, Pale Rider, when he, playing an impoverished itinerant preacher who teamed up with some persecuted town people to fight the local evil and greedy business demagogue, shot down the guy's offer to build him a church complete with a congregation. Check it out:
So it was a dream, probably because I've been featuring a lot of Australian singers on this blog lately here and here and my band's singer is also from the Land Down Under. Add that to the fact that it was early morning and I was pretty hungry so not only does the dream make for a cool reminder about the power of music but it also translates into an easy blog post. Here's the back story.
After my conversion a few years ago, I discovered the solid preaching of the late British evangelist, Martin Lloyd-Jones. He was a medical doctor who never attended a single bible class but gave up his lucrative London practice in his twenties to answer God's call to preach in a dirt poor, coal mining town in Wales. Eventually, he ended up taking the pulpit back in the capitol at Westminster, the iconic Puritan sanctuary. His preaching began in earnest on September 1, 1939, the day Hitler invaded Poland, and he was able to reach a countless number of English speaking troops passing through England on their way to the front. I recommend any one of his 1600 plus sermons digitally remastered from tape. Listening to them day and night really strengthened my understanding of Scripture but there is an emotional aspect to this walk of faith that needed to be fleshed out.
Enter Peter Furler and the Newsboys.
I was of course aware of their music beforehand but their songs just seemed to have come alive for me in Dolby Atmos sound. The band's energy and lyrics, planted against the backdrop of my new appreciation of the Word, lifted me to great heights of inspiration and the enthusiasm caught on as is typical for those who have met Jesus and are dying to tell others like the woman at the well in Samaria who left her water pot and rushed into town to spread the news that the Messiah had arrived.
Long story short, we literally became the Newsboys in our rural communities in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and drove around listening to Christian rock full blast, throwing flyers with gospel tracts tied to them onto lawns, leaving them on doorsteps, placing them in the parks and rest stops where visitors from all over the USA would come to enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior and its surroundings in the summer. We must have delivered thousands while stopping to talk and pray with people when we could. Soon thereafter, we had the privilege of seeing the Newsboys when they toured the upper Midwest and the fellowship and joy we experienced as part of that musical evangelistic campaign was what I told Furler about in my dream. But it seems like he was hungrier than I was and only kept asking for more ham and eggs! Now that's humility!
Me and my Jesus posse in Michigan
(this clip is not for profit but educational use only)
Since there is a lull in interview requests (and a backlog in music reviews), I thought I'd take this opportunity to fill your screen with random Christian thoughts from a neophyte's perspective. Hey! It's my blog so I can do what I like! :)
My new band, Patient Chill, is almost ready to release their debut album of the same name. We are mixing and mastering the last track, From Now to Eternity. The EP is a concept album which offers a Christian response to the pandemic--a topic that has become morbid and rightly so, but this release offers hope through trusting in Christ after subtly exploring the situation and redefining it musically in a gentle way. The titles of the five tracks should give you a clue:
1. Patient Chill
2. VaRiAnCe
3. Injection 6
4. Boost Her
5. From Now to Eternity
Some may criticize its seemingly secular sound and overt appeal to worldly sensibilities with its initial EDM track and psychedelic rock riffs, especially in Injection 6, but I offer here an early apologetic based on Scripture.
In the Book of Acts, Paul addresses the Athenians in the Areopagus and acknowledges their religiosity before telling them about Jesus and salvation. It is an attempt to reach people on their own level before praying that the Holy Spirit will lead them to repentance and a higher level of existence through the conviction of solid preaching. As he writes in 1st Corinthians 9:
19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Now the obvious danger in adopting this approach is that you must have the clear objective of ultimately giving the gospel as your final appeal. In other words, be like the Lord was when He so graciously dwelt among us rebellious sinners. His presence affected them with holiness and His holiness was not affected by our sin natures. And as Shakespeare so aptly put it: Aye! There's the rub!
Watch Boost Her lyric video from Patient Chill EP
Sharon writes on her YouTube channel that she wrote these songs through some really difficult times of physical and emotional pain, betrayal and confusion which felt quite desolate. She only had Jesus to hang onto and trust for her life and her future in God's hands. Her bio on her website is worth checking out.
Flow begins with the lyric video song, "Shepherd of My Soul", and Sharon quickly draws the listener into a calming state of mind with words and melody that honor God's guidance and glory:
I will push through this pain,
I'm assured of your presence...
It's a testimony that both soothes and reassures in a folksy kind of way that is not overly done but balanced with lessons learned in the truth of the Way.
Sharon is joined by guitarist, Dave Holmes, on the next track, "Breath of God," which continues in the same soothing sound of harmony with the Creator and His creation. There is a Oneness about this tune that transcends a simply worldly appreciation of nature's beauty. The production quality on this, and all the other tracks, is radio friendly.
"Unending Love" is the fourth track in this collection and is a little more upbeat, celebrating the joy of the Spirit and the practical application that results from that indwelling:
To be the feet of Jesus in this world,
To be the hands to feed the hungry ones
In my interpretation, it's a song that demonstrates what the writer of the epistle says: Faith without works is dead. (James 2)
Sharon fleshes out the vocals a bit in the next track, "Those Who Sow," and adds some harmonics while stretching her range a bit to the high end of the scale. It's another lyric video that is based on Scripture as all of Sharon's songs appear to be and you can't go wrong when you stick close to the Word!
There are a couple of other tracks on this YouTube playlist and they all feature the signature sound of a soul in love with Jesus and the last one worth mentioning is, "Prepare Our Hearts," which is every believer's prayer--to be made holy in order to meet the coming King face to face one day.
All in all, this is a great collection of mainstream praise and worship music that any church would do well to add to their choir's repertoire of contemporary Christian songs.
