Thankyou- I really like to play with acoustic instruments as well as utilising MIDI and stuff like that.... I guess I see every sound as "raw" material, so everything is kind of natural and beautiful to me. Maybe I don't discriminate enough, because there's a fair amount going on! haha. I'm comfortable with the awkwardness of my music, I guess.
I'm coming from a history of being in love with dark rolling techstep dnb since 1997 or so, so anything accoustic, any electronics cooked down enough to sound like impossible organics or create a warped, drippy, Aliens type atmosphere I was all about. Not that I'd try to make Christian music sounding like Decoder or Future Forces Inc., its a big world and there are better sound pallets for the job, but there's a lot of majesty in all kinds of sounds all over the spectrum - which is why our culture's bubblegum fetish when it comes to electronic really saddens me.
One thing I'm still trying to figure out though is what qualifies electronic music as Christian or secular. A lot of it does not have words. I'm sure band name or song names could be generally a source for meditation on an idea (not implying that in the 'Christian Mystic' direction) so even without words the music can be the exploration and the song title or few vocal samples can be the directions I suppose.
Which brings me to the next part of your message! I agree that it's difficult to find Christian musicians that are interested in "ugly" or "murky" or "dark" sounds. Often I find that a lot of Christian music attempts to convey "complexity" or "emotion" through distortion or minor chords, but this is problematic. A lot of times sensitivity and depth can be sacrificed for the sake of an "edgy" sound.
You know, I actually meant that in regard to all the stuff that seems popular. It seems like the two names that have jumped out in contemporary electronic - ie. Skrillex and Deadmau5 - both sound like they're trying to emulate Timbaland in their own respective genres, they just need T-Pain singing/vocoding over all of their tracks to put icing on the cake. So many people act like if you're not into that then what's the point of electronic? I think that's really where I'm going. I'm not going to knock anyone for liking that kind of stuff, to me its just a load of teen angst - its missing introspect, its missing exploration and journey, IMHO ain't got enough soul innit.
At the other end of the spectrum is obviously the CCM scene which is very life affirming but the music is truly awful! So both the music and the message need to be completely intertwined for me.
You said country. I don't think there's any amount of Christian vocals that can make a telecaster sound good to my ears.
As a musician dedicated to God, I believe in making music that celebrates all aspects of living out biblical truth. This includes the joy of having a home in Jesus, the graciousness and gentleness of God's love, the frustration of living a disciplined life, and the absolute agony of being sinful.
Bible and ontology are a great focus for sure. I get the impression as well that whatever we explore we draw a certain relationship with and if its something we want more affinity with we draw that affinity by focusing our attention on it. I'm sure in that sense the creative process for edifying Christ in and of itself brings us farther as its an exercise in contemplating him.
BTW, if you ever wanted to collaborate on a track I like your textures a lot. It would be awesome if you set the ground rules or foundation of the track, I'd encourage your usual actually. It may or may not take off but it might be worth a try one of these times.
