LOOP COMMUNITY
THE SONGWRITING PROCESS W / JOSH BALDWIN | Matt McCoy
Songwriter and artist Josh Baldwin joins Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about the songwriting process and his song “ Stand in Your Love ”.
[ Matt McCoy ] Can you tell us about “ Stand in Your Love ” and how it just took off ?
[ Josh Baldwin ] [ Josh ] I went on a trip to Dallas with a worship leader buddy of mine . He had just broken his ankle and punctured a lung . He was on crutches and asked if I wanted to come with him and carry things . I went down there just to help him . I stayed a day later to write with some of the Gateway team , Mark Harris and Rita Springer . We wrote “ Stand In Your Love ” that day , and it was kind of just going to be a Gateway song , but last minute it made the Victory album for Bethel . I knew that the song felt special , but I just thought it was going to be a great worship song for the church . Then we decided it was going to be the lead single and go to radio , and I ’ d never done anything like that . That ’ s when it started taking off .
[ Matt ] When you ’ re in a write , do you know that a song is a special song right away ?
[ Josh ] There have been times when a song feels special , but I ’ m such a feeler and sometimes my feelings can mislead me . There have been a handful of songs though that have felt special when they ’ re written , whether they came fast or after months of me working through it . But there have been some where I wasn ’ t sure how good they were or if they would work in the church that have ended up taking off .
THE PROCESS
[ Matt ] What is your favorite part of the songwriting process and what is your least favorite part ?
[ Josh ] Writing can be the hardest part for me . But it depends on the song . My new song “ Where the Glory Is ” felt easy and flowed right out . We never changed anything about it . Even the vocal take that ’ s on the album is the demo . The first time I sang it , it felt easy . The most fun part of songwriting for me is the actual recording and the process of crafting the arrangement and the band . I feel the most pressure when it comes to writing and once that part is done , the rest of it is just fun , figuring out what the song is going to sound like and feel like . I have a lot of control over the writing part , and I tend to beat myself up a little more with that . With the producing and recording I know my strength and weakness in it , and I let it go a little bit , and lean on other guys more .
[ Matt ] With writing too there are so many possibilities , and the words are so important .
[ Josh ] Exactly . I feel like I ’ ve grown in songwriting , and I can get a theme for the song right out of the gate . I know what we ’ re going after . Years ago , I ’ d go into it very broad and just want to write a worship song . When you hone it in , it takes away tons of options that aren ’ t good for the song anyways .
Click the video below to watch the full interview and be sure to check out Josh Baldwin ’ s album Where the Glory Is and download the Master Tracks on LoopCommunity . com .