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TIPS FOR CO-WRITING AND RECORDING “ LAMB OF GOD ” WITH MATT REDMAN | Matt McCoy
Matt Redman joined Matt McCoy to discuss worship leading , songwriting and his new album Lamb of God .
RECORDING LAMB OF GOD
[ Matt McCoy ] Can you tell us about your new album ? Was it completely live ?
[ Matt Redman ] We decided we wanted to do a live album again . I just like how the songs breathe and if they ’ re going to end up being congregational , it helps define what they are and what they can sound like . So , I had these new songs and had my eyes on this place called The Mission in Southern California . Part of it is in ruins , part of it is still standing and the Chapel there is the oldest standing working building in California . The Mission itself is the birthplace of what we now call Orange County . We went in for a day , recorded in a couple of different spots and it was a beautiful place to worship .
The centrality of the cross really became a big theme , almost to the point where I was fighting it . I thought honestly is this too much ? But a pastor told me years ago that we ’ re going to sing about the cross every week we ’ re together , so having new songs will be helpful . It turned into a thread running through the record .
WORSHIP THROUGH THE YEARS AND CO-WRITING
[ WM ] How would you say worship music has changed from when you released some of your early albums or “ 10,000 Reasons ” compared to where it is now ?
[ Matt ] Around the time of “ 10,000 Reasons ” the door opened up to be able to write more ‘ hymn-y ’ worship songs . Songs like “ King of Kings ” or “ Living Hope ”, there ’ s more permission to have more verses and be more like hymns now . I ’ m learning too that co-writing is a huge blessing . People ask me , “ Do you get writer ’ s block ?” And I say , “ No ” which sounds arrogant , but the reason is because of other people . Getting in a room with other people and even when you ’ ve got nothing to throw into the pot that day , they ’ ve got something and it stirs you up and there ’ s momentum .
[ WM ] When you ’ re co-writing do you normally do it only in person ?
[ Matt ] My favorite is in person . But I do write with people over a distance and that can be written over a longer period , I ’ m currently writing a song with a guy in Nigeria and so we aren ’ t going to be writing in person . There can be pressure when you ’ re writing together in person that you need to finish the song completely in the time . I was recently reading the City Alight guys said , “ Don ’ t hurry . Don ’ t rush . The song doesn ’ t have to be finished in two hours .” Keep revisiting it , keep reshaping it . We ’ re definitely not going for quantity here . We ’ re going for quality .
Click the video below to watch the full interview with Matt Redman …
Matt McCoy Matt is a worship leader , songwriter and Ableton Certified Trainer from Chicago , IL . He has been using Ableton and tracks in worship since 2002 . He ’ s passionate about creating new products and teaching worship leaders and artists how to use technology in live performance . www . LoopCommunity . com 36 June 2023 Subscribe for Free ...