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(courtesy of Sparrow Records)
"Andy Hunter° is an experience." — T. Hooper
"Either you're into it or you're not." — Andy Hunter°
"I'm into it." — a concertgoer
Combining a passion for God with a strong creative vision, UK bands like Delirious sparked the modern worship movement in the mid 1990's. At roughly the same time, DJ artists like Moby and Fat Boy Slim were merging decks and dance music on both sides of the Atlantic. At some point along the way, the two movements became a little jumbled in the backwaters of Bristol, England, and "trance and electronica" DJ-Worship artist, Andy Hunter°, found his calling. This might bear a little explaining.
The wall of rhythm and sound that marks Andy's new Sparrow/Nettwerk America Records debut, Exodus, didn't come about overnight. Andy's ability to weave together elements of Progressive House, Trance, Drum and Bass, and Electronica genres is the result of several years of experimentation and refinement in dance clubs and churches across Germany, Sweden, the UK and Japan. But it wasn't only his craft that was progressively honed during those years; it was also his vision for worship and his skills as a worship leader. "My music," he says, "is all about cleansing ourselves before God and coming into His presence — getting into the place where we can worship God and sacrifice our all. It's about wanting to be holy in His sight, and longing for a taste of His glory."
So how did Trance music ever get translated into Worship, anyway? It all started six years ago when Andy gave up his gig as a sound engineer and plugged into a UK church-planting organization called New Generation Missions. NGM's vision was to reach young people on the streets, combining art and missions to communicate to a hopeless, drug-washed subculture. "A lot of those kids were into the DJ and dance music scene," Andy remembers, "so I bought some turntables and some vinyl, and really started to get into it as a means of building relationships."
The missions group opened an under-18 club, which became a popular hang for many of the young people. The investment paid off. A lot of the kids soon turned to Christ. "We began to ask ourselves 'How do we teach these kids about worship?'" Andy says. "They had never set foot in a church before. The old hymns, as rich as they are, were too great a leap culturally. To sing those would have been like asking them to speak another language. But most of them were solidly into dance music so we decided to start experimenting and trying to lead worship with the turntables. Because I was already a DJ, I landed in that role as worship leader."
The experiment was successful. Andy Hunter° found that with his decks and microphone he could facilitate a genuine and real experience of worship for a group of people. The buzz about what he was doing spread, and he began to travel extensively in Europe and Japan. In the process, he began to put together and refine the set of music that would become Exodus.
"The theme of Exodus started when I was spending time in God's word, reading through the book of Exodus," Andy remembers. "As a response to what I was reading, I just felt moved to go to the turntables and begin to worship God. I started spinning tracks and the idea came of using the themes of Exodus and coming up with a full set like a DJ in a club would use. Only this would be for the church, and it would be a whole worship journey."
With titles like "Go," "Amazing," "Show," "Strange Dream," "Intercessional," and "Translucent," Andy Hunter°'s Exodus grew into a pulsing, driving set that mirrored the themes of the book of Exodus. The structure effectively leads concertgoers down a path that begins with a call to worship, moves through a time of praise, and then focuses on God's call and the direction of one's life and dreams in relation to it. The Exodus project closes with a prayer of intercession and resolve to pursue God and His plans.
"It's really all about that journey," Andy explains. "Every time I do a show I want to take people into God's presence. I want them to worship, to experience God intimately, and to leave recentered and refocused on God's plan and priorities for their life. The fact that there are very few lyrics in my music makes it conducive to this sort of thing. You're not bound by a particular theme or lyric so there's room to think and ponder about what God might be showing you. Before I play an instrumental track, I'll use the microphone like a worship leader to read scripture and give some pointers, but once the music starts I step back and leave room for God to speak to their hearts."
Many people who were into the rave scene before becoming Christians have found resonance with Andy's experimental form of worship. But others who fall completely outside the demographic have found something real in it as well.
"I had a fifty-five year old woman come up to me after a show recently," Andy recalls, "who was completely unfamiliar with Trance music. But she told me that she had just had the best worship experience of her life. She felt like she had really experienced God's presence. For her, it was the most freeing and powerful time of worship she'd ever had. That means a lot to me because it confirms the fact that it's not about the genre. It's about worshiping God and focusing on God and finding new ways of doing that. God is a creative God, and the church is a creative body where there's room for a lot of expression."
Produced by CCM avant guru Tedd T. (Rebecca St. James, ZOEgirl), Andy Hunter°'s Exodus will be distributed in the mainstream by L.A. label Nettwerk America who have already slated "Amazing" as the first dance club single release.
"I'm excited about that plan," Andy says, "because I want to see how people respond in that setting to a song that's all about soaring to an intimate place with God. My goal is just to take Jesus to the furthest reaches of youth culture. That's why I do club shows in the first place. I want to bring Jesus to people whether they're Christians or not. I know it seems like an unlikely method, but God is using these turntables to turn hearts to Himself."
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