marczellm Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Do you know any Christian contemporary music that is less formulaic? I don't like songs that are all ethereal pads, guitars soaked in delay and simplistic choruses repeated ad nauseam. Here are some examples of what I'm looking for. The only thing common in these is that they introduce at least one musical element that's not very common in CCM. Latin rock: [video:youtube] A cappella arrangement: [video:youtube] (The previous track in a full band 80s pop-rock version, typical but pleasant "produced" synth arrangement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5__xp_wOiBo) Fat 80s synth brass (although the rest of the track is nothing special): [video:youtube] Smooth jazz-ish arrangement: Dennis Jernigan - Our God Is Mighty Examples of what I'm not looking for: Hillsong - Awesome God Chris Tomlin - Our God Quote Life is subtractive.Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Suggest you check out Planetshakers (available on Spotify and youtube). Lots of influences there: synth pop, EDM, soaring synth leads and synth bass and nice guitar work. Very slick production and very good lyrical content for the genre. Definitely aimed at a younger crowd but I like it a lot. Some of it offers a very fresh approach. [video:youtube] Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I enjoy Vertical Church songs... especially "I'm Going Free." It's one of the songs we played when I was the guest keyboardist at another church awhile ago. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Mullins Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 You could try this approach: [video:youtube] On a more constructive note: [video:youtube] [video:youtube] Quote Yamaha CK88, Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, Moog Sub 37, Yamaha U1 Upright, Casio CT-S500, Mac Logic/Mainstage, iPad Camelot, Spacestation V.3, QSC K10.2, JBL EON One Compact www.stickmanor.com There's a thin white line between fear and fury - Stickman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Interesting, I kind of thought this was just a USA thing. Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Interesting, I kind of thought this was just a USA thing. Hillsong and Planetshakers are both from Australia. Both are leading edge in contemporary worship music and many US churches use their material. Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Israel Houghton pulls off a great blend of pop, rock & funk with some occasional latin flavorings. Nicole Nordeman is a great singer songwriter type and some of her songs have great production quality. 2 of my favs... Quote Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyNQ Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 You could try this approach: "People Get Ready" is a wonderful piece of gospel music. It's my wake up alarm on my phone, too. I love the key change mid-way through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 An additional consideration, of course, is whether you're primarily thinking of music in church as performed for an audience, or purposed for congregational participation. Personally, I'm not excited about the overall musicality of a lot of music the CCM industry produces for congregational usage. Not that my opinion matters to anyone except, well, me. Quote .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Interesting, I kind of thought this was just a USA thing. Hillsong and Planetshakers are both from Australia. Both are leading edge in contemporary worship music and many US churches use their material. I forgot about the Aussies. In my mind Europe has way older culture than North America I guess I expected everything to be way more traditional. My background is Eastern Orthodoxy and we don't even have pianos in churches. Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Do you know any Christian contemporary music that is less formulaic? I don't like songs that are all ethereal pads, guitars soaked in delay and simplistic choruses repeated ad nauseam. Formulaic music seems to be a USA thing not just CCM. I got so tired of it all that I ceased listening to any broadcast radio since 2004. These days I enjoy listening to music that does not get airplay and it is threads like these that are enlightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Give this one a listen. Pretty cool synth stuff. [video:youtube] Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 music the CCM industry produces I had this discussion with someone just last night. The CCM industry is a business that is intent on making money. Can be somewhat of a conundrum but any business that doesn't make money isn't a business for long. I enjoy some CCM music in the church setting and as you've said, some of it doesn't necessarily fit well there. There's plenty of it that I enjoy just for listening pleasure and plenty that I don't care for at all. Just like any other genre of music. I DO appreciate the there's more CCM available than ever before. Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Personally, I'm not excited about the overall musicality of a lot of music the CCM industry produces for congregational usage. The more I listen to CCM, the more I would tend to agree. It's OK for a concert, but not always appropriate for Sunday morning. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Havu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Here's a good one. Doing this for Easter service. [video:youtube] Quote Hardware Yamaha MODX7, DX7, PSR-530, MX61/Korg TR-Rack, 01/W Pro X, Trinity Pro X, Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1 Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Arturia Keylab MKII 61 Software Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 4/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX/Roland Cloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Adding my Amen to the general lament. Disclaimer: I think Hillsong as a rule has done a lot more good in the area of worship than I ever will; the following gripe is mostly an expression of feelings, and should not be taken too seriously as an evaluation of the state of contemporary worship music. A few decades ago, I was trying to get hymn-only folks to see what else was out there. Nowadays, the difficulty is trying to get my fellow "contemporary worship" people to appreciate hymns as hymns -- no back beat (or, more currently, endless tom tom drones) needed. And no, "Grace Like Rain" and "My Chains Are Gone" ain't Amazing Grace. They're harder for a congregation to learn, and harder to sing. For better or ill, K-Love has replaced, rather than augmented, the hymnal in a lot of churches. Speaking of which, I find the Rend Collective to be a nice change from the Hillsong formula. Have I mentioned recently that I really like the pipe organ setups in my PC361? :-) Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 There are a lot of distinct issues involved in church music - and a lot of them coalescing in changing times for the today's church results in the migration of tastes to our current CCM trends. At purely a musical level, it's hard for me to get enthusiastic about it because of my own personal tastes. But there are of course notable exceptions which I love, and which speak to me at deep levels. My concern is based in knowing that my (or any one person's) personal musical tastes are a poor barometer by which to lead a congregation toward genuine worship. And that's the larger topic that is curtailed by the rules of this forum. Leading believers in actual worship, in today's church setting. I used to write and speak about this some years ago, and the precipitant consequences we see in many churches today, but generally that ship has sailed and it ain't coming back to the dock anytime soon. Quote .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurMan Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 If I limit this to just the music, my favorite 'less formulaic' guy is Jimmy Needham. Check out how they get to V2 around 1:00. [video:youtube] Hillsongs is a never-ending debate in one band I play in. The drummer hates it because there's very little groove. He's an Israel H. fan. On the other hand, I love Hillsongs because they use so many synth parts. I played "Love is War" from Zion last week and was able to cover three of the four parts. Quote Casio PX-5S, Korg Kronos 61, Omnisphere 2, Ableton Live, LaunchKey 25, 2M cables Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 From back in 1998, not so formulaic. Even if not your cup of tea, make it at least to 2:30 or so... [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AnIKQUjjP8&list=PL_TDidiHi7AksgqNJTF7vozEuSoE-04j- Quote .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Rob Mathes' "Evening Train" is one of my favorite albums. Perhaps half the songs on this album are religious-themed in some way. There is some absolutely smokin' horn section playing in some of the others, and geez he's got a voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Personally, I'm not excited about the overall musicality of a lot of music the CCM industry produces for congregational usage. My biggest gripe is that so much of it is not sing-able. I like the theology of old hymns, but the music doesn't move me at all. However, older hymn writers got it right in writing melodies that were less syncopated, and typically within an octave range. Show me a non singer who can sing along to a song with an octave and a half range & I'll eat my hat. Ain't gonna happen. These folks (artists / writers) can't be oblivious to that, so that tells me they're willing to sacrifice that to boost the performance aspects (translate, sell more copies). That's too bad, methinks. Quote Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I know a few CCM composers who write specifically with congregational singing in mind, and they try to be mindful of exactly what you're talking about...probably some times more successfully than others (like us all). Where things can quickly go sideways is when a well-intentioned local church worship leader decides to attempt a tune he heard on a CD that moved him - that was intended as a performance piece - and tries to adopt that for congregational usage when that was never the composer's original purpose. I'm not arguing that we're talking about two parallel rivers and never the 'twain shall meet. I'm simply suggesting a good worship leader needs to have the musical awareness and consideration to recognize that sometimes, no matter how much a song means to you personally, that dog won't hunt. Quote .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Clark Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I'm currently digging this record a lot. It's billed as Gospel, but it's also some great contemporary R&B. [video:youtube] Quote Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles http://philipclark.com Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Havu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 As the worship leader of my church, I always try to make sure the songs I choose are singable by everyone in the congregation, not too high and not too low. I also like to mix older worship choruses with some newer material, as well as hymns, so there's something for everyone. I've recently been attracted to Keith Getty's material. He writes modern hymns--easy to sing, beautiful melodies, and they can easily be arranged for solo piano or with a full band. Quote Hardware Yamaha MODX7, DX7, PSR-530, MX61/Korg TR-Rack, 01/W Pro X, Trinity Pro X, Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1 Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Arturia Keylab MKII 61 Software Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 4/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX/Roland Cloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Where things can quickly go sideways is when a well-intentioned local church worship leader decides to attempt a tune he heard on a CD that moved him - that was intended as a performance piece - and tries to adopt that for congregational usage when that was never the composer's original purpose. I'm not arguing that we're talking about two parallel rivers and never the 'twain shall meet. I'm simply suggesting a good worship leader needs to have the musical awareness and consideration to recognize that sometimes, no matter how much a song means to you personally, that dog won't hunt. Ah yes... experienced this too many times. Occasionally we've been able to pull it off, but most often we end up with songs the congregation isn't singing along with. And then there's the tunes that seem to go on for 15 minutes. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickzjamm Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 As Music Director of a large church near San Antonio I walk this slippery slope all the time especially with the youth mass - timwat as always is a beacon of light in a sea of opinions, some well grounded & some not. Music in a true worship environment should hit three marks... musical, liturgical & communal, communal being the key word here. Do I always meet these criteria, nope... but it's something to strive for. There's some very cool hip fun music out there that I would love to sink my chops into but it tends to be more performance, rather than communal music that invites the congregation to participate. Granted a younger bunch will respond to the contemporary music (yes I do several songs like this in a youth setting & they love it) but it kinda becomes more "in concert" than song leaders in a house of worship, like I said - a slippery slope I'm guilty of falling into the "performance" abyss more often than not. A question I always ask myself & pose to the choirs (I have five) is... who's glory are you doing this for? Quote You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickzjamm Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Here's a link to my original "I Surrender I" off a CD I Recorded a few years ago. Gives you an idea what we do at our youth mass. Quote You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 A question I always ask myself & pose to the choirs (I have five) is... who's glory are you doing this for? Yes indeed. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Very Formulaic. Pretty much the same every week. Has not changed much since late 300s. Based heavily on the older Liturgy of St Basil. Both very similar to the older and longer Liturgy of St James. [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYg5D6gpe98 Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mak1457 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I could never bring myself to enjoy CCM in the church. IMO, No. 1, the singability level is low and No. 2 The only people who seem to be enjoying it are the band members up front. The rest of the congregation just sort of stands there. Not inspirational for me at all. Quote Hammond XK1-c, Hammond XPK-100, Yamaha FC-7, Spacestation V3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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