Physics 101: All objects are placed into two categories: luminous and illuminated. Luminous objects generate their own light. Illuminated objects reflect light.
It all begins with "let there be light." God speaks the words over the waters and calls the heavens and earth good. And later come the sun, the moon, the stars: the lights by which we see. This is the stuff of creation; this is the stuff of poetry. A whole vocabulary of vision and sustenance are born from the lips of God speaking our needs into existence. And His world still bears witness: here is the day. Here is the night. It is good.
With great success and momentum going before them, the David Crowder Band began the process of writing and recording their newest release, Illuminate. Having performed 251 concerts in 2002 (yet only missing 11 Sundays at University Baptist Church), Crowder says that the band was able to truly interact with its fans, consequently learning where the connections are: "We realized that, musically, their tastes were similar to ours. Just because a record is in a store doesn't mean they'll get it. Our music made sense to them. We were nervous about how the interaction would be. But, in between records, we kept getting reaffirmed that the fans really understood what we were about…that what we do is useful and significant in other people's lives. It helped us relax. It made us want to make music."
David Crowder has never been a disciplined, let's-sit-down-and-write-now kind of songwriter. "Songs come in spurts," he explains. "I am an inspirational writer. The moment will hit and I know I better find a pen and paper. There is a lot of intentionality behind my songwriting." And so it happened with the songs of Illuminate. Back in Waco, a writing spurt began as Crowder was having conversations at church about the relationships between the physics of light and Scripture. "It was definitely a 'head to heart' kind of experience when the songs came out," he says. Who knew that science would inspire worship?
This is a recording about light, David Crowder proclaims. Taking the empirical facts about light and translating them into revelation about the nature of God and creation, Crowder realized that he was on to something, and light began to appear in everything he wrote. Illuminate is a journey on a darkened path; a prayer for light enough to see. It acknowledges the darkness in which we live in songs like "Sparks Fly," and celebrates the reality of Light coming toward us in the form of Christ. The song, "O Praise Him (All This for a King)" is a response to redemption: the wonder of a redeemer who is Himself the light by which we see. His city needs no sun or moon or stars. This is a recording that is corporate and intimate, with lyrical light both blazing and subtle.
"Let light shine out of darkness," says our God (2 Corinthians 4:6). Illuminate reminds its listener that we too are light. "The mystery of all mysteries…we can shine," as David Crowder says. We, the created, are both illuminated and luminous.
Illumination is not simply a mystical experience. It translates into the reality of our days. The David Crowder Band knows this well. While recording Illuminate, Crowder received an email of support from Zach Lind, member of the Platinum-selling band, Jimmy Eat World. "This band stands out to me and speaks to me in a very real way. God is alive in what they do," says Lind. The two struck up a friendship, and Lind agreed to produce the song, "How Great" for the record. The fact that someone from "the fringe" would be so supportive of what the band was doing was of great encouragement and affirmation for Crowder. "It really gave meaning to what we are doing," he says.
The David Crowder Band is also in support of being light within the context of technology and the Church. Using premiere guitar maker Tom Anderson’s “Crowdster Acoustic,” named after Crowder, while recording Illuminate, the band also used M-Audio’s Reason software (issued by noted software makers, Propellerhead) for programming and mixing. Crowder approached the software makers with the idea of putting a copy of the software on copies of Illuminate. In an unprecedented move, M-Audio agreed, and the David Crowder Band is the first artist in its genre to feature the program. Fans will now have the ability to see and mix their own tracks at home. To David Crowder, this new kind of accessibility is invaluable: "My hopes for worship music, and what I'm trying to push with [Propellerhead] is this: a kid can record a record in his room and share with his friends—I want that to be able to happen in the Church. Something put together on a computer and suddenly it's sitting on someone else's desktop miles and miles away. It could be huge for unity in the Church. It could be a quick reclamation of art in the Church."
Everything has the potential to be illuminated. Physics tells us that luminance is measured by how close an object is to a source of light. This is the point of being witness bearers. We can draw near to the Light that draws near to us. The voice that spoke words onto the waters is calling us out of darkness today. The David Crowder Band is learning to see, and is proclaiming the Light that cannot be denied. As they sing in the St. Francis-penned, "All Creatures" found on Illuminate: Thou burning sun with golden beam/ Thou silver moon with softer gleam/ O praise Him, O praise Him…
Source: http://www.sparrowrecords.com/
