Editor's Note: Ben Tatlow isn't just someone who wants to write about Christian ambient music; he's actively make it as part of the duo ambient bands Salt of the Sound and Narrow Skies. He has a fantastic, holistic perspective on the genre, and we're delighted to learn more about it through this exclusive column. And hey, go check out his band's new album, Meditations Vol. 3. 

Earlier in the year, we introduced the emerging genre of Christian Ambient music (you can read more here and here), and we're now featuring some of the Christian musicians and artists who are creating this meditative, reflective music. Last month Chris Bartels of Elskavon spoke to us about the inspiration behind his music, and today we're excited to chat with Jonathan Ogden, the founding member and front-man of UK-based Rivers & Robots. If you haven't heard their music before, Rivers & Robots are truly pioneering the art of creative worship music, weaving in influences across various genres, including ambient and electronic sounds. Last year they released Still, Volume 1, a beautiful album of instrumental worship songs.
 
How would you describe the music of Rivers & Robots to someone who has never heard it before?

It's always been difficult to describe Rivers & Robots to people, depending on who you're speaking to. I usually say we're a worship band that writes songs in an electronic/indie style. If you just describe it as "worship music" or "indie music" people have preconceived ideas about those things, but in reality, it's quite different! I always liked the fact that we're a little hard to place though. At the end of the day, our vision is simply to worship Jesus in the most creative way we can through our music.

Tell us a bit about what you're currently working on?

We've been busy writing songs for the past year or so and just finished up recording them in the studio. So we just announced that our next album Discovery is coming out on September 14, 2018, and we just released the first single "Dreams." We recently changed line-up and got a new drummer and it's been a real fun process writing together and exploring new sounds and styles. We're super excited about this album and can't wait to share the rest of the songs soon! We've also been trying to put a bunch of tour dates together as well, so we'll be sharing more on that soon!
 
What inspires you as an artist? And how does that link to your Christian faith?

Living in Manchester, UK has always been a big source of inspiration for us as it's a very musical city, with a ton of live music venues and all kinds of bands coming through each week. We were really inspired early on by the many different sounds and styles we heard in our city, and as guys who were leading worship in our churches as well as visiting other churches and Christian events, we noticed that a lot of our worship sounds the same. We believe that everyone has been created uniquely, with their own sounds that only they can bring, and we're passionate about seeing artists release their own honest expression of worship that is unlike anyone else. We may not write big worship anthems that get sung in churches around the world, but we're passionate about writing music that feels authentically us and is our honest expression of worship in our own style. We find that our music has connected with a lot of people around the world who listen in their cars or at home, and because we draw a lot from the scriptures in our songs, it's amazing to hear the way God's word speaks to people through our songs and helps people in so many situations to connect with God.

How do you feel the music you write fits within the Christian music scene?

I think for a long time, particularly in the UK, Christian music has been one of two categories: congregational worship music or Christian bands (whose lyrics may not be worship as such, but have a Christian message). I feel like there's a new thing happening now though where the songs are still 100% worship but it's taking on a new expression and form that feels a little more creative. We're enjoying seeing the places these songs fit. We run a worship night in a coffee shop here in Manchester which we put on for free, and we get a lot of Christians from all different churches coming out to worship together, but also some people who aren't
     
Christians who may just be walking past and come in to hear the music. It's fun to see those songs connect with people in settings like that, for the Christians it may be stretching them and allowing them to worship in a new way, and for non-Christians many of them appreciate the music but also get a chance to hear songs about Jesus, which they might never have heard before. I feel like our music is reaching a new audience, and there are many others that we see around us now who are setting out on this same path of writing worship music with a unique style and sound. I think there's a real movement happening now of artists and songwriters starting to write from an honest place and release unique songs and fresh sounds in worship, and we're excited to see where it goes!
 
What does Christian ambient music mean to you?

I find Christian ambient music to be a great resource! I often like to listen to ambient music especially in prayer and reading the Bible, it helps me to focus. For a long time I used ambient albums and playlists I found on Spotify but there's something about an album that's been written in a posture of worship, even without words. It makes me think of the times where David would play his harp for Saul and evil spirits would flee, or times when people would minister on their instruments in the temple. We recently worked on an instrumental album and that was really our aim with that project--every note we played we wanted it to be an act of worship, and played each part as ministry to God. So even if there are no words, we consider it a worship album. We love hearing Christian artists creating ambient music and bringing in an atmosphere of peace in an often crazy world!

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Huge thanks to Jonathan for sitting down with us and sharing his heart for creative worship experiences. Rivers & Robots live as missionaries, and spend their time leading worship in churches, clubs, and festivals, hosting monthly worship nights in gig venues around Manchester and running a non-profit organization called Set Sail, which aims to raise up creative worship and art in the UK. You can find out more about Rivers & Robots on their website, as well as listen to their music on your favorite music download or streaming site, including Spotify and iTunes.

You can also explore our playlist of Christian Ambient music, which includes music from Rivers & Robots as well as other artists, some of whom we'll be discussing music and faith with over the coming months.
 
Wishing you peace and love wherever you are today!