TRENDING NRT NEWS: Songs Fighting Prejudice | Am I Racist? Movie Review | How Brandon Heath Changed My Life
Chris Sligh Artist Profile | Biography And Discography | NewReleaseToday



Discography



ADVERTISEMENT

Artist Links
[edit]

  • Official Website
  • Facebook Website
  • Instagram



    Music Videos
  • "Empty Me" from Running Back To You
    Views 2104 Views | Comments 0 Comments
  • "Only You Can Save" from Anatomy of Broken
    Views 2117 Views | Comments 1 Comments



    Latest News
    We Love Christian Music Awards To Hold First-Ever Event Feb. 2
    (Sunday, January 29, 2017)
    'American Idol' Finalist Chris Sligh Releases New Single
    (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)
    'American Idol' Finalist Chris Sligh Releases New Album
    (Friday, December 23, 2016)
    American Idol To End In 2016
    (Monday, May 11, 2015)
    ARTIST PROFILE
    Chris Sligh
    Views 15737 Views | Comments 45 Comments [edit]
     
    #428 Become A Fan Leave A Comment
    Artist Ranking
    Top 20 | All Artists
    Become
    A Fan
    Leave
    A Comment
     

    Coming off of This Is Life -- an album dedicated to paying homage to his musical influences -- Chris Sligh was looking to create something drastically different, something that paid homage to his current influences. Replacing the Bryan Adams and Ben Folds and Tom Pettys and Paul McCartneys that affected This Is Life, on his current playlist were electronic pop and EDM producers and DJs like Max Martin and David Guetta and Calvin Harris.

    "I began to explore this whole world of electronic production and found that I really truly loved the creativity I was able to foster by opening up this new world of synth creation," Sligh told us recently.

    Many songs would start with dozens (and at times, hundreds) of synth tracks.

    "So much of pop music today is influenced by the 80s pop we all love and put through the sieve of EDM and it ends up creating what I feel like is a very cool amalgam of elements that -- for me at least -- allowed for hundreds of hours of creativity. But I also was coming into this place of really beginning to understand and explore guitar tones ... so of course the synth stuff had to be surrounded by a ton of guitars!"

    As with every Chris Sligh record, he sells himself and his production to the concept. For This Is Life it was 80s & 90s singer/songwriter rock. For Mighty Roar / Healing Flood it became the amalgamation of 80s pop mixed with the EDM of today with the twist of guitar sounds that so easily identify it with modern worship music.

    But the sounds of an album mean nothing if the songs aren't there. Where did the songs come from this time around?

    "I was writing for my church at the time. We had made a live worship record that I was really proud of and we were beginning to work on the next one, and so I went into my typical sort of 'write to find the direction of the record' space that I go into every time I start an album cycle.

    "I disappeared into my studio for probably too long and I wrote and wrote and wrote and ended up with a dozen or so songs that I thought were really freaking cool. I brought them to my team and one thing kept coming up: 'this sounds like a solo record' they'd say.

    "I was hurt and frustrated at first. I thought these were my church's songs! But when I could take a step back and see more objectively, I realized that yes! They are worship songs... but they're my heart for worship not necessarily the heart of THIS church's."

    And so began the journey that culminated with this 11-song set of songs that some are already saying is Sligh's most current-sounding and tightest collection of songs yet.

    "Freedom Song" is a call to worship that takes us from one place musically (anthemic & epic with massive-sounding percussion) to another (EDM/Dance breakdown). Here's what Sligh had to say about the lyrics:

    "God's omnipresence is usually described as Him being everywhere at once... but it also means He is every TIME at once. As He experiences our worship today, He -- outside the constraints of time -- is also experiencing the worship from every generation all at once. So the vision I had for this song is to 1st off welcome the Holy Spirit to fill this place and to be welcome here, into honest and authentic praise. But secondly, I want to cast vision to our people that the worship we experience is not a one-time experience in the now, but we are joining in the freedom song of thousands upon thousands of believers through the ages in lifting up the name of God in praise!"

    "This is our story, this is our future, our past
    The song of the ages
    The is our kingdom, this is our firm, hallowed ground
    The holy of holies
    This is our anthem, this is our freedom song
    Let lips only praise You
    And in this moment, we join in heaven's song
    And give You all glory"

     
    "Stripes" is another 80's-infused pop track that feels both immediately modern and nostalgic all at once. Lyrically, this is Chris Sligh in his element -- the poignant and thoughtful, open and vulnerable lyrics flow in conjunction with the melody in a way that tells you, the listener, are in good hands. The flow, the inner rhyme scheme, the tiny turns of phrases... they all add up to a lyric that expresses something deep but accessible. 

    "Our great God, you bring to life
    All that's broken comes alive
    All the hurt and shattered things will be made new
    Heal us, pull us close to You
    Healer, pull us close to You"

     
    "Backwards" is Sligh's description of the backwards nature as to how God works in comparison to how man works. 

    "Outlandish love, how can it be
    A perfect King chose death to prove
    In death to
    self true life begins
    And I receive by what I lose...
    You turned me around, everything upside down
    And I see clearly now
    There's only after you overcame my curse
    And put death in reverse
    Gave imperfection worth
    You turn things
    backwards"

    Perhaps the catchiest of songs on this album, the production (featuring additional production from Zak Schweitzer) and melodic sensibility ties us into the overall message of this song... and one might suggest the very message of our Christian faith: He turns around our lives, our deaths, our expectations, our results... He turns things backwards.

    Lyrically "More of You" takes us on a journey from Psalm 63 (In a dry a weary land where there is no water, we thirst for you) to John 3:30 (He must become greater, I must become less.) Musically, the song would feel at home in mainstream radio, far more than Christian. With its melancholy mood to the choices of synths to the percussion sounds used to the full AutoTune on Sligh's voice, the song paints a musical soundscape that is both eery and drives home the point of "Less of Me" as quite literally we hear none of Chris Sligh's normal dulcet vocal tones.

    "In the desert, in a dry and weary land
    We thirst for you
    In the darkness, when we can not see Your hand
    You still lead us"

     
    "Here" brings us fully into the 1980s, with Ryky Legg's smooth and funky bass lines to the arpeggiated synths to the funky guitars. Lyrically, the song thoroughly explores Psalm 139 and tells us that no matter where we go or what we do, God's love and grace is indeed "Here".

    "Deeper, wider, high or low
    We can trust You for we know
    Your love goes beyond our deepest need...
    ... You -- you are -- you are here."
     

     "Worthy" -- the album's first single -- is an uptempo, 80s pop-inspired anthem. Easily singable and easily understandable -- but not without its lyrical twists -- the song could fit in most modern churches today. And the spirit of the lyrics simply magnifies the name of Jesus:

    "How majestic is Your name
    And greatly to be praised are You, God

    Rightous, loving kind, faithful every time
    Are you, God...
    ...Your name is holy, Your name is mighty
    And God You are worthy"

     
    "Your Love (Thank You)" takes us into more familiar Chris Sligh territory. It is at once moody and atmospheric, ethereal and challenging, familiar and fresh. The soundscape here is the feeling of space and more space and the instruments are saturated by tasteful reverbs and delays on the verge of oscillation. And when the band kicks in, the song features some of the best guitar work on this album, brought to the table by Tyson Morlet.

    "It's a mighty roar and a healing flood
    It's an outstretched hand and a Savior's blood
    There is strength, there is power
    There will always be more than enough
    It's Your promise, Your vow
    It's Your love."

     
    "All to You (I Surrender)" is the heart of what has always been the hallmark of Sligh's career: lyrical vulnerability, admitting both fault and desire for redemption, surrounded by simple -- but perfectly-crafted -- melodic sensibility. The production pays homage to the old and the new. The space and openness of the chorus' production -- with its gurgling synths and spacious-sounding percussion -- leaves place for this simple thought:

    "These empty hands, I surrender
    This faithless heart, I surrender
    My everything, my all to give
    My hopes and fears, my brokenness
    I surrender all to You"

     
    "You Are God" takes us into what the listener might recognize as the most familiar modern worship territory. It is a song that could be on your church's song list tomorrow and no one would be the wiser that it wasn't coming from Passion or Tomlin.

    "You are God, a solace and rescue
    In the darkest night, You're my salvation
    You're the King of Kings, mighty in battle
    You deliver me
    I and Yours God and You are God!"


    The albums heads towards its end with the sweetest song of the set, "Mystery of Love". Lyrically, the song is Sligh at his deepest and most well-crafted. Musically the song starts with just a piano and ends with a crescendo of percussion and strings. 

    "Lost in the width and the breadth of Your presence
    Stumbling into the depths of Your heart
    I come face to face with a beauty relentless
    And come undone"
     
    And finally "Fill This Place" is a pop/EDM anthem that is a perfect bookend to "Freedom Song" - a call to worship that evolves into something so contagious you can't help but sing along.

    "Turn our eyes, let us see you
    Fill this place, make a way
    Let your presence pour out on us"
    Musically, there are strains of modern EDM with some 80s style Juno synths, all surrounded by poly-rhythmic drums patterns that build and swell into a fist-pumping, body-moving, synth-led instrumental breakdown that would feel at home in churches and clubs alike.

               This is Chris Sligh at his most fun.

    From start to finish Mighty Roar / Healing Flood does not disappoint, giving us the types of moments we've come to expect from Chris Sligh's songwriting and production, while still pushing the envelope forward with things that feel new and fresh.

    Entry last edited by NRTeamAdmin on 12.31.16
    Return To Artist Database




    Latest NRTeam Fans
    Chris Sligh Has 146 Fans | View All | Become A Fan
         
         
         
         


    NRTeam Artist Comments (45)
    Add Your Review    Join The NRTeam
    AMAZING !!! | Posted January 26, 2011
    I truly LOVE this cd. I have been listening to it NON-stop since getting it. I LOVE 7x 70 it's my favorite! Thank you for letting God work through you !!!

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    Thumbs up | Posted January 26, 2011
    Loved his AI work.

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    Excellent!! | Posted January 25, 2011
    I have been a fan of Chris' work since American Idol! The songs are passionate and not to mention, well done. My whole family loves Chris:)

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    Good | Posted January 24, 2011
    Chris Sligh has some good music.

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    yay! | Posted January 24, 2011
    good!

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    hey | Posted January 24, 2011
    Hey keep up the good work God bless

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    kmac0378

    sura2010 (90)
    Great | Posted January 22, 2011
    Great singer..

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    kmac0378

    carrillo8 (33)
    whoa | Posted January 22, 2011
    good music. needs serious haircut. xP but nice music :)

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    Hi | Posted January 20, 2011
    HeY :)

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
    kmac0378

    Sharpie (3)
    One | Posted January 20, 2011
    Make us one is an awesome song, could listen to it over and over.

    Comments(0)  |  Add Comment
      Showing comments 1 through 10 of 45 | View Next 10 Comments

    Christian Music, Facebook Christian Music, Twitter Christian Music, YouTube Christian Music, Instagram

    ADVERTISEMENTS

    TRENDING NRT NEWS: Songs Fighting Prejudice | Am I Racist? Movie Review | How Brandon Heath Changed My Life

    Christian Music

    ©2024 NewReleaseToday
    A Division Of NRT Media Inc.

     

    Secure
    CHRISTIAN MUSIC
    Discover New Artists
    New This Week
    Coming Soon
    Playlists
    Free Music
    Album Reviews

    NEWS
    New Music
    Movies / Media
    Events
    Tours
    General

    PODCASTS
    NRT Now Podcast
    NRT Podcast Network

    VIDEOS
    Music Videos
    Exclusives

    EXCLUSIVES
    Articles
    Devotionals
    Interviews
    Concert Reviews
    We Love Awards

    MORE INFO
    RSS
    Privacy Policy
    Terms of Use
    Advertising
    Staff
    New Music Email
    Contact

    RESOURCES
    Music Studies
    Artist Training

    CONNECT
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram
    YouTube