Clem Jackson talks to Martin Smith about his new album and performing in dingy clubs with sticky floors.
In the world of contemporary Christian music Martin Smith needs little or no introduction. Known across the world as the lead singer of Delirious?, Martin is also responsible for penning a number of worship songs which have become part of the canon of worship music for many churches worldwide. Songs like “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever”, “History Maker”, “Majesty” and more recently “Waiting Here for You”. There is probably not a Sunday goes by where one or more of Martin’s songs isn’t given an airing in worship.
In 2009 Delirious? performed their final concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and the band members began to pursue individual projects. In 2013 Martin released his God’s Great Dance Floor album and began working with a group of musicians on new projects. This developed into the Army of Bones band, gigging in small club venues “with sticky floors” to sometimes just a handful of people.
He says of that time; “I had been spending all my time doing church events that I love, travelling around the world and doing the best I could. In the middle of it all I realised that, somewhere along the way, I’d lost a bit of my edge. So I prayed the kind of reckless, audacious prayer that I think God absolutely loves. ‘Lord, I think I need a bit more danger in my life.’ And that’s when the songs started”.
A two-year journey
One of the songs which came out of that time was “Love Song for a City”. Martin says “singing that song over people brought me alive”. This is now the title track of Martin’s latest album, released in July.
The album has been the culmination of two years’ touring with his band to all five continents and a whole range of new songs alongside reworked favourites. When I met Martin at Costa Coffee in Tesco in Lewes (so rock ‘n’ roll!) I began by asking him if he was pleased with the new album.
“I am, yes,” he said. “I think it’s an honest representation of where I’m at. It’s a really passionate summary of the last two or three years. There are half a dozen brand new songs on there and some like “Waiting Here for You”, that I’ve been doing for fi ve years.”
So where is Martin at? “My life is full of quite a few things,” he says. “I have a studio in my house churning out music all the time. I’m regularly writing with different people, doing a lot of collaboration which I love.”
Given that Martin originally started in the music business as a studio engineer for ICC in Eastbourne I asked him if he prefers working on a live album or one in the studio?
He says, “Well live is live! I think church people love hearing live recordings. But the studio is where you innovate, where you can set new sonic innovations; it’s harder to do that live. I think the two have to run hand in hand and I think Delirious? did that. Every now and then we’d drop a live experience but it was always a representation of what we had done in the studio.”
I asked Martin to tell me a little more about how the new album came about: “I knew that what we had as a team in the band was different. At first it wasn’t amazing but we’ve really grown together to the point where I felt we should start capturing this.
“We were travelling the world doing worship events and I found myself thinking ‘I wish we’d recorded tonight’. So we put together a little mobile recording desk and took it with us. We started recording on each trip and we might end up with one song that was brilliant from each trip. The album comprises all the moments that we really liked in that two year period”.
Two years, five continents and over twenty different countries are represented on Love Song For A City with tracks recorded in countries like Holland, Belgium, Brazil, Singapore, Columbia and Canada to name a few.
As Martin says, there are a number of new songs on the album, so I wondered if they came before or during the tours? Martin comments, “Some came before and some on the road. “Jesus Only You” is probably a couple of years old now but “I Will Sing” came as we journeyed through. Between all these trips I’d still be writing, co-writing and collaborating with other people, bringing new ideas; some of them end up on other people’s records!”
“The album comprises all the moments that we really liked in that two year period.”
Martin says this album is defi nitely one for the church; “Although I’d be quite happy and proud to give it to anyone. I don’t think there’s much ‘churchy’/ confusing language on there; it’s quite accessible.” So does Martin think there is a song or two on the album, like “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” or “History Maker”, that the church will pick up? He said; “Well I don’t know the answer to that. “Leap of Faith” is a great theme but you can’t tell what people are going to gravitate to.
“I remember when I wrote “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble” and “History Maker” not knowing they would become songs that people love. And yet there are other songs that I thought were going to do better than they did, so you can’t tell really. I think “I Will Sing” will grow as a hymn-like song and I think “Jesus Only You” will do well too.”
Army of Bones and playing small venues
I asked Martin about his time with Army of Bones, playing the ‘sticky fl oor’ clubs; what was it like? “It was exhilarating,” he responded. “It was something I felt was growing inside me for a while and the more artistic bit of my brain wanted to let loose again. So with pretty much the same team we came up with the name Army of Bones and we went and did these club tours and it was amazing.
“This was the team that led worship in church and I remember one day when we did two services at Audacious Church in Manchester, then packed our gear up and went to a little club and did an Army of Bones show that night. I do think it’s important every now and again to get back to playing smaller venues.”
Martin has always had a heart for playing in nonchurch situations and as he says, “The privilege of going around the world leading worship is amazing but there are a lot of people living in Brighton who would never go to church. I think it’s about trying to find ways of connecting with people who aren’t in church. One of the Brighton football players lives down my road and so I’m thinking ‘is there any music I’ve got that would connect with him?’”
But as he says, it wasn’t always easy. “Some of it was pretty soul-destroying – playing to around 15 people some nights – but we met so many interesting and wonderful people working in that world who had never seen anything like it before. The quality of the music, the songs and that the people warmed to us was always a great encouragement.”
Martin says there are no plans at present to tour the album; “It’s just a case of keeping on doing what we’re doing” – and he is still leading worship at St Peter’s in Brighton “When I am asked to!”
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