Interview: The Remission Flow

Oct 15 2012

Irish band The Remission Flow have arrived on the scene with a mature, worship-focused debut album released this month. 'The Light That Floods' sees the seven-member band bring together their diverse range of backgrounds, ages and experiences to produce an impressive album. LTTM spoke with band member Darren Mulligan to get the full story.

For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in making music?

I grew up in a tiny village called Ballinode in north Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland close to the border with Northern Ireland. From a young age I was distinctly aware of religious tension and the sectarian divide in my homeland. I came from a Catholic home and would have been considered very religious (at least by my mam) but I never knew God, this Jesus Christ whom I love so deeply now. I was saved about five years ago and God has taken me, my family and The Remission Flow on an incredible journey. His mercies are truly new everyday.

My parents have always had a love for music and I guess that was infectious. I grew up listening to Elvis, Johnny Cash and various kinds of country music. I loved the raw emotion and the stories guys like Willy Nelson could tell through a simple three chord melody. My parents bought me my first guitar when I was 13, I remember it distinctly. It was a Jim Deacon Fender strat copy, it didn’t cost a lot but my family were poor and this was a massive sacrifice for them. Looking back I can see God’s great plan and his constant provision at work.

I taught myself how to play guitar and spent hours practising and singing in my bedroom, progressed to playing in bad cover bands, bad original bands and later a moderately poor/bad original hardcore band that somehow got signed to record labels and toured America and Japan for a couple of years. Those years were some of the most incredibly lonely times I have had and probably the darkest period of my life. But funnily enough I thought that lifestyle was everything I wanted and craved the adoration and attention I received for those 30 minutes on stage each night. The rest of my days were empty and pointless.

Anyway, that band split and I returned home with my tail between my legs and swore I'd never play music again. God had other plans, I got saved, He drew me into the praise team in the local Elim church and eventually called me to join The Remission Flow. God put songs on our hearts and 'The Light That Floods' has just been released. God has been so faithful.

How did you come up with the name of the band, and what's the meaning behind it?

We initially came together to lead worship at a youth event called Remission in Monaghan and people just started calling us the Remission band. We felt that the time was right to change the name prior to the release of this album, prayed about it and God eventually told us that we were to be called The Remission Flow. The bible speaks of there being no remission or forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. We believe that the blood which was shed by Jesus Christ as he hung on that tree has cleansed all who believe in Him from sin and redeemed us from the grave. That blood still flows today, 2000 years later and we believe that it is our obligation to be vessels from which the Gospel, the Good news flows into other people’s lives. Henceforth, The Remission Flow.

Tell us a little bit about your new album 'The Light That Floods' and what the inspiration behind it was?

We struggled with the idea of recording this album for a long time. For two years we had never asked to go anywhere but God continuously opened up opportunities to lead worship and to share our faith with people from all over Ireland. We have been privileged to see many souls saved, broken hearts restored and people healed throughout our land. So I guess we were fearful that pride would creep in, that we might start thinking that this ministry had something to do with us and not rely completely on his guidance, provision and Grace. But it is God who keeps us and He poured these songs out on us as a way of bringing Him Glory. The Light that Floods constantly reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus, His mercy, grace and sustaining power. It’s a record that speaks of God's light which shines out of the darkness, a light that is with us in the darkest times of our life and a God who wants all of our hearts. Its an album of complete thanksgiving that acknowledges our weakness and touches on the apathy that has crept into each of our lives at times.

We believe that God wants these songs heard, that He has something new to say through these songs and that he will touch hearts and lives through His word.

Which is your favourite track on the album and why?

I love 'Sleeper'. Lyrically it was painful to write but God had something important to work out in my life through it. The verse repeats the line "Awake me from this sleep Lord, Shake me from the grave, cause your face to shine on me again". This was a time in my Christian walk were my heart had grown cold, when I was going through the motions and putting on the Sunday smile. I believe God stirred up my faith through these lyrics. I admitted that I had become lukewarm and He used this to remind me of my first love, Jesus. For me the Chorus "Arise and shine my burdened soul, new life you give I've been made whole" was God's response, his call to arms. I believe that a lot of Christians experience real lows in their faith and are afraid of speaking about this honestly. But God wants honesty and integrity, He wants all of us and He requires that we are real with him.

Free Song Download

Song download courtesy of 7 Core Music and The Remission Flow. Used with permission.

What's your song writing process?

Pretty similar to most seven piece bands I guess. Songs usually start with a riff, a vocal line which is taken to band rehearsal, completely dissected and put back together in unity. We struggle with typical verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus arrangements and our songs tend to have strange progressions. Some don't have a chorus at all, just 3 or 4 different sections. But there is a natural flow to them and nothing has to be forced. We wanted these songs to be as true to what God wanted them to be and avoided conforming to structural norms so we could fit in.

If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?

There are many Christian artists that we admire, Jesus Culture, Hillsong etc but there is a guy I heard recently on YouTube called Chris Hurt from LA who wrote a song called Come to Me. Most beautiful thing I've heard. Would be nice to work with a guy like that.

How would you define success in your career as a band?

We believe that staying completely within the Will of God would be the most wonderful thing that we could achieve as a band. That would be success. Please pray for us.

You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your mp3 player. What track is it?

Willie Nelson's version of 'Songbird'.

What does the next year hold for The Remission Flow?

God has given us a desire to serve Him, a burden for the lost and a new song to sing. He has amazed us with what he has done with seven very ordinary people from extraordinarily different backgrounds who live in the middle of nowhere. We owe everything to Him. We believe that He will continue to do mighty things with The Remission Flow as long as we remain obedient, open to the leading of His Spirit and totally reliant on His Grace. He holds us in the palm of His hands and there is, to quote a song, "No place I'd rather be".

Find out more at TheRemissionFlow.com