Interview: Tim Brown (Plus Free Song Download)
Surrey-based worship songwriter Tim Brown released his debut album 'Focus Of Eternity' recently and now follows up with a new single 'Risen King'. This new Easter hymn is so good we wanted to give you the chance to hear it - so we're offering it as a FREE download! Read on to find out more about this fascinating songwriter.
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?
Hi! I am married to Jemily and we have a little girl called Mayana, two distinct sounding names but with a surname like Brown you need to add something exciting. We live in Camberley and are part of church called the Beacon Church. I work for a Music shop called Andertons where I make videos, photograph pretty guitars and talk about exciting new gadgets and gear.
I have been writing songs for the last 15 years and was recently encouraged and supported to record some of these songs to share with a wider audience than just Camberley. All the songs on the album are easily accessible for the church to sing and for musicians to play.
You spent a few years serving in a church in South Africa, what did you learn from that experience?
I guess one of main things that stands out from my time in South Africa was learning how to lead worship in a unfamiliar context to home. At first I was freaked out by the style of the songs and the various languages used and felt really out my comfort zone.
Over the course of the two years I learnt so much about leading worship with the congregation in mind, I had to choose songs that would serve them not just that I enjoyed playing, this at times involved me fumbling my way through some Afrikaans songs without speaking the language.
It was a time of being "pruned to become more fruitful"
Tell us a little bit about your debut album 'Focus Of Eternity' and what the inspiration behind it was?
Focus of Eternity is a collection of six songs from the last 10 years that I have written in various situation, I want to write songs that the church can easily pick up and sing, I want to write about the God who always was, always is and always will be control of all things. I want to point people to the God that is both Ancient and Modern
Which is your favourite track on the album and why?
That is a crazy tough question to answer! So I will give 3 answers?!?!
The most personal is Faithful Father as I wrote it the day my daughter was born as my wife recovered in intensive care.
The most fun to play is Centre of all History as it has a great intro/turn around (in my humble opinion). The song that gets the church to sing the loudest would be Risen King, it's like an Easter Anthem and a great way to end the meeting.
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Used with permission.
For me the Church Calendar is all about Easter and I love the celebration that is Easter Sunday. I wanted to write a song that encouraged the congregation to sing out the truth the Jesus is Risen and Alive. I wrote the chorus in about 5 minutes walking back from a restaurant and sung it into my phone so that I would remember it. I had the chorus and the bridge sorted very quickly but it took a while to write the verses. I like how the verses talk through the resurrection story from Jesus on the cross to Jesus standing in glory. You can't sing it quietly!
What's your song writing process?
My wife would say I get distracted easily... I would say I get inspired quickly. I often get little nuggets for part of a song at the strangest times, it might be a lyric that I build out of something I have heard or it might be a little musical run that I like. I have a book full of these little nuggets that I come back to when I try to finish the song. I also try and record the initial snippet so I don't forget the melody. I recently wrote the middle 8 of a new song at ten to 2 in the morning after watching Batman on the big screen, singing in the car at the top of my voice at traffic lights using the steering wheel as a drum. Good job no one was watching!
If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?
It would have to be David Crowder, I love his combination of the beautifully crafted poetic language with some of the most creative sounds I have ever heard. Any worship leader that can use the sound of the Manchester United Crowd in the midst of a live worship set deserves huge respect in my opinion.
In your opinion, what makes the perfect worship song?
It has to paint a big picture of who God is. It has to point to God and be about Him and to Him. It has to be about His Glory and Grace and if I am honest it has to be easily playable in G!
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?
I am going to go with an old classic that I used to love as a kid, used to sing it whilst doing the washing up with my Dad but also stands strong today. The song Majesty by Jack Hayford would be my ideal track, but a really long version!
What does the next year hold for Tim Brown?
I have a few songs that I would love to finish and bring to the church, I would love to see Focus of Eternity bless the wider church and see the songs bless people and point them to God.
Find out more at TimBrownMusic.co.uk
