Louder Than The Music

US pop/rock band Bellarive release their second album 'Before There Was' this month. Ahead of their visit to the UK to perform at the summer festivals, LTTM caught up with the band to find out a little more about them, and their creative style of music.

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 discovered my love for music in High school. At 15 years old, I picked up my first electric guitar and for about 4 years straight I don't think I ever put it down. I remember sitting in my room for 5 or 6 hours at a time wrapping my head around this treasure I had found. The sound, the energy, It was inspiring to me. I had no idea what I was doing, but it all felt right. My mom would feed me waffles and pop tars through the small crack between the bottom of my door and the floor. I never stopped.

I met the rest of the gang in college. We all began serving at a church in Florida and were particularly invested in the youth and college ministries. Those were very special days for us. God was moving in some incredible ways and we just starting writing songs about it all. As the Lord continued to weave our hearts together, we began to lean into this with much more intentionality. I think that's when we realized we were a band.

Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Before There Was' and what the inspiration behind it was?

Almost all of the inspiration for the record 'Before There Was' comes from the teachings and revelations unpacked in the book of Ephesians. In these scriptures, Paul paints the picture of God’s love and grace with such an eternal scope that it’s almost paralyzing. It leaves you stunned with the most breathtaking sense of Gods supremacy and His purpose for creation. Ephesians says that even before the foundations of the earth, God had us in mind and set out to make us a part of his family through Christ. It’s overwhelming to think that God desires union with His creation and even before time itself, He set out the make it possible. He would go to such great lengths to set us free. It was his plan from the very start.

The songs on this record are a response to this eternal covenant. It is important for us to lift our gaze. We must remember that the truth of who we are in Christ will endure long past our temporary circumstance. It’s more real than the skin on our bones. When we remember the cross, we actually start to walk in the saving grace of God. We begin to claim the power of the blood over our lives. We sing to claim the power of the blood. It helps us to remember.

"He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in Him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth." Ephesians 1:10.

Which is your favourite track on the album and why?

Calling On Fire. This song is about relinquishing control; about remembering ones position towards God. It’s a desperate cry for God to consume us and burn away all that is not of Him. It reminds us how much we need Him. Those are words you can never sing enough. It’s good for the soul.

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

Well, Bellarive actually has no formal definition. Honestly, we made up the word. Our hope is that it will take on a living and breathing definition for you in a personal way as the Lord moves and speaks to you through this ministry.

What's your song writing process?

Worshiping God through song in one of the most sacred and integral parts of my relationship with Him. For me, songs are prayers. These prayers help me process, and they help me hear God more clearly. Whether I am pondering some new revelation about God or sorting though a personal trial, I let the process happen. Most of the time, in the midst of all that, a song rises to the surface. I feel like songs, particular worship songs, are gifts from God. They are filled with truth and that makes them eternal. In a sense, they are too sacred for man to have much of a hand it their origin. Its not about trying to write a new worship song as much as it is about being available for God to help you hear what your soul is already singing.

How would you describe your style of music and what are your influences?

Our hope is that people would see and embrace the idea that we are a worship band. We write songs based on how we are experiencing God in the midst of our lives.

Our songs have a few things in common. They are personal, they are full of commitment and passion, and they are meant to be sung directly to God. Sonically, we cover a fairly large landscape but we find that to very important. That’s how life is right? It comes at us from all different directions. I think the goal is to find a way to worship God through every circumstance. We would love to play a small role in helping people do that.

I think we are inspired most by the complimentary nature of a song. For us, a song is comprised of an extremely important sonic piece and an extremely important lyrical piece. Both carry equal weight and heavily affect each other. They are inseparable. So, we do our best to try and find the perfect synergy of those two elements