Worship pastor at Nottingham Trent Vineyard NIGEL BRIGGS spoke to Sarah Yates.

Sarah: The band on the album generally plays each week in Church, How do you generally select musicians for the church group and for the CD?

Nigel: It's difficult doing a Church CD. About 2 yrs ago I felt it was time for the musicians in Church to split into bands. This was tough and I had refrained from doing it for some time because one of the main things I want in the worship team is unity with all involved. This is obviously harder to achieve if we are split into separate bands. We now have 5 bands that play in church; we have a morning and an evening service. I originally selected the bands with a view to achieving a balance between experienced and less experienced musicians in each group. The band you will hear on the album were simply grouped together in this process. We connected really well straight away and all had an inclination to practice hard, and to try and follow God in it all. Currently it seems that the songs we are writing are the ones being used in Church. It just seems that God is using this group of musicians at this time.

Sarah: In terms of musical style and influences, how would you best describe the music from 'Hold On.' Would you say it directly reflects your personal tastes and influences, or is it more a culmination of the whole group's?

Nigel: Looking back 18 months when I felt that God was laying down the vision for us to potentially record this album I had a strong feeling that he was telling us to develop our own identity. I love what other people are doing, such as the Soul Survivor and the Burn Service guys (St Albans Vineyard), and I love some of the stuff coming from the USA, but I wanted a CD that people would recognise came from us. I wanted it to have a 'Trent Vineyard' sound.

Other influences on our style have come from secular bands such as Coldplay, Feeder, Athlete, Radiohead and Doves.

Sarah: What was the motivation behind the album in general, why / how did it come about?

Nigel: I really felt that I didn't want to do just another 'Christian CD.' As a naturally quiet person, the easiest option for me would have been not to do it at all. It had to be about God's vision and timing and not my own. He had to shout to get me to do it and I'm completely sure it's his album - that's my motivation. God is stretching us!

Sarah: What is your main aim for the album, what do you hope it will achieve?

Nigel: Without meaning it to be a cliché - I really want this album to bless people. We've been doing the songs in Church for a while and many people keep asking me where they can get the songs on CD. It will be fantastic for them to have an album they can own and listen to. Once again, it's important that we have a real UK sound of our own. Trevor (The producer) keeps telling me off for singing with an American accent! I come from Nottingham and I really want that to come across on the album. We're Nottingham Trent Vineyard Church and we aren't trying to be anything different.

Sarah: The Vineyard Music slogan is From the Church, For the Church. How is this reflected in the songs on the album?

Nigel: It is important to me that the songs we use are from the Church. There are a couple that are new, but the majority are already used in the Church for worship. The band are from the church and the songs come from the heart of the church. They come from the Church and are going back to it.

Sarah: What is the parallel between what is happening in the church and the messages behind the song lyrics?

Nigel: The songs have been written over a 2 yr period and through that time the church has been going through a building project. We actually moved into new offices on Monday! The slogan we adopted throughout the move was 'Our hand in his.' This slogan has really stuck with me. Our pastor John Wright has been preaching on it and we've wanted to go where God is leading us. The album title and song 'Hold On' expresses this desire clearly. Quite a lot of the songs follow this theme in some way.

Sarah: What does making songs 'accessible' mean, why is this important to you?

Nigel: What is accessible for some people isn't accessible for others. It is the responsibility of the worship leader in a church to try and interpret what is appropriate to their specific congregation. When I took over the worship at Trent, John and I (who are both 'rockers' at heart!) made the decision that the worship should be up-tempo and fairly contemporary in style. We realised that this is what the Church wanted. However, elsewhere, a different musical style may be appropriate. If a song is good it will withstand various arrangements, from acoustic guitar to a full-on arrangement. There are a lot of great songs out there, which in essence are very easy and simple and yet the arrangement can bring a distinctive life to that song. As a worship leader, it is really important for me to be able to say that ' I really like this song acoustically.' In terms of song writing it's about keeping something simple without it being simplistic. This recording is not done with the intention that the sound should be replicated in churches across the world. When we record we seek to be as creative as possible, whilst we have the opportunity to do so - God loves our creativity. However, in the Vineyard we do not seek to replicate songs from a recording, but to interpret them in a way that is appropriate to a given situation. This depends on resources, musical ability and the needs of the congregation; it is this process that helps to make the song accessible.