John Cheek met up with Cheshire-based singer, songwriter and worship leader TRACE TAYLOR
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Trace: Music was always a constant; it wasn't going away. My desire for songwriting increased. I found myself with friends who played instruments. I got involved with a little band at University. That was when I started to sing boldly and learnt the guitar. My housemate had two guitars and was always playing! For years after that, I had this desire that wouldn't go away. In 2005 God said, "Worship first - then anything else comes out of that." So I put worship first and then music and outreach came from that. More recently, God's confirmed to me that I'm a Levitical Priest; this is in the DNA of whom he's created me to be.
John: By now, you'd also had some involvement at Cross Rhythms?
Trace: I went to University in Cheltenham and one day, in my bedsit, I found myself saying to the Lord, "You know the sort of thing I'd like to do in the future." A few days later a Cross Rhythms radio leaflet came through my letter-box. There were a lot of people going to the Greenbelt Festival, staying on-campus at the time. It was saying, 'Do you want to get on-board with us?' Yes, I wanted to get on-board! I looked up and there appeared to be a smile in the ceiling. I moved to Stoke and joined Cross Rhythms, working with Mike Farrington on his lunchtime show. I still keep my broadcasting hand in today. I present a show on Stoke-on-Trent's charity radio station Access Radio.
John: Tell me about your involvement with dance culture.
Trace: For a long time I've felt that God wants me to nurture his Body. With that, he's taken me across the country to lead worship, across the denominations. In recent years the Holy Spirit has led me into an "expansion", into a "Holy darkness". It feels like a fine line at times; it feels scary. It feels exciting. Involving people who are far out into the darkness, whom he wants to call into his wonderful Light. The Spirit is leading me to those on the edge. He's going before me. A track on 'The Yeshua Tree', "L-L-Love" is based on 1 Corinthians 13 and I'd love to see clubbers dancing to that! I had a friend working on a remix from my 2015 album 'It Is Finished' and my friend remixed "L-L-Love" as a dance/Ibiza/club version. At the same time I had a devotional going on, "Speech Of The Silent Heavens", all about the visible and invisible and how they're intimately entwined. People come up to me and say, "I don't know how you can believe in something you can't see." When, in fact, they believe in things they can't see. Things with an invisible Creator behind them. So then "Speech Of The Silent Heavens" says that the stars are silent - yet they are shouting loudly. Silently, but incredibly loud. Amazing! Open your eyes to creation talking of the glory of God!
John: "The Flight" and other tracks of yours seem similarly inspired.
Trace: A lot of songs I write come out of spiritual experiences I have. I was watching some religious TV and Wendy Alec prayed. It was the way she said, "Jesus, I thank you that you have made a way to the Father." The way she said it "hit" me - and I looked up. Jesus, in the Spirit, stood in front of me. He had his crown and his robe on. His arms were out and he was looking downwards, at me. He put his right arm out and rested his head on it. I did the same action and I could see a door. The door to the Throne Room. Light was coming out of the door and Father was in there. I knew, "Trace - you have access." I had my homecoming.
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
If anybody would like to book Trace Taylor for an event please visit www.ministryofmusic.co.uk