There’s a very well-known stigma against modern gospel/Christian music. All you have to do is watch the South Park episode where the boys start their own Christian rock band, called “Faith + 1.” Their songwriting formula was simple: take classic love songs and replace the word “baby” with “Jesus”: Basically undoing all of Ray Charles’ work. This episode offended many people, but it also illustrated how Christian music has its own cheesiness comparable to the old love ballads. Fighting against these cliches is
Salt of the Sound. Salt of the Sound released a strong demo track, “Free,” which has interesting musical elements and no similarities with the parodied contemporaries.
First of all, this is an electronic song: not something you hear in Christian music often enough. The tone is light, mysterious, and borders on an 80’s synth goth feel. The only part of the song that loses me momentarily is the pre-chorus section (:56 – 1:20). It’s an unnecessary interlude that weakens the song flow. However, it recovers immediately with a very pretty chorus at 1:20. When the song pattern starts over, the addition of some cool ambient drum beats and bells continues to keep you interested.
Overall, this is an interesting song and easily one of the more interesting Christian songs I’ve heard recently. The lyrics are subtle and don’t dominate. Therefore, the content isn’t distracting the average listener from the very well-produced music and talented singer.
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Biography:
Salt Of The Sound is the musical collaboration of husband and wife duo Anita and Ben Tatlow.
Both musicians from a young age, they met studying music at university in 2007, Anita with a background in piano and vocal performance, and Ben having many years of music production and percussion experience. For the past three years, they have served as worship leaders at Hillside Church, Wimbledon, as well as crafting original songs as Salt Of The Sound.
They feel that there is a genuine need for music that encourages spiritual reflection, both in church environments, and in times of personal quiet. “Our lives are increasingly dominated by seemingly urgent pieces of information – often the answer can be found in taking a few minutes away and seeking out the presence of God.” The song, Listen, perfectly encapsulates this vision: Listen, hear that sound / Never wonder how He found you / When all around closes in / He’s listening.
Salt Of The Sound was originally conceived in 2010 and it has taken Anita & Ben a number of years to develop the musical understanding and stylistic language that’s required to appropriately share their message. And having been based in London for the past five years, Anita & Ben will shortly move to Stockholm, Sweden, to focus predominantly on Salt Of The Sound.
“Much of the music in our debut album is a reaction to a hectic yet comfortable London lifestyle, reflecting on our calling as Christians. As we start a new adventure with our location and with the album, we’re excited to see what lies ahead in our own journey.”
Full names: Ben Tatlow, Anita Tatlow
Production name: Salt Of The Sound
Sound Cloud page: http://soundcloud.com/saltofthesound
Twitter account name: @saltofthesound
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/saltofthesound
