Best Christian dance music man delivers again: heavy and heavenly, poppy and propulsive. Label: Xplore Records
Time: 5 Tracks / 31 minutes
DJ Andy Hunter continues to straddle genres, as he has done for over a decade. His electronic dance music (EDM) début Exodus was pure trance, but its energy and synth tones still appealed to rock lovers. Moving forward, he gradually embraced more R&B vocal elements as he stepped a little away from album chart territory and closer to the singles charts.
“Rise Up” may not be a complicated idea, but Hunter stuffs it full of those unexpected lines that take you somewhere exciting and raise your expectations of what is going to follow. If he were born 25 years earlier, he could have been a prog keyboardist, but he takes that creativity and channels it into looping riffs that both pack a punch and shimmer with kaleidoscopic tones. Vintage Hunter.
It sounds different from much of his back catalogue in the emphasis he puts in the bottom end. His synths sound much fuller and thicker, filling up the space that Exodus enjoyed.
Similary, “Hold On” is a simple idea, well executed. Despite a title that suggests things are tough, it’s an EDM symphony of fun; real radio fare.
“One Motion” sounds like an unpretentious dance floor mover and it does what it sets out to. It takes little imagination to picture this as he deejays live. Hunter says that it is actually inspired by seeing the Church around the world in its different forms and hoping that it can learn to “move together in one motion.”
As with Life and Colours, there is also a stronger strand of ‘proper’ songs. Beth Bullock adds her vocals to the quietly intense “Spiral,” which could suit radio and clubs equally well. This is a great pairing. Monique Thomas sings on the title track, which she co-wrote after joining Hunter on a “life changing" trip to meet the child that he and his wife sponsor through Compassion. He read at the time from Isaiah 58, which says that if we serve the poor, God will make us glow. The track features a sample of his sponsored child and their friends singing.
He may make the world’s best Christian dance music, but he also rocks and has a gut for radio-friendly songs. Somehow, whatever he tries, he makes it work well. Over time, he has established a distinct set of sounds that still leave you hungry for more. This is just one more superb release in that string – enjoy.
Derek Walker
http://walkerwords.wordpress.com
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