Today’s post is a featured interview with Ben Cantelon, worship leader & recording artist from Soul Survivor in England.
I’m giving away 5 copies of his new album, “Everything In Color” on the blog today. At the end of the post, I’ll tell you how you can win a copy.
The Interview
David: You’ve recently just released your new album, “Everything in Color“. What are you most excited about this project?
Ben: I think I am most excited by the songs. The reason I can say that is because most of them I co-wrote with other people (Jason Ingram, Mia Fieldes, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Nick Herbert, Stu G) who brought a lot to each song.
Being able to write songs with friends is a gift. When you’re writing songs for the church it’s important to include others in the process and not be so protective of a song or an idea. I believe God honors those who hold things lightly and freely and we should be that way with our songs.
David: Tell us a little about your creative process when it comes to songwriting. Do lyrics or music come first? How often are you writing songs?
Ben: It varies. For me most songs will start with a melody. Then I’ll craft and build the idea lyrically. Sometimes, I’ll see a phrase or a title that grabs my attention and I’ll start with the lyric and try and find a melody to fit that phase.
Other times I’ll be talking with a friend about what God is doing in church or what He has been saying to us and out of that a song will come. I think it’s good to challenge ourselves as writers and try to write in different ways.
If you’re a melody person, try starting with the lyrics. If you’re a lyrical person, try starting with a melody. To be honest, whichever one is not your strength should be the one you focus on more to develop your craft.
David: What practical tools assist you as a songwriter?
Ben:
- iPhone Voice Memo – I have so many ideas on there (hope I never lose it).
- Evernote for iPad – Great for writing lyrics.
- Logic Pro or Garage Band – When a song is done I’ll usually do a rough demo.
David: Who are your biggest influences as an artist?
Ben: I grew up in a Christian home. My dad is a pastor so I basically was born and raised in the church – My first concert was DC Talk and Michael W Smith on the ‘Change Your World’ tour which got me hooked on music.
In my teenage years I was deeply impacted by what was happening in the UK – Delirious, Matt Redman, and Soul Survivor all had a huge impact on my life. That was when I knew I was called to be involved in worship and at that time I was just the keys player in a worship band. It was 7 years ago when called me to actually start leading worship.
Currently I am loving Bon Iver, Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, and Passion (White Flag).
David: Most people credit Tim Hughes as the author of Happy Day, but I’m sure you were the mastermind behind that stroke of genius 😉 Am I correct?
Ben: Hah! You are too kind! Well…Tim did originally come with the idea, writing the verse and chorus. I brought the bridge section to the song…the most important part (kidding!).
David: What’s new on the horizon for Worship Central?
Ben: We have quite a lot on the go. We just released a free 7 week resource called the Worship Central Course and it’s on our website. The idea behind the course is for worship leaders/pastors to take this material and to teach their teams all about the fundamental’s of worship.
It covers everything from spiritual aspects of leading worship to the practical elements of band dynamics. We released the course in November 2011 and already over 700 worship teams have done the course from around the world!
Wee are also excited about working on a new live album. We are currently writing and we will be recording in October, which is very exciting!
David: What’s your single greatest piece of advice for worship leaders today?
Ben: Be yourself, Be who God made you to be and NEVER give up!!
Winners
- @aldisal
- Albert
- Chad
- Rachel
- Andrew
Question: Why would you like a copy of Ben Cantelon’s new album? You can leave an incredible comment by clicking here.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday”]
Ooh how exciting! Ben is a pretty cool dude, even if he does sound British when he sings…. But anyways, I feel inspired To go and write some more songs!! So, David, shall we collaborate? BLESS!
Thanks for the blog. It is interesting to see that the tools mentioned (Evernote for iPad and voice memo for iPhone) are tools are I use everyday. When I get a song idea during worship practice (well I actually recorded some interesting ideas just yesterday at my church in voice memo) my iPhone voice memo or Evernote audio recording comes in handy. I just ought the Songwriter’s pad for iPad last night and will be checking it out. Is have found that it is easy to write when the melody comes first…..
Songwriter’s pad? How does that work?
Wow! I have never heard of this guy, but he sounds cool. Knowing that he had a part in writing happy day is awesomesauce! I would love to win a CD!
Brilliant post. And personally I love the bridge to happy day, esp as a drummer. Cheers
I love Ben Cantelon! First heard “Saviour of the World” a while back and loved it. It’s always nice hearing from songwriters about how they work their craft. I would really enjoy having a CD from Ben!
After this post it seems like you should give away an iPad to assist aspiring worship song writers with their craft. But a CD would be nice too.
Thanks for the interview. Always good to hear about someone else’s process.
iPad giveaway. Now wouldn’t that be something 🙂 Let’d do it!
Ok, so this is the best album cover I’ve seen on a worship album in a really long time! It seems in our modern post-CD/iTunes age album art is losing its significance, but this is awesome. I would LOVE to see the inside! 🙂
Very nice post!!! It is always good to see what another worship leader has to say. I also really love the advice he gives! Thanks so much Dave for the post!!! Keep them coming!!!!
I’m your usual 9-to-5 working guy (an engineer, to be exact), but I also find time to serve as various churches’ worship leader. I think my bigger purpose is to remind and empower people of God’s loving truths through music and songs. I’ve also been trying to carry this sense of purpose into my day job but find it more challenging with the different environment. Would love to own, listen, and integrate Ben’s CD into my life’s soundtrack!
Well David, first of all, kudos to you on selecting a marvelous Canadian worship leader and songwriter to interview. We north of the 49th parallel salute you!
I would love to be in possession of monsieur Cantelon’s new album for a plethora of reasons. I’ll name but a few:
1.) Getting things for free is always better
2.) Ben Cantelon is the cat’s pyjamas
3.) Those are very pretty balloons on the cover
4.) In Canada there is a law stipulating the singing of songs only written by other Canadians so … (that isn’t true)
6.) I’d love to teach our congregation some of his great songs
I could go on and on.
Thanks for your great blog.
Farewell and bienvenue
And, apparently, we’ve excluded using the number “5” … oops
For a second, I thought Canadians didn’t use the number 5 😉
This album is so brilliant!
‘Guardian’ in particular has been such an amazing song in helping me with my A Levels! Whilst revising recently I’ve often felt it all get on top of me, as I get into a panic about not doing well in my exam(s) and therefore not getting the grades to go to uni. Whilst revising, I was listening to the album for the first time and ‘Guardian’ came on just as I felt stressed and frustrated with my work load.
“You go before me, you’re there beside me” are lyrics that just stood out to me straight away and really comforted me! Ever since then, I stick this song on straight away if I’m feeling down or stressed out. It’s a source of worship but also a great reminder that God is always there and already knows what future is.
So I just want to say thank you Ben for letting God use you to write such an amazing song! And thank you God for always being there with me, whether it’s in a small thing like an exam or a much bigger situation – you are always with me!
Because I don’t think I can get it in India any other way! 😉
The two most important things I’m taking from this post:
1. Ben’s comment to “Be yourself, Be who God made you to be and NEVER give up!!” is so important. As much wisdom as I glean from reading books, blogs, twitter updates, etc., it’s important at the end of the day for me to be who I am – uniquely made in God’s image. If I fail to do that, I’ll never be the Christ-follower, worshiper, or worship leader God made me to be.
2. I would be up a creek if I lost my iPhone as well – voice memos is full of song ideas. I’m starting to back them up because of that fear..
Hallelujah, nuff said 😛
I would like to listen to many types of music and grow in the Lord by listening to them.
Also, I can contribute music into younger generation that they will be hungered for God more.