Lindz West, frontman of EDM faith group LZ7, has spent years ministering to young people and sharing the Gospel in schools. He is ready to release a recent album that guarantees to be a soundtrack for all times’s challenges and a source of encouragement for listeners.
Christian Today spoke with Lindz to listen to more a few recent album within the works, his thoughts on the evolution of gospel music during the last twenty years, and the way his music is impacting young people.
You have a recent album coming out soon. What is the inspiration behind it?
We went with a rather harder sound this time because I think the Gospel will not be a joke. When we do our faculty tours and festivals we preach the Gospel to young people, they need something to remove in order that they too generally is a a part of the change. The album touches on creation, knowing who you might be, whose you might be, identity, anxiety and where you sit with Jesus. We also usher in our own stories, our own testimonies, and our own journey of religion.
What do you hope people will gain out of your recent music?
Music is a tool that may take people on a journey, like a navigation system that leads them to Jesus. For someone who’s a Christian, I hope it inspires them and it gives their faith legs. I hope that folks who are usually not Christians hear it and are impacted by it. I would really like it to play on mainstream radio stations. That is where we have to be, because Jesus says ‘you might be the sunshine of the world.’ My hope is that it really stretches far and wide and it goes into the darkest places and shines a lightweight.
You have worked in music for the last twenty years. What significant changes have you ever seen within the gospel music scene during this time?
It is hard because gospel music is so broad, but watching the journey Christian music has taken has been incredible to see. People like Brandon Lake, Martin Smith and Phil Wickham winning Spotify number one for streamed song across all genres is incredible. For a Christian band to get such rankings was unheard of 10 to fifteen years ago.
I believe our music sits on a wonderful line between mainstream music and Christian music. Our last single was remixed by Charlie Hedges on Radio 1 and consequently, I believe that after we go into secondary schools young people acknowledge us. It reduces that feeling of reluctance to interact with the message we bring. We confer with the young people about mental health, suicide, bullying and racism, and the music creates a platform to talk into it. I believe that’s barely different to the world of worship and gospel music in that we’re using music as an evangelistic tool to enable us to talk to tens of millions of young people.
You have performed for Prince Harry and Pope Francis. What were those experiences like?
Pope Francis was doing a tour around Europe and he was booking arenas in every football stadium. Young people from the stadiums were going out onto the streets, inviting people in who won’t have heard of Jesus. We would play a set and I might preach the Gospel in the course of it. We saw seven to eight thousand people on this arena and so they were moved by it and it was incredible – music has got this beautiful way of crossing all language barriers.
Two days later I attended the Wellchild Awards on the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London and Prince Harry was there. We performed our single called ‘Heart Unchained’ with the London Community Gospel choir, which is a song about living free against adversity. Harry enjoyed it, he was clapping his hands and smiling, it was a extremely good time. The WellChild Awards celebrates young people who have overcome adversity of their lives so it was an actual privilege to be a part of it.
You run the Illuminate Schools tour to interact young people. Tell us more about that and what reception you receive once you go into schools with the Gospel.
We speak to secondary school students from ages 11 to 18 on issues that could be affecting them, like mental health and bullying. We visit five schools over five days and on the Friday night we’ll book a venue and invite all of them to a gig and share our faith. We recently visited Peterborough and did 4 days in a college, and 7 to eight hundred young people turned up. There was even a parents area so that folks could are available in without spending a dime. We preached the Gospel and the entire place responded. We also work with Youth Alpha and begin a Youth Alpha session the next Friday and invited all of them to hitch. It was great.
You are a worship artist yourself but which worship artists do you take heed to?
I take heed to a variety of Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham and Maverick City. I prefer to take heed to up tempo praise music, and hearing it in church is incredible because it sets you up for the week. Then there are the pensive, reflective songs and I believe these enable you to feel the Holy Spirit. I believe anything that moves you and your spirit is price listening to.
Lindz’s upcoming single ‘The Send’ is ready to be released on March twenty first . The Send Tour will launch in Glasgow on March twenty ninth. For more information visit https://www.lz7.co.uk
