Interview: Nick Law
Worship co-ordinator Nick Law from Sheffield, England, recently released his new album 'Christus Victor'. Nick's reputation as a skilled songwriter and musician are clearly evident on the album and LTTM chatted with him to find out more about his journey with God.
For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in making music?
My name is Nick Law, I am the worship co-ordinator at St Thomas Crookes in Sheffield. I've been a Christian since 2002. I grew up in, largely, a non-Christian household and my parents bought my brother a keyboard when I was about 8. He never got into it, but I loved playing it so my love of music grew from there. As I grew up, I learned to play various instruments with different bands and started getting into recording (this was when home recording wasn’t the norm).
When I was about 20, I joined a band who introduced me to drugs, which heavily influenced my music. I was so broken and after a while, as the song goes, the drugs didn't work and I hated myself and hated taking them! I was looking for something spiritual and tried all kinds of things such as Astral Plaining, the Occult and read about Near Death Experiences. Before I knew it, I found myself reading the Bible and realised that Jesus was calling me home, so I became a Christian.
What followed was a journey of God bringing down the biggest idol in my life - music! I felt called to be a worship leader and point to the glory of God. It was a long hard struggle, and still is to an extent, but God has done so much sanctifying work in my life. To think that I once had a drug problem and was hung up about a lot of things, and now finding myself married with a child working for a church is a miracle and shows the grace of God!
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Christus Victor' and what the inspiration behind it was?
Christus Victor is a collection of songs that have been in the making since around 2004. A friend of mine - Andy Baker - who produces my music had been suggesting that I recorded a full length album for several years but the timing never seemed to work out. In the end, I set about recording it myself using Logic Pro after my wife said that I just needed to get on with it. Fortunately, it coincided with starting to work for St Tom’s full time, so on my day off I’d put on a pot of coffee, mic up some instruments and hit record. Most of the instruments were played by me, but I wanted to also get some of my musician friends involved from church to bring their creative flare to the album.
The album was inspired by the chapter of a book by Mark Driscoll, Death by Love. I loved the title as it reminded me of Viva La Vida in the way it sounded, and the songs - by and large - are about two things: what Jesus has done through the cross and his blood, and songs from my own journey and testimony with God. It reminds me of Revelation where John writes, “They overcame the beast by the blood of the lamb and the words of their testimony”.
Part of the idea of Christus Victor, which the album cover artist Richie Wells has portrayed really well is that Chris is victorious, not only over the big things like sin, in our lives, but over the small things such as how we should use the internet, run our businesses, take our dog for a walk, etc.
Which is your favourite track on the album and why?
Probably There Will Be A Day. I’d asked Philippa Hanna to duet on the song through Andy Baker but I wasn’t sure whether she’d be available to take part. When I heard the first mix and her vocal kicked in, I felt a shiver run down my spine! It was a magical moment. I love the lyrics, which I crafted with a worship leader called Gareth Robinson. I’ve heard some amazing stories from people across the UK who have been touched by this song! It’s really humbling.
Despite being very much a worship album, you've also said previously that you hope it wouldn’t sound out of place alongside secular albums. Why is that important to you?
Music is so powerful and speaks into people’s lives, whether we are aware of it or not. I was heavily into The Smiths for a while and the impact Morrissey’s lyrics had over me was like fuel on the fire of loneliness and the feeling of being unloved in my life. I still like The Smiths now, but it was quite destructive. Therefore, I’ve always had a passion to write church music that the common-man can get into, regardless of whether he/she believes in Jesus. I have friends who aren’t Christians who listen to my records because they enjoy the music. My prayer is that God speaks truth into their life through it.
I’m reminded of how Charles Wesley took the working pub songs of the day with foul lyrics and changed the words to sing the glories of God. Why should ‘worship’ music be a hybrid of U2 and Coldplay only? I really love artists like Death Cab For Cutie or Richard Hawley - why can't we use music that reaches people through a range of different unique styles? God deserves our best and I’ve always been irritated by Christian worship albums that sound generic and boring, especially lyrically!
What's your song writing process?
Some people ask, 'Do you start with music or lyrics first?' - the answer is YES. Sometimes I'll get a melody and a line and record it into my Blackberry and work a song from there. Sometimes, I’ll get a riff and write a song based around that (O Praise Him is a good example). Once I’ve got a draft, I usually demo it so I can listen to it back objectively and show it to my wife, who often suggests that I need to change bits. After a period of cultivation, I usually come out with a finished song.
If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?
I would love to work with Chris Martin from Coldplay. Who wouldn't?! I think he is brilliant and I could learn a lot from him. If it was a worship songwriter, I’d like to work with a guy called Brian Eichelberger from Mars Hill Church in Seattle - he writes some great worship songs that sound very fresh!
Who are your musical influences?
They vary depending on what I am listening to. I went through a period of listening to Johnny Cash and Richard Hawley and came out with The Prodigal Song, for example. My steadfast diet is Coldplay, Richard Hawley, Death Cab For Cutie, any of the bands from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Sojourn Community Church, Tim Hughes, Delirious and Keane.
What advice would you give to any aspiring worship leaders or songwriters out there?
Do it for the glory of God first and foremost. It's difficult because a song is a very personal thing, especially when you introduce it to a congregation, and it's hard not to be precious about whether God is going to use you or someone else to bring about that song. A prolific leader -" Mike Breen - once said to me, 'God will use you... but not in the way you think'. How true that was.
The second piece of advice is FDM: Focus. Discipline. Momentum. Don't give up!
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your mp3 player. What track is it?
Probably I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie.
What does the next year hold for Nick Law?
Being a Dad to my wonderful daughter, Esther, and loving my wife Claire. Not much else - I don't feel the need to be the next Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, etc, that I once did. If God uses me in that way, great, but if not then He knows the plans He has for me.
Find out more about Nick at www.nick-law.com
