Paul Zach Releases Debut Solo EP 'God Is The Friend Of Silence'
Worship leader and songwriter Paul Zach releases his debut solo EP, God Is The Friend Of Silence, today (March 23) through The Fuel Music. The five-song EP was recorded live Dec. 2017 at Mason Jar Studio in Brooklyn, NY, and features Liz Vice on backing vocals. Produced Isaac Wardell, founder of The Porter’s Gate and Bifrost Arts, the recording is available now at iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play and more digital outlets internationally.
Zach reconnected with Wardell to record God Is The Friend Of Silence following last fall’s acclaimed The Porter’s Gate debut, Work Songs: The Porter's Gate Worship Project, which was also produced by Wardell. Zach cowrote five songs and was a featured vocalist on three Work Songs tracks, including “In the Fields of the Lord” with Audrey Assad.
“I decided to do the EP after recording with The Porters Gate this past summer and wanted to challenge myself to record an album live with no edits or recording tricks,” says Zach. “It was so much fun in the studio recording these songs live along with an amazing string quartet.”
"The combination of Liz Vice and Paul Zach's soulful vocals with the sophistication of the lyrics and string arrangements make this EP into something more than the sum of its parts,” adds Wardell. “Each of these songs is crafted and performed exquisitely and thoughtfully with the end effect being a simple joy for the listener."
The resulting plaintive, prayerful songs of worship begin with the EP’s title track, which premieres today as the first video from the EP through The Good Christian Music Blog. The song was inspired by the Mother Teresa quote: “We need to find God and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.”
“Prayer has always been difficult for me,” confesses Zach. “I usually feel the absence of God more than His presence. Writing this song was a reminder for me to continue in the discipline even though I find it to be difficult.”
God Is The Friend Of Silence further features “Restore Us Again,” a song Zach says is “asking God to break us from our obsession with the easy and comfortable life,” along with the Martin Luther King inspired “I’ll Never Leave You Alone,” which comes against racial injustice and serves as a reminder that God is with the oppressed and will never leave or forsake them.
The final two tracks on the EP were inspired by the Psalms, both “For God Alone (Psalm 62)” and “East/West (Psalm 103).”
“There are so many great images in the Psalms,” says Zach, “and these songs are my attempt to put those words to music.”
