Interview: Planetshakers
As Australia's Planetshakers return with their new live album, LTTM caught up with band member Joth Hunt to get his thoughts on the album, song writing, and the sound of modern worship music. Make sure you check out the LTTM free song stream from the new album!
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Endless Praise' and what the inspiration behind it was?
I’m pumped about this new album. It’s really about what the title track says, Endless Praise. It’s a sound of praise and worship that continues on and on, no matter what we are going through.
Which is your favourite track on the album and why?
My favourite track would have to be Endless Praise. It has such a new and cutting edge sound which I love. But more than that it carries a powerful declaration. It talks about how no matter how you feel, no matter what you are going through, that our praise should always be going up.
When we praise our God, His presence comes in and changes our situation. When we praise God not only for our past victories, but also for our breakthrough yet to come, we give Him full permission to come in and invade our lives and encounter us in a new way.
Free Song Download
Used with permission.
All of our songs at Planetshakers really come out of a revelation of the word spoken from stage by our Senior Pastors Russell and Sam Evans. Whenever they get a ‘now’ word for the house, I want to do the best I can to put that into our praise and worship, so that we continue to declare the word of God over our church. I always want our songs to be infused with the word of God, overflowing with His presence.
If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?
Jon foreman from Switchfoot. What a phenomenal lyricist!
The sound of 'Modern Worship' has really been progressing in the last few years, how do you stay on top of that and find ways to keep making innovative music?
I believe that the newest sound of music should be coming from the church and we should always be paving the way, being the influencers of society. We serve the ultimate creator, and He made us to be creative just like Him. You know it says in the Bible to ‘Sing to Him a new song...’ (Psalm 33:3), so we always want to be creating new music, new sounds, and having fresh revelation to bring glory to His name.
How would you define success in your career as a band?What I love about our team is that what you see us doing on stage around the world, isn’t the end of what we do. The same people you see on stage and on the DVD’s is the same team that’s back home in our local church, serving the house from being on the ushering team to the media team, to serving in our youth group and our kids church, to leading small groups and serving on stage. I think the success of what we do is defined by the heart in which we serve. We don’t want to walk into a venue like rockstars, but with a humble heart of worship, ready to serve the house that we’re in. It’s our greatest prayer that when people come to a Planetshakers night, that they walk out not remembering our faces, but remembering their encounter with their Heavenly Father.
In your opinion, what makes the perfect worship song?
I believe a great worship song is one that focuses you towards God. You don’t want to be stuck looking at your own circumstances asking ‘why God why’, but you want to be pointed to the one who can take every burden away. As long as the song speaks the word of God, and is saturated with His anointing, then I think that’s really what you need to make a great worship song.
What advice would you give to any aspiring bands, worship leaders or songwriters out there?
On a practical level, I would say be practicing, always pushing yourself to the next level in the gifts God has given you. It says in the word to ‘play skillfully...’ (Psalm 33:3) so we want to always make sure we are stewarding the tools that God has given us. But the most important thing is to have a pure servant heart. Be spending time with God in His presence, just you and Him. What you do on stage should be an overflow of what God is doing in your life in private. It’s out of those moments where God will give you the keys for what He wants to do on Sunday during praise and worship. It’s in those moments that he will give you the right bridge for that song you’ve been working on. It’s those moments with your Father that will take you to the next level in what you are called to do.
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?
Nothing is impossible (If faith can move mountains, can it move islands as well?)
What does the next year hold for Planetshakers?
I truly believe the best is yet to come for our church this year. It’s now ten years since our Planetshakers Church was planted in Melbourne Australia, and there is something very significant taking place to set up for the next ten years. We have Planetshakers Awakenings happening all over the world, new albums coming out including our Spanish Album that’s out later this year. Pastor Russell’s new book called The Honour Key is also coming very soon. We have new church campus’s, more people joining the team back home, and souls being saved every day. Pastor Russell has spoken out some incredible declarations over our church this year, calling it a year of Untold Favour. I know God is going to do new and incredible things, and I’m ready to step into a great year.
Find out more at Planetshakers.com
