Interview: iEC Band
London-based iEC Band released its new live album 'Break These Chains' earlier this year, featuring contributions from Martin Smith and Muyiwa. LTTM spoke to MOBO nominated Jake Isaac to find out more about the album and the band.
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?
A lot of us on in the team were brought up in the church serving, playing and singing... an absolute privilege! We first came together as a collective in 2009 for our very first live recording in central London where amazingly we had a packed out auditorium of 500 young people and church goers join us to worship to Jesus and be empowered to bring about change right there from Oxford Street! That was how we officially started out as a band... Since then we've literally been on the road being able to lead young people across the country and Europe in worship, an absolute privilege!
How did you come up with the name of the band, and what's the meaning behind it?
So the name came about after really feeling like we needed to worship God, not just to minister to hearts, but we really wanted to see those same hearts be inspired to go and lift other hearts both in and out of the church, bringing about change! Simple as that really.
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Break These Chains' and what the inspiration behind it was?
Break These Chains is our second live album, and recently we have recently felt like the Lord has laid it on our heart to see people set free from stuff like the normality of life and the pressures of life, literally to see people living life in abundance! We believe worship is one of the keys to seeing this happen!
There are some fascinating collaborations on the album - tell us about those!
Definitely agree about the collaborations on this album! They all came about from really authentic relationships and genuine respect for all of them; Muyiwa, Andrea-Louise and Martin Smith. All three have really invested into some of us in the band in some way or another and it was an absolute privilege AND pleasure them standing with us to declare God's Freedom and lift up songs to Jesus!
My Personal Favourite (Jake), probably has to be The Waiting! When I listen back to it, it stirs something in me that suddenly wants to really pray and start seeking Gods face! It's got quite an aggressive feel to it, like something rising. That songs really ministered to me, particularly on my travels when feeling drained!
What's your song writing process?
As a band, our song writing process is REALLY simple. It very much starts from one of us latching onto a prophetic moment during a worship time, recording it into a dictaphone app on our phones, then sharing with each other and seeing if it moves anyone else on the team. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't... that's it really... we try and make sure that anything we capture is as spirit led as possible, songs from a point of worshipping in His Presence!
If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?
If we could work with any writer it would probably have to be William Mcdowell or maybe even The Tribbett. These guys are really people that have phenomenal hearts for the Lord and it really shows in their songs!
In your opinion, what makes the perfect worship song?
Wow, tricky question! I think what makes a GREAT worship song is ANY song that glorifies the person of Jesus and points people to God!
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?
EASY! Bob Marley - Don't worry be happy!
What does the next year hold for you?
It kinda feels like we'll probably be spending a bit more time ministering abroad. We're starting to get quite a few opportunities to share in other nations, which is a PHENOMENAL privilege! Great God, Great times eh?!
Find out more at iequalschange.me
