Former newsboys lead singer Peter Furler is returning to music after a break since departing from the band in 2009.

Refreshed from his time off, Furler is back with his first solo album, On Fire, which releases on Sparrow Records on June 21.

The last two years have been about getting back to basics for Furler. He led newsboys, the band he founded, through its transition to the current lineup and stepped away from touring, sold much of what he owned - cars, home and even his shares in Inpop Records, the label he co-founded in 1999 and which launched the careers of Christian music notables Newworldson, Mat Kearney and Shane&Shane.

He also moved to the Gulf of Florida and took time to reflect, express himself through visual art, surf and play music just for pure enjoyment.

“I didn’t have a clue what I was doing next,” Furler reflects. “I’d been doing 100-plus shows a year, writing, then finishing a record for more than a decade. It was good, but it was a merry-go-round that was never going to stop.

“Artistically and creatively, I began to see that God didn’t make the horse to win at the races, but for his pleasure – to watch it run.

“I had a definite yearning to get back to nature, to express myself creatively, to do something just for the joy of it.”

Although initially not planning to release any of the new music created during this time, the result of this redefining period led to the most joyful and uplifting music of Furler’s career.

“The songs never really stopped. They kept coming,” Furler says. “I’d take a long walk, and a song would come into my head … There is a fire shut up in my bones that I have not been able to hold in since I was a child. For me, I find its release through melody and testimony.”

The break hasn't only recharged Furler's batteries, it's also given him a new sense of confidence, which can be detected in his first single release from the album, "Reach".

For him the song is personal and he wants it to be that way for listeners too.

“We all need to be reminded that God is personal.

"The One who created the heaven, the One who is everywhere and all knowing yearns deeply for us ... He cares for us individually, where we are.”

Writing, producing, recording and singing such international classics as “He Reigns”, “Shine”, “Something Beautiful” and “It is You”, Furler is one of Australia’s biggest exports of any musical genre.

He has performed in front of the Pope, 15,000 Muslims in Morocco, and at a 9/11 service for US military leaders at the Pentagon.

Keep up with his journey at peterfurler.com and www.facebook.com/peterfurlerofficial