|PIC1|CT: Where did the name 29th Chapter come from?

29th Ch: In the book of Acts there are 28 chapters and it is the continuation of that book.

CT: Your new album is called Louder. Tell me about the album. Why did you keep it to only seven tracks?

29th Ch: It’s actually an EP. One of the things with a CD is that we want the price to be acceptable. Also we are looking to release more frequently rather than work for a long time on an album and have it sitting there for a long time.

The message of the album is responsive to the things that we see in our lives, personal struggles and personal joys. We wanted to be an open book for people to be relevant in all walks of life, a message of hope and a message of looking at life positively.

CT: The title Louder, is it about mission?

29th Ch: Yes, it’s about mission, about hope, about having a purpose in life looking beyond yourself into to a deeper meaning to life. Personally it reflects our personal faith in God, in Jesus and what we believe He has to offer the world.

CT: You've worked with many different artists, like Tim Hughes, Jahaziel and Sammy G. What was it like working with them?

29th Ch: Yes, they are friends of mine, we have been out together and we keep in contact, we love what they do. We believe in their vision and what they are trying to achieve. It was very natural for us to work together in the sense that we are united. We have a lot of common goals and ideas.

CT: You guys must be busy.

29th Ch: At the moment we are focusing on a couple of things. We just had our album launch on 19 December and in the new year we are releasing a new single into the mainstream charts called Invincible. This is our first step into the mainstream. We want to be louder instead of the inner walls of the church. We also have a video which is coming soon.

CT: With all the youth crime happening, how do you turn young people to Christ?

29th Ch: We take it one step at a time, we get a lot of openings to be in schools and youth events, prisons. We take every step as we can and share our stories and how our lives have been changed by the Gospel and that’s all we can do a step at a time.

There is a lot of mess going on but it’s amazing how one person can affect a whole community and you never know how your effect is going to be, the next Billy Graham. We just take every step that we can so that the people who are in our sphere of influence, the young people that listen to our music , that they are affected by what we say and the power that’s in our message and hopefully the greater the doors that are opened, the greater the world will be impacted.

CT: Going back to single going to be released next year, how are you going to approach the mainstream market?

|PIC1|29th Ch: Our approach is to be just who we are and find the right people and the right relationships, the point is to get the right kind of music as well. The balance of message and relevance is always a difficult road for all Christians.

There is a lot of stuff that is said in church and a person walking down the street is not going to understand the language. It’s just a different culture.

There is a lot that we have to offer the world and we cannot save anybody, only the spirit of God who draw people unto Himself. We are only messengers and part of that is the lyrics, what you say. But a huge part of that is how you present yourself and how you live your life.

I think for us entering the arena it’s important for us for what we are modelling is not people that stand on soap boxes and preach a message that people heard a million times and are sick of hearing.

It’s that we model a lifestyle and a way of living that goes against the grains of this kind of celebrity culture to where nothing is private and everything is a publicity stunt.
I don’t think that one of us has a desire to be famous, but we have a desire that you can live life in a lens of hope and not a lens of despair and that’s our mission.

Everywhere we go that’s what we want to do and what we want to achieve whether we are in a church, youth club and secular club. As we approach the secular really, we don’t want anything to change, it's that that the circle and groups that we are mixing with will change and that's why it’s so important to maintain that level where we are walking with God.

Getting into charts, it’s down to how many people are buying the single, it’s not a difficult issue, and we are trying to rally the support as much as people. We have a website 29th chapter.com, also a Facebook page and we need people to get behind us.

CT: So how hard is it being a Christian as a person?

29th Ch: It’s a difficult way to live for anybody whether you are a banker or a hip pop artist, or a worship leader I think anyone can relate to that and non-Christians also. Because believing in any other thing that is greater than yourself is difficult.

The most important thing is to maintain humility and to remain humble and you can remain in a position that it’s not about you but it’s about a much bigger vision at work than you yourselves. In that sense you cannot go wrong.

Being a Christian in this world is very difficult, our moral standards, our ideals and the way that we treat people goes against the grain on every level on our life. So it’s tough for anybody, if you are in full time ministry or artist, people think that life becomes a lot easier but it’s just that the struggles are there and the same for everybody and maintain that level of faith is really hard and for us it’s important that we remain transparent so it’s good being in a group, not just with colleagues and friends, but we have a family, we challenge and disciple one another when it needs to be, so just look out for each other and help each other.

CT: Have you been affected by the recession at all?

29th Ch: Yes. A lot of people are struggling and I guess it links into the last question. We have had a very difficult time and had a lot of struggles and to maintain that commitment and faith. But we believe that we are living for someone who is much greater than we are and holds all these things in his hands, but if it wasn’t for God then I would have been very difficult and wouldn’t know what to do but God knows. We can fully stand and having faith in God, it’s true and the one thing we can all stand on. With faith in God we will always stay strong.

CT: What are your future plans for 2010?

29th Ch: We are talking about doing a tour taking Louder on the road and see where it takes us, because we have a lot of plans and thoughts but it’s not always based on what God is planning and what God is doing. We are open to seeing what happens and how the single will go, and just trying to get things out more regularly. We have lots of ideas floating around.

The new EP Louder is out from www.kingsway.co.uk