SPRING 2010

Sunshine suggesting a slight warmth on the cheek is most welcome after a cold winter. We find ourselves in a new season literally and metaphorically, and in a brand new decade.

Things are moving, they have always been I suppose, but now noticeably and it's forwards! The vision for Nth Degree has been around now for seven years, and we have gone through times of fizzing activity and times of placid casualty. One thing is for sure, the best is yet to come.

For some, the lines between what makes up the Nth Degree and Risen Records communities have been very blurred, and that has been true for me as much as anybody! Recently I have had the honour of officially joining the Risen Records board of Directors. You may think that this would make the whole blurring issue worse, but actually, I am finding the other chaps (who have always been 100% committed to the Nth vision) are helping define the lines.

So, for all to see, here is how the two entities sort of work themselves out...

NTH DEGREE is a forum for unity and cooperation for Christians involved in music that seeks to build the kingdom of God. The main thrusts of service are in communicating what people are up to, providing focal points for community and seeking to resource and release artists in their ministry, no matter of their status or stage of their journey.

RISEN RECORDS is a nonprofit record label that aims to support Christian musicians of all genres who both encourages and challenges the Church, and impacts culture. It is a missional, focussed collective of artists that work together to to know God and make him known through artistic and corporate integrity and creative excellence.

Yes, there are a lot of cross-overs here. Many folk involved in Nth also work with Risen. There are certain differences that must be pointed out though. Nth Degree is open to artists from all backgrounds, independent or signed, church-based or mainstream focussed, veterans or just starting out; if music and kingdom are the passions of their heart, then Nth is for them. Risen is holding the tension between being a community and being a limited company. This means that the projects it takes on have a much more detailed and focussed agenda. It is the outworking of the vision for kingdom music as opposed to the envisioning and equipping that Nth is for. Risen is ultimately about releasing records, whereas Nth is ultimately about blessing and equipping artists.

I hope that makes sense! The two entities do work closely together, but they are not the same thing. I am grateful to the team at Risen for their insight and wisdom in helping define the visions.

Ultimately both believe in this; that music is a hugely powerful tool for building the kingdom of God. That is to know Him and make Him known, to walk his way in life and to minister the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. That is what Nth Degree is about and we hope that you will be encouraged and equipped to live out the musical calling on your life through your interaction with the Nth Degree community.

We are working on some exciting things, so keep your eyes on this site. Much love to you all,

Dave

NEWS

• Nth Fest returns with a very special emergency show at Elim Church in Yeovil on March 14th. BOSH, brother john, Brought into Being, Tom Whitman, Haydon Spenceley and Four in the Fire will play. £5 entry, 6.30pm onwards.
• brother john are finishing off the mix process for their debut album Waiting on the Walls. The album is produced by S2 Reid who also produced [dweeb]'s debut.
• Grant Howard is leaving BOSH after six years in the band. The keyboardist has also worked with Tom Whitman, brother john, John Prockter and various worship projects over the years. God is calling him on to very exciting new things and we wish him all the best.
• Three members of The Repercussion, who disbanded last summer, have formed a new band Veetacore and have been recording a debut EP with producer David Evans (Paul Oakley, BOSH, The Plymouths) at Paul Burton's G2 studios.
• Tom Whitman is to go back into the studio with his band to record a new album, the follow up to The Breaking In Of Light. Plans are being made for early summer.
• [dweeb] are finishing off their second album Feels Like Dynamite which will be released by Fierce! in May. The band are conducting an epic European tour taking in many festivals throughout rest of 2010.
• Yeovil's Brought into Being are making plans to record their debut studio release this summer.
• BOSH are chipping away at their next album with producer David Evans. Six tracks have been started. They look to release it next year.
• The Austin Francis Connection are very near completing their new album too. Edi and his friends are currently finishing the mix process.