About
Atmospheres is the worship ministry at C3 Church Asheville, a city of over 400,000 people in the stunning blue ridge mountains of western North Carolina. Check out the reviews of the new self titled cd "Atmospheres".
Atmospheres: Review By Deeper Calling Media.
Stylistically speaking, if members of Coldplay were to assemble a side project with members of Angels & Airwaves, and the resulting album were produced by Bono, you'd have something like 'Atmospheres', the first album produced by C3 Asheville - a two-year-old church in the not-so-urban heart of the North Carolina mountains that has grown to over 300 members in just two years.
Atmospheres (the name taken by C3 Asheville's music ministry) has unassumingly obliterated every stereotype conjured by descriptives like 'small church', 'first album', and 'worship music' with songs like 'Across The Earth', an epic and sweeping declaration of faith and vision, evoking majestic visuals with its huge lyrics and even bigger production, and 'Crazy' - an ethereal rocker with the reckless passion and dramatic insistence of an April thunderstorm. The tracks 'Love Is Here' and 'Heaven's Symphony' resonate with an intensity that is immediately immersive and intimate, balancing astonishing songwriting simplicity with compelling and complex arrangements. The project is a master class in texture, displaying an unparalleled depth of artistry in its composition and performance.
The collective of musicians and singers based in C3 Church Asheville have succeeded in accomplishing precisely the objective they set out to achieve, that of creating a worship experience for the fellowship of believers at C3 and then capturing what has been born in worship at a local church level on a cd that allows people in Asheville and all around the world to use this soundtrack in worship where ever they find themselves.
'Atmospheres' - both the band and the album - is unquestionably anointed, inspired and distinctly excellent by every standard of measure. It is an innovative, groundbreaking, an essential statement, unwavering in its insistence that music intended as worship must be expressed with a skill, fervor, and creativity mirroring that of the One it is intended to honor.
Atmospheres: Review by Todd Wright at worship Notes.
The folks in Atmospheres have taken the qualities and textures of recent ambient talents like Sigur Ros, Angels and Airwaves, etc. and used that inspiration to lead them to new musical undertakings. Sure, there are some trappings of "modern worship" (four-on-the-floor, delayed electric guitars, etc.) but they're kicked up a notch. The delay guitar stuff isn't what you expect. The melodies go to more creative places. And this is where C3 bests modern worship offerings from Passion and Hillsong and Desperation. Plain and simple, Steve Deal and team write and record and play with more bravery. They take more chances. And with Atmospheres, the risk pays off big time.
ACCESSIBILITY: As with any worship record, some tunes score better on the can-we-pull-this-off scale. Any church that's used to attempting some of the more epic Hillsong or Passion-style songs will love playing these tunes. My absolute favorite tune, "Crazy," showcases one of Atmospheres lesser known skills of converting the ethereal chorus into a straight-ahead rocker. Everything about this song surprises...arrangement, lyrics and the melody on the bridge section is like hearing somebody smile. Strong. The simple, waltzy "I See The Lord" and the multi-layered "Across the Earth" are a close second and third. The record has a few shorter songs. At least three of the tracks have more simple, straight-out-of-scripture lyrical with longer instrumental backings. In fact, the record opens with a very cool instrumental composition. To pull off Atmosphere songs, you'll need a strong electric guitarist. There ain't much acoustic-worship leading here. You'll need a drummer who can focus more on groove than flash. You'd also need a pretty deep well of synth patches. The keyboard parts aren't all that complex, but they are diverse. Many standard church keyboards may be hard pressed to nail these textures.
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