Interview: Owl City's Adam Young and His God-Inspired Music
Owl City's Adam Young recently spoke with The Christian Post about what it means to be in the secular world of music as an artist and how his God-given songs has literally saved a girl from committing suicide.
Although his music is not labeled as Christian, his second studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, now available in stores, includes a Christian-themed song, "Galaxies," that sends a message to people that "even amid tragedy, victory can be achieved through Christ and through Him alone," shared the Minnesota native.
The following are excerpts from the interview.
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CP: When you first began, no one really knew you were a Christian. Since you began speaking about your faith people probably thought of you as a Christian guy writing great songs, of course, without having to put a Christian label on your music. Do you feel like the Christian audience expects more God-themed songs now?
Young: I honestly just try to stay out of it! My prayer is just that God give me the songs He wants me to sing and that they will be extremely "usable" by whatever capacity He chooses to use them. I feel like anything beyond that is almost none of my business!
CP: Since your success, have you encountered things going against your faith?
Young: Not really, to be honest; at least nothing that's come at me from the "industry" side of the tracks. I try to surround myself with great people and I think that's ultimately what keeps the temptations at bay while I'm out on the road.
CP: Do you have any stories to share of people telling you how much your music inspired them?
Young: One girl told me she was at the end of her rope and had a handful of oxycotton pills, ready to end her life ... and then my song started playing over the radio and it made her stop and think. She thanked me for saving her life and that meant more to me than you can imagine!
CP: You made your own version of "In Christ Alone," should we expect a few more songs?
Young: Maybe!
CP: I assume that "In Christ Alone" is special to you. Are there any other Christian songs or Christian artists that you follow and are inspired by?
Young: I'm very much inspired by the music of Mark Schultz and Nichole Nordeman.
CP: A few musicians and Hollywood actors abandon their faith for various reasons, the concern is not just for musicians or actors but kids leaving home and abandoning their faith after. What advice do you have to parents or to teens to prevent it from happening?
Young: Stay in the Word. The moment you start letting go of that, you're on the road to compromise. Stay grounded, remain pure, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
CP: What were you thinking of while working on this album All Things Bright and Beautiful?
Young: Generally, anything my imagination latched onto, I just started writing about. Thematically, however, the new album is very much centered around a very organic, natural, "forest" inspiration, very much fueled by my dislike of big cities and my appreciation for the pure, unspoiled innocence of the deep countryside.
CP: Is there a story behind the idea for the alum?
Young: Not particularly; the album is merely a collection of songs that portrays who I am as an artist in the present moment. I wrote the record as if it were my first and last piece of art ever to complete and I made sure I was writing from the heart, not for iTunes or Billboard or whatever else is trendy. It had to be very genuine and heartfelt.
CP: Can you tell us a little more about "Galaxies?"
Young: The song is a vivid portrayal to the idea that even amidst tragedy, victory can be achieved through Christ and through Him alone. The song is loosely based around the space shuttle Challenger disaster that occurred in 1986 and what I might've thought or felt if I were the flight commander on that ship, suddenly taken from reality into eternity in a split second.
CP: Is there anything you would like to share with the Christian audience specifically?
Young: My prayer is that the music of Owl City serves as a bright light in a very dark place, a ray of hope in this haunted house of a world. I want the Lord Jesus to use my music to do WHATEVER it is He wills.
On the Web: Owl City Music
