Seldom has a rock-orientated praise and worship album made such a musical and spiritual impact as Survivor Records' 'All Around The World' release. Mike Rimmer spoke to the musicians who put the project together.

Thoughts about the project.
I think the thing that made it exciting and quite different was the collaboration between different people. For me it was the first time I'd worked together with guys from EMI in America and I loved working with Jason and Dwayne. It was great because although some of the songs have been used for a while in England, they came up with really fresh and interesting arrangements. I also liked the idea of having worship leaders working together and pitching in ideas. The whole project felt like a team thing - it wasn't just one person's idea. I think that buzz of people working together is reflected in the album.

Recording his vocals.
It was the first time I'd met Jason and Dwayne so naturally you're slightly apprehensive as to how it will be. However, it didn't take long to get to know them. For me personally I found that they really stretched me and encouraged me to go for it. Sometimes in studio work you can focus so hard on tuning, singing the right words, how it's sounding, etc that you can lose the whole feel and emotion of it. I felt really released to go for it and worship. Any tuning things could be sorted out later!

Future plans.
At the moment things are gearing up for the summer festivals. It's always an exciting time -wondering what God will do. After that I guess it's just getting stuck into to all that's going on with Soul Survivor. It's been exciting this year to have travelled around, being involved in all the Soul Survivor festivals around the world. It's amazing to see what God has been doing. In September Mike Pilavachi and myself are off to Malaysia, Australia and South Africa for different conferences. It always stirs me to see what God is doing in different places. It's such a privilege to be involved and meet some wonderful people. So that's what's in store for the next little while.

Featured singer 4: Neil Wilson
Favourite song on album.
Tim Hughes singing on "Beautiful Saviour", which I think is a great song anyway, but he sings brilliantly on this one. Jason and Dwayne have done a great arrangement. Look out for some super strings in there!

Thoughts about the project.
It was a privilege to be asked to be involved on the album anyway. I think what's special about the album is the way the songs have a new and different feel to them without losing any of the anointing. Some of the songs people will be familiar with but the arrangement and style give them a fresh edge.

Recording his vocals.
Basically it was short and sweet, but great fun. I met Dwayne and Jason over coffee on the morning of the recording they set up in one of Caedmon Complex's training rooms and within a few hours we were done!

Future plans.
You no doubt know about all the work I'm doing with the band Steve. The release of the 'Falling Down1 album makes this a very exciting time for us. Concerning my involvement with the 'All Around The World' project, although I'm not known as a worship leader like Tim, Matt and Paul, the songs we write as Steve are worship songs. Worship is at the core of Steve which is hopefully communicated through the music and lyrics, but not in such a traditional style.