Artist Spotlight – Matthew West
On writing the album ‘Story of Your Life’ Songwriters are known to be an introspective breed whose personal experiences shape their music, and over the years Matthew West has definitely plumbed the depths of his soul for sweet inspiration. Yet on his new album, West looked to his audience to provide grist for his creative mill. The result is The Story of Your Life, a spectacular body of work that tackles a diverse array of real life subject matter and finds West exploring tender territory rarely tapped in contemporary pop music. “I know how to write songs about my life, my experiences and my journey, my faith and my love,” West says. “Yet along comes an idea for a record called ‘Story of Your Life’ and instead of writing what I know and writing songs about my life, the idea is to turn the microphone around to the people who listen to my music. I wanted them to send me their stories.” Songwriter for Christian music and beyond In addition to writing songs that have made him a Dove Award nominated artist in the Christian market, West’s songwriting prowess has also earned him the respect of artists in other musical genres. His songs have been recorded by multi-platinum country trio Rascal Flatts and other country artists such as JoDee Messina, Steel Magnolia and Billy Ray Cyrus. West’s songs have also been cut by other Christian artists, including Michael W. Smith, Mark Schultz, Mandisa, Jump5, Sara Groves, Joy Williams, Salvador, Natalie Grant, PureNRG and Point of Grace. The most difficult song to write for the album ‘Stories of Your Life’ West says the most difficult song to write on the new record was the first single. “’My Own Little World’ was the hardest because I had to be honest about my life,” he says. “ I wrote this song while in the cabin and while being faced with parts of life that– on an every day basis– I choose to ignore. That song was really written as a personal response to the stories that I had read and the questions that I started asking as I was looking into their world and looking at my own as well.
Matthew West on: Facebook Matthew West on: Website Matthew West on: Twitter Matthew West on: Youtube
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What others are saying...
Shelley Gard says:
We saw Matthew West with Johnny Diaz and Josh Wilson a little over a year ago in Jefferson, WI. He told us he was going to play a few of his well known songs and then switch gears. We were the first audience to see his new show. It was amazing. The letters he shared that prompted the songs he wrote could have been pages of life stories from any number of fans in the room. Great album Matthew! Hope to see you again soon.