Have faith in mass appeal

If commercialisation means his message of hope goes out to more people, that is fine with gospel artist Israel Houghton.

Four-time Grammy Award-winning gospel music producer and multi-instrumentalist Israel Houghton does not mind that his music could be seen as commercialising religion.

Houghton, a Christian worship leader based in Houston, Texas, says it is the best way to convey his message of love to the masses, regardless of their religious persuasion.

He performs in Singapore for the first time with his band Israel Houghton & New Breed on Thursday at the Singapore Expo. The 40-year-old, who sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, the keyboards and drums, says in a telephone interview from Texas: "If the message has to be commercialised for people to hear it on a more mainstream level, then I'm fine with it because it's part and parcel of what our mission statement is, and that is to give a message of hope to everyone who will hear it."

He adds: “We're not driven by the commerciality of the music, we're driven by the authentic message that is found inside the music.”

His signature sound, which he describes as cross-cultural and appealing to people of all races and walks of life, mixes different styles of jazz, blues, rock and pop, resulting in upbeat melodies to match his lyrics of love and hope.

The style stems from his youth, where he was exposed to music ranging from that of gospel musician and pastor Andrae Crouch and The Beatles to Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five and anything that carne out of Motown Records.

Houghton's parents were both pastors. As a young child, he grew up in a church environment and learnt to play instruments.

He says: "I just gravitated towards it. Later on, in high school and into college, there was nothing else I wanted to do as a lifestyle and as a livelihood, (other than) to do music."

He leads the congregation in songs at his Lakewood Church in Houston and preaches about once a month.

His music has gained international success, with his last four albums - Alive In South Africa (2006), A Deeper Level (2008), The Power Of One (2010), and Love God. Love People. (2011) - winning Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Traditional Gospel Album and Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.

This has been an unexpected and pleasant surprise for Houghton, who says he always had the desire for his music to be effective and have an impact on the world.

He says: "At the back of all of our minds as musicians, you hope you can do something that has that much influence.

"The most meaningful award was our second Grammy, not for the record it was but it basically said the first wasn't just beginner's luck, there's some real consistency here."

And although he admits that he writes his music primarily for churches, he says he wishes to reach out to all music fans.

He says: "I think it comes down to good music and a message of hope. Ultimately, I want to be effective to everyone."

by Melissa Kok, SPH.