Up-and-Coming Artist: An Interview with Wind & Color

The independent music industry has always been competitive, and you have to niche down in order to gain a successful following. One sub niche in particular is Contemporary Christian Music where Hillsong UNITED, Elevation Music, and a lot of other bands were able to successfully enter mainstream music.

And today, we are going to interview an up-and-coming artist in this genre, Wind and Color Music, where I was able to get a quick chat with the band’s frontman – Isaiah Ram. This is just a simple Q and A format, but I hope you guys would love it.

Could you please tell me a brief description about the band? Members, history…

Wind & Color is a worship band from IHOP Atlanta. Our band name are just two words that describe the resplendence and glory of Jesus Christ.

Wind & Color first started when Danielle approached me to help flesh out a worship chorus she had in her head. She was on staff at the International House of Prayer, and I served on worship teams there while I was in school. 

A year later from our first writing session, we were married. Shortly after our wedding, Andrew Faletti (Worship Pastor at IHOP) and Will Funderburke (Graphic Designer & Recording Engineer) approached us to work on an album. The 4 of us collectively wrote and produced music together with some outside help as well. 

What type of music do you usually create? What’s your inspiration?

Depends! Sonically, we all have different tastes. I personally just love experimenting with production and different sounds…so oftentimes I go through “phases” and seasons of different music tastes. I grew up listening to rock, learned to produce pop music, and more recently have been influenced by R&B. 

Flashback to when we were writing Resplendent… I was trying to create a worship album that could stand on its own. I didn’t want to make the next Bethel album…or copy Hillsong… I wanted it to be us. There’s definitely some hints of both of these groups in our music, but it’s not a replica. We wanted to create something for corporate worship, mixed with pop/edm, rock, spontaneous intercession, and ultimately something that would connect you to the Lord. That was the inspiration. 

What’s your creative process like? Walk me through it.

Every song is different. Sometimes we start with an 8 bar loop…sometimes it starts with a chorus or a melody… but more often than not, Danielle creates something lyrically and I try to support it with chord structure that lends itself to the idea she’s trying to convey.

Other times, Andrew will have a particular beat or drum rhythm that inspires something. Will might suggest a synth line or a line of scripture. It really all depends since every song is written and then produced in so many different ways. 

I listened to your song, “Awaited King,” nice! Could you tell me more about it?

Awaited King is a personal favorite of ours. Danielle wrote a song originally that was about Psalm 33 (the verses to Awaited King). We ended up doing a lot, rewriting the chorus, and opting to go after a heavier, weighty sound. The verses are real moody and attempt to display a “holiness” for the Lord. The chorus then explodes to a glorious anthem where we recognize how holy He is, and ultimately how he’s a returning, Awaited King. The bridge connects this idea of this glorious, seated-in-majesty King, yet whose eyes are on us. This is the mystery of Christainity and of love. This song, lyrically, means so much to us. 

Music wise, I experimented with some side chain stuff, a friend added the 808’s in the first verse, and the strings in the bridge were the icing on top. Whenever I hear the bridge I like to imagine that I’m in the throne room, surrounded in glory, yet I see Jesus fixated on me. It sends chills down my spine. 

A lot of artists were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. How was your band affected? How are you guys coping?

To be honest, we had been working on the album for a year prior to Covid. Everything was finished and just being released when Covid hit. It was sad…we still haven’t played our album live and it’s been out for over a year. We were not however affected too heavily. Coming from a 24/7 prayer room, live worship continues on! I still had my day job, and we ended up having a baby girl. I think God has things planned all along. We’re just leaning into whatever he has in store for us.

Plans for this year? Upcoming events? Albums?

Nothing as of yet! We still want to play our album live, eventually. Right now I’m working and trying to help some other worship artists get their songs heard so I’ve been working on production, marketing, and songwriting with them. Danielle and I have a number of songs that never made it on to our debut album, but we’d love to release some singles or an EP in 2021. 

Anything you want to say to your fans?

Ha, fans. It’s a question I don’t think anyone has ever asked me, because we don’t often think of ourselves as having “fans”. 🙂 

However, we are so so so grateful for the amount of love and appreciation people have given us over our songs. The stories of how they’ve impacted people, or been used in other worship services is such an honor. Our only goal is to make HIS name known and too cause people to fall in love with Jesus. We need less of “me”. I must decrease. He must Increase. We ask that our listeners remember to love Jesus first. It all comes down to loving and being by Him.

If you want to help us keep creating more music, we’d be so honored if you bought a tshirt or listened to our worship music. 

About the Author

Charles Vallena is the author, and editor-in-chief of TheGuitarJunky.com, an online music site dedicated in helping aspiring artists and musicians become real musicians. He provides expert insights, guides, lessons, and reviews on acoustic guitars, digital piano, drums, and other music instruments. Follow Guitar Junky on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.