Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

Futures: Hills + Horizons

by | Thu, Apr 28 2022

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Ryan, Mark and Chloe from Christian band ‘Futures’ have had to overcome plenty of challenges to release their debut EP ‘Hills and Horizons.’ They say the music is about their hopeful struggle and the tension between trust and reward that helps bring clarity to the chaos of our world.

From humble beginnings, the band connected through a church in Adelaide that had a global campus. Mark and Chloe are still based in Australia, while Ryan lives in Atlanta in the United States. They say that God brought them together, and they credit Him with their success as a band.

Mark says that ‘Hills and Horizons’ sums up that message. There were so many things they couldn’t see or strategise for themselves, but God had a plan. Even from different parts of the world, they’re now a successful band writing and singing on Zoom together.

Mark and Ryan started the band together and said it was intentional. “There was something inside of us that wanted to create and write,” says Mark. “It wasn’t just songs for the church; it was for the world. Whether it was at the gym or in the car, there are both corporate and personal atmospheres that we are passionate about writing music for.”

We don’t get to see the whole picture…

Chloe says that the journey of coming together as a band took time, but she believes that God has definitely brought the right people. “It’s just so special when we’re all on the same page,” she says. “There’s an openness there, and you have that flow of being able to write and put words to what God is doing.”

Being in America, Ryan says that writing on Zoom has its challenges, but it has been an excellent way to stay connected to the band. “It takes just the right moment to be able to write songs over Zoom,” he says. “There’s only so much you can convey via a webcam. So much of the songwriting process is being together, praying, and doing devotions. It’s baring our souls to one another.”

The band say ‘Hills and Horizons’ had been brewing in their hearts for some time. It’s about the constant battle of going down into the valley and climbing another mountain. It was even more relevant during COVID because no one could see what was going on or predict the future.

“There was a lot of confusion, a lot of asking God: ‘what are you doing?’” says Mark. “We don’t get to see the whole picture, and that was such a personal message for us as a band. We felt like this was not just our message, but something the whole world was going through.”

They say what came out of it for them as a group was realising that everyone on the planet has been up the hill and down the valley for the last two years. That’s what inspired their powerful lyric of breaking the cycle and allowing God to refresh our perspective on what’s happening. It’s everyone’s story.

Ryan says putting the EP together was a prayerful process of asking what message would make sense. “Every single one of these songs was written out of the pandemic,” he says. “These were songs we were singing and writing to ourselves, trying to get to a better place. We had to write about who we knew God was, even though we might not have been feeling it in the moment.”

‘Futures’ say they are trying to tell the story of what they feel is happening in Christianity worldwide. Many people would resonate with the thought that God is doing something new. They think an awakening is happening and that music will play a central role.

“We can see everything that may come against through the lens of Jesus, who has already overcome,” says Ryan. “That’s what gives us the grace to endure.”