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Home: A : Adam
Watts : Biography
Biography (courtesy
of BEC Recordings)
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Most artists, if they were in Adam Watts’ shoes, would
have been more than content with the impressive musical resume
he had amassed in his career. Having co-produced three highly
successful Jeremy Camp records (Stay, Carried Me, Restored),
been honored with a nomination for singer/songwriter of the
year at the Los Angeles Music Awards, secured a songwriting
contract with Disney, and co-wrote/produced a song that reached
the Top 5 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart (“Beautiful
Soul”, Jesse McCartney), he was already in a category
that few will ever achieve. Then he wrote, produced, performed
and recorded virtually every aspect of his debut solo album,
The Noise Inside, and landed himself amongst the top ten
best new artists in Contemporary Christian Music (Christianity
Today).
But what sets him apart from other artists are not these
accomplishments alone; Adam Watts has set his sights on the
transparent showcase of his life and love of the Lord, and
he’s capturing the hearts of his listeners because
of it. It’s what left one reviewer predicting, when
recommending The Noise Inside as one of the best introductions
to Christian music for a new believer, that Adam “might
just become the most important Christian artist to come along
this decade” (Christian Music Times). “What I
really want is to write the type of music that makes the
artist disappear and turns the listener's attention back
on themselves and hopefully upward toward God. I think music
is at it's most powerful when it brings into focus some segment
of reality and causes the listener to look deeper into their
own lives and walk with the Lord.” And it is this type
of agenda-less, vulnerable artistry that makes The Noise
Inside so compelling. It’s sound will skirt any attempt
to limit it to a specific genre, but in the graceful overlap
between pop, rock, and acoustic guitar, the emotional & spiritual
truths will be heard throughout.
Fearlessly reflecting both highs and
lows is perhaps the highest virtue of all in his music;
Watts is not afraid of presenting emotional valleys along
with the peaks. His hope is that that an accurate portrayal
of experience will translate to a spiritual appeal that
is subtle, yet powerful. In the song “Meaningless Things,” Adam confronts the
issue of materialism with pinpoint accuracy: “We can
be kings of meaningless things, or we can be slaves of love.” He
continues to illuminate his own frail humanity in tracks
such as “Critical Condition,” where he states, “I
found a way to look like a window and slam shut like a door...
I just can’t seem to listen, help me I’m in critical
condition.” Lyrical evidences of the hopeless plight
of humanity—hopeless without help from above--will
inevitably affect you throughout The Noise Inside. Adam always
directs the listener back to his point, that a life without
meaning is a life not worth living. Yet, whispers of hope
answer his own pleas for help on songs like “I Wanna
Be Like You”: “So dizzy, Sick and twisting, So
ugly, Sad but true. I can’t be left unguided. I can’t
be without you.”
For Adam, the process of capturing
his thoughts and feelings in song is as therapeutic as
it is entertaining. “Songwriting
is such a gift from the Lord. It's one of the deepest ways
that I can make sense of my own thoughts and feelings. I
believe the creative experience is also a way that the Lord
speaks to me and through me. Sometimes experiences don't
even seem all the way real until I have a chance to write
a song in response to them. When inspiration hits, I have
to get the song out as quickly as possible--so the emotion
is as pure as possible.” Recognizing his gifts, his
words, his melodies, and his achievements as God-inspired
in every song, Watts leaves you yearning not only for more
sound, but for more of the source behind his sound as well.
After his production work with Jeremy
Camp, BEC Recordings courted Watts to join the label in
2004. And Adam couldn’t
be more excited about the situation: “It has been very
freeing to partner with a label that allows me to be true
to myself and write vulnerable music. It’s like a dream
scenario. Because I am not doing this just to sell records
or pay the bills, I can focus on what is most important:
sharing my life experiences and relationship with Christ
with the audience.” This partnership led to more open
doors, and soon after the release of The Noise Inside, Watts
released his first single to radio, ”God of Grace,” and
audiences across the nation were introduced to his poignant
presentation of quiet hope across the airwaves. He then joined
Camp on a five-week national tour in late 2004, which proved
to be a tremendous exposure tool for his career.
Now, with the release of his second
single “Meaningless
Things” to radio in March 2005, Watts is poised to
gain the exposure his music undoubtedly deserves. Amidst
producing, drumming, songwriting and recording, he looks
for opportunities to play to audiences as often as he can,
with the rich, confident presence that only a seasoned performer
like Adam can deliver. Within the inevitable highs and lows
of the music industry, he will, most assuredly, continue
to keep his heart centered on the goal ahead of him without
distraction. “ I believe God uses music to transcend
everyday life and navigate around our personal walls and
our preconceptions. It's a humbling thing. My goal is to
make music that, by the grace of God, can cause people to
seek and love Him even more.”
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