
“I called Steven and said I wanted to write a song with him.
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In the writing room, West’s early inspiration came full circle, as “The Sound Of A Life Changing” not only name-checks Steven Curtis Chapman, but counts the CCM superstar as a co-writer on the track. West was one of the few singer-songwriters fortunate enough to have a publishing deal in hand before he graduated college. Like many aspiring artists, with a heart full of dreams and notebooks stuffed with lyrics, West moved to Nashville shortly after he graduated from the University of Illinois. I felt like I was supposed to do what I just saw,” West recalls. “I remember sitting there, this college kid, just crying. One song on that soundtrack would undoubtedly come while West was still a college student at the University of Illinois, sitting in Assembly Hall Arena, watching Steven Curtis Chapman perform his 1999 hit “Speechless.” I thought, ‘What are some of the sounds of my life changing? What is my life soundtrack?’”
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In this case I had the title for a while, but I didn’t know how to write it. “One of the things I’ve noticed about my songwriting is I’ll start with the idea being very personal, a little snapshot of my own specific story. On “The Sound of a Life Changing,” West chronicles the creative spark that initially led to him to Nashville, and to a career as a singer and songwriter. So that’s always front and center in my mind.” I’ve learned that I have to turn down some opportunities that might move my career forward, but I don’t want to look back and have regret about being absent as a dad. Now the girls go to an awesome school in Nashville. Our ‘all in’ was to decide to homeschool for four years so we could all be together. “You are asked to be on the road way more than ever. That struggle to prioritize family time is a familiar struggle for most artists, in an era where streaming and downloading has dwindled the expected income from singles and album sales, forcing artists to make up the deficiency with more tour dates. Matthew West in his cabin retreat, where he wrote songs for All In That is one of those songs, an aching cry that says I don’t want to miss those moments right in front of me.” If a song changes the way I look at something, chances are it will have that potential in somebody else’s life. I’m not that arrogant to think I can do that, but I mean important to me. By important, I don’t mean it will change a generation. I don’t want just good songs I want important songs. “That song stings a bit to sing but I’m glad I wrote it. West says the frank lyrics on songs like “The Beautiful Things We Miss” serve as a constant reminder of his priorities as a husband and father. “I figured there might be a lot of people in Nashville that will smile when they hear that line-A&R guys and waitresses and UPS guys,” says West, who also counts Nashville as his home, with wife Emily and their two children, Luella (11) and Delaney (8). Scattered throughout the album are glimpses into West’s own journey, sewn into songs like “Becoming Me” (which features vocals from daughter Luella), and “Something Greater,” which traces his evolution from a young, ambitious dreamer to a family man trying to balance home life and career with lyrics like, Thought I was moving to Nashville/just to sign a record deal. I just started to write from my own places of where I needed to go all in and I felt like I kept being redirected within the walls of my home.” “I started thinking how for every one of us at any given moment, chances are we have at least one area where we could be living more fully, whether its our faith, our relationships with friends or with a spouse or kids. The words all in kept resurfacing, and thought that felt like an album title,” he says. “I usually look for that one central theme that becomes the foundation for the whole record. 22), West turns his songwriting talents on his own story, and in the process, has crafted his most personal album to date. With his latest Sparrow Records album, All In, out Friday (Sept. It showed me the power music has to build a trust through the radio that is unbelievable.” “People sending me their stories was a game changer for me. “I’ve seen billboards around Nashville that say ‘It All Starts With A Song.’ I’ve always felt like that’s true, but really, it all starts with a story,” West tells MusicRow. With his previous two albums, Matthew West reached new career heights, including a Gold single and record-setting 17 weeks atop CCM radio with “Hello, My Name Is,” by collecting stories that were sent to him from across the globe-now over 40,000 stories–from everyday people with real world struggles, and translating those personal experiences into affecting, memorable songs of comfort and strength.
