Enter the Worship Circle is a unique kind of worship series. While most such recordings contain covers of the worship standards, these recordings feature all original songs written by Ben and Robin Pasley, other Blue Renaissance Artists, members of the roots-rock band Waterdeep, and friends. What's more, the songs on on the Circle Series were recorded live, unplugged, and with no overdubs. The instrumentation is built on a foundation of acoustic guitars and the rhythms of hand drums. Enter the Worship Circle has a sound that is open and free form, beautiful as a well-laid plan, but spontaneous as a sincere declaration of love.
"With Enter the Worship Circle," explained Ben, "Robin and I wanted to give something back to music lovers and those people on a spiritual journey." To move to accomplish this was to print in the CD booklet suggestions about how to write your own worship songs. This is a deep-seated goal for Ben Pasley, and it has developed over years of experience. He began playing music as a teenager, and in college he joined a music team that performed in drug rehab centers, halfway houses, and detention centers in order to share their spiritual life with people who were desperate for some help. "We were in drug rehabs doing cover tunes from the Christian music industry," he says, "and it didn't take us long to figure out that we were going to have to develop our own musical language to make an impact."
Since those formative years the Pasley's vision has been shared by many others artists and pioneers whom have committed to a similar focus ing people" over "selling products." This network has evolved into the Blue Renaissance Creative Group-an organization that develops performing artists. Led by the Ben and Robin Pasley, also known for starting the group 100 Portraits back in 1993, Blue Renaissance is a growing family of songwriters, performers, producers, dancers, and composers. They work from different parts of the country, and occasionally converge for a unique collaboration like Enter the Worship Circle.
When Enter the Worship Circle was first made available in January of 1999 it immediately gained traction with fans of roots music. Soon, the Internet was buzzing with talk of the project, and word-of-mouth news spread far beyond the reaches of the individual artists' underground fan base. Amidst a flood of musical offerings, this was one of those rare albums that people felt compelled to share with their friends.
We now have three series of recordings that are all part of the Enter The Worship Circle family! The primary series (First, Second, and Third Circle) kicked off our worship adventure in 1999 with 100 Portraits and Waterdeep. That series is focused on collegiates and small groups, and is a worship collection featuring hand drums, acoustic guitars, and an informal vocal team. The second series is called Chair and Microphone and it features one voice and one instrument (guitar so far) in a very simple, vulnerable style. The third series is the
Village Thrift: a fusion of modern electronic and very progressive songwriting for the urbanite and lover of all things innovative. All three series share these fundamentals (to name the basics):
--1. We steal most of the songs from the heart of the Psalmist.
--2. We use words and colors that people in 2006 use as well.
--3. We try to be honest and say it like it is, not like the religious wish it was.
--4. We want you to write your own songs we are a launch pad, not a landing pad.
To purchase any albums by Enter The Worship Circle, visit the Worship Circle Store
