Music in general has no boundaries or walls to separate any kind of creativity, be it by an individual or a group. One specific style of music would be Christian music or rather the worship genre. Even though the general public is not so in tune with this type of music it has blown up on a global scale. There are many types of Christian music whether it is soul, R&B, rock or even metal. The music has so many possibilities how it can be expressed and presented it has no limits.
In 2013 a new band was formed to not only elevate their strong beliefs but to also gather people around them to experience the beauty of Christian music. The group MOSAIC MSC is actually a collective of super talented artists who have managed to capture crowds from their hometown Los Angeles to the highlands of Sweden. Their intention was to create music for the community of Mosaic, drawn from experiences that each of the individual writers have had. Most of the members grew up on the sounds of such bands like Bjork and Portishead and aren’t very familiar with the Christian music genre. The goal is to create music that is competitive across any genre. It is no mistaking the quality and diversity of MOSAIC MSC that brings out such hits like “Eyes on You” that garnered 2.3 million streams on Spotify.
The collective was the brain-child of pastor Mariah McManus Goss. She has basically steered the ship which is MOSAIC MSC. Yet it is really a combination of over a hundred people who sing and play together at their church every Sunday. It is an amazing sight to see. Mosaic is actually a church founded by Erwin McManus, who is not only a best-selling author but a pioneer. The group is merely an extension of the church to spread its light through music.
Last year in March of 2018 they hit the Billboard chart with single “Tremble” which was off their live album entitled “Glory & Wonder”. The single had such a positive response that it stayed on the Hot Christian Songs Charts for thirty-three weeks and has reached a collective 41 million streams. “Glory & Wonder” as a whole hit the Top 20 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. These are great accomplishments for the fairly young group.
“It’s awesome! We don’t really set ‘benchmarks’ for our music to consider it a success – if it leads our church and other people into a deeper place of worship or a new understanding of Jesus that’s a win for us!”
The group has become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to views and streams. On YouTube alone they have 13 million cumulative views not including the 105 million streams and millions of listeners worldwide. It is a monumental accomplishment from the multi-ethnic group from the City of Angels. In the same year they released their first studio album called “Heaven” which also appeared on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. They had two live albums “Glory & Wonder” (2016) and “MSC (Live in LA)” in 2015.
Another important footnote would be that the album “Heaven” was produced by Grammy nominated Chad Copelin, whose credits include working with such talents like Christina Perri, Sufjan Stevens, Sports, Kelly Clarkson and others. The group has played in many arenas worldwide but one of their favorite or unique locations was at Greek Theater in Los Angeles last year on the Outcry Tour. Their talent has
grown so much that they even had the opportunity to play at the Grammy Museum in 2018. MOSAIC’s music is not just one genre but many yet they seem to be more influenced by R&B even if one of their popular tracks “Never Let Me Down,” is a powerful rock ballad.
“We think everyone can hear themselves in our music because our sound intentionally isn’t homogenous. There’s always a different place to connect for each person who listens to our songs.”
A great example of their diversity was when they released the Spanish EP “Tiembla” which took off in their Mexico Mosaic campus and among Spanish-speaking churches. The group has grown and is only looking ahead to shine more light across the world. Currently, they are busy in the studio working on a new project due out by the end of the year.
“We haven’t decided when the next album is coming out but plan to continue releasing music before the end of the year.”
by Nick Christophers
