If you haven’t heard of Phatfish, you must have been living under a rock or something, because this popular music group have established themselves as one of the UK’s leading rock worship act. With numerous live performances at national and international events and a collection of albums featuring worship-oriented rock numbers, this four-member band is keen to spread the all-important Christian message.

{mosgoogle left} Previously known as Purple Phatfish, the Brighton-based group emerged on the UK scene in 1994 with a vision for a Christian group that could reach out to both Christians and non Christians alike. Made up of Nathan Fellingham, Lou Fellingham, Luke Fellingham and Mike Sandeman, the group started life as a jazz-funk/rap outfit and pretty much spent their first year performing their own songs in secular music clubs in a bid to reach non Christians.

Fast forward to today, and Phatfish are still passionate about reaching as many people with the good news of Christ. Their latest album, Guaranteed, released in July of this year, is a collection of energetic and vocally sharp numbers which reinforces their commitment to spreading the gospel. Nathan Fellingham is positive about how the album, four years in the making, will come across: “There are some songs on it that are already being picked up and used in churches and I'm hoping that will continue. It also has a fresh sound to it. It has a lot of energy and people who hear it are responding very well to it. We've definitely come out of the whole process confident that we've made a good album.”

And a good album they have made. The tracks on the album, most of which have been written by Nathan features recurring themes about God’s greatness, hope and amazing grace. People who are familiar with the band’s songs know the kind of impact their songs have on them: “The most encouraging stories have come from a song I wrote called There is a Day,” says Nathan. “The theme of the song gives a lot of hope to people, especially when life is hard. I've heard of many people using the song at funerals! It was never my intention to write a funeral song but I'm pleased that people find it beneficial to sing that song when life is at its hardest. I did hear of one young man who got saved, partly due to hearing that song. He tragically died a few weeks later but the song was used at his funeral and continued to have impact on others in his family. It was very moving to hear that.”

Phatfish have come a long way from when they first emerged on the scene. They have performed at national events such as Stoneleigh Bible Week and Spring Harvest and have worked with high profile worship leaders such as Matt Redman and Tim Hughes at a number of international events. They are worship leaders, called to minister God’s word to His people and it is clear that they feel they can spread the word in new ways. However, Nathan is cautious about spreading the right messages: “It is very important that we learn how to engage with people in all sorts of different ways, but that the core of the message doesn't change. The Bible hasn't changed one letter since it was written, and I can see a danger in getting too preoccupied with the "window dressing" rather than the meat of truth. My hope would be that as technology does move on, that the church would continue to engage people in ways they understand - like the apostle Paul - but with an ever increasing passion to stay close to the Word of God in the process.”

So, what stirs this passion? “Faith really is the centre of it all,” says Nathan. “The reason we do our music is first and foremost to make the truths of God known to people through songs. We also believe that God is the source of all creativity and that music is a gift from Him for us to use. Music is something that He's given us a great love for and it's a real privilege to be able to serve Him with those gifts that He's given us.

“Worship is of the utmost importance. An obvious way to learn to worship God more is to read His word. As you get to know Him and understand more about Him you will find that you want to spend more time with Him and that things of lesser importance become less attractive to you. The importance of the word of God is one of the reasons we write songs. I think there is an important connection between truth and beauty. Songs give an opportunity for us to express truth in a beautiful way, and in a way that people find easy to remember!”

So what does the future hold for Phatfish? “We really just take one step at a time. We felt very stirred to do this album and thoroughly believe God has been in it and we look forward to seeing how people respond to it. But hopefully we will continue to write good songs, continue to inspire people to love God more and more and train others to do the same as we've done when we're too old and wrinkly to carry on!”

For more information on Phatfish, and to hear samples of their music, visit www.phatfish.net

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