Caedmon's Call in India

Caedmon's Call, one of my favorite bands, recently returned from India, where they recorded a new album, Share the Well, incorporating local musicians and their peculiar styles. They discussed their experiences with Christianity Today. Here are some excerpts:

"Here we were in the middle of India with recording equipment, computers, Pro Tools, video cameras and microphones. The kids were amazed. One of us was listening to the recording through a pair of headphones, and you should have seen the looks on people's faces when they heard themselves for the first time. We even had a photographer along with us who took a picture of some little girls, and they were scared because they had never seen themselves before—they don't have anything shiny enough to serve as a mirror to see their reflection. They absolutely freaked out. "

"[W]e recorded all these groups [of local Dalits, the "Untouchables"], and used pieces of their melodies—writing songs with musicians there. We're using some of them as background vocalists on some songs. There are songs inspired by what we saw while we were there. The album will probably feature 11 full songs with 25 tracks of filler and snippets. "

"I'd love for awareness and money to be raised, but more importantly, I hope it inspires thousands of people to go on mission trips to these countries and serve. Revival starts out of desperation, and we're either not desperate enough, or we don't realize that we're desperate. India is so secular, but it's so close to being changed around through the gospel. We just hope we can somehow be near when God makes that change."