WILLIAM WHITE

ABOUT>

 I’m William White: a Christian singer, songwriter, and electronic musician.  If this is your first time visiting, then I'm pleased to make your virtual acquaintance.

 

I’ve been creating electronic music for most of my life and have always had a desire to do it professionally.  In junior high school, new wave performers like Howard Jones and synth-pop acts like Depeche Mode inspired me to learn to play keyboards and write music.  I became obsessed with learning the ins‑and‑outs of synthesizer programming.

 

For a while I followed a more standard path.  I went to college and studied computer science.  On graduating, I took my first job developing interactive content for an Internet startup.  After a few years, I moved onto another similar job and then another after that.  I let inertia guide me.

 

During this time life felt unsatisfying and stagnant, but God was shaping me.  I finally married the wonderful woman I had been dating since college.  God used her to build in me a desire to serve Him through music ministry.  In college, she introduced me to Christian artists such as DC Talk and The Newsboys.  Later on, she convinced to attend Christian music festivals where we discovered other artists.  All of these acts were creating exciting music with a bold Christian message.  I felt inspired to follow their example.

 

Eventually, the Internet bubble burst.  God blessed me with work for a full year after everyone else had been laid off.  During that year, I began to seriously contemplate pursuing music ministry.  Eventually, the grant that funded my position ran out and I found myself unemployed in a sea of other unemployed programmers.  I looked for programming work for an entire year, but found nothing.  So with my wife’s blessing and support I finally decided to pursue music ministry.

 

Looking back on it now, I believe God held the door closed on a computer-programming job so that I would follow the path He intended.  A few months after I made the decision to pursue music ministry my wife came across an artist management company looking for new Christian musicians.  They liked my demos and offered me an artist management contract.  I signed the contract and found myself on a new path.

 

I hoped for a relatively quick road to stardom, but God had other ideas. He wanted me to pursue His fame, not my own.  He wanted me to honestly make music ministry about Him and not me.  In other words He wanted me to put Him first.  So as I slowly worked through the management company’s artist development program God made me a father.  Suddenly, I had less time for myself, less time for my needs, and of course less time for working on a music career.  Through my daughter, God taught me to put myself aside so that I could pursue His goals.

 

God taught me other critical lessons during this time as well.  As I worked through the company’s development program I learned how to run a business.  I learned how to write better songs.  More importantly I learned what I wanted to say with my music.  I began to develop a focused ministry message.

 

In my own life I struggled with legalism.  Christianity is supposed to be about a relationship with Jesus, but for me Christianity was often a matter of trying to live up to rules.  Because of this way of thinking, I missed out on relationship with Christ, and—ironically—I failed to satisfy the rules I strove so hard to keep.  Through my music I wanted to help other believers who struggle with legalism.  We cannot overcome sin through our own efforts, but when we instead focus on loving God then He gives us the strength to do His will.  I learned a lot through the company’s development program.

 

C. S. Lewis once told his friend J.R.R. Tolkien “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves”.  I felt something similar. The world of contemporary Christian music had grown to include many genres: alternative rock, metal, rap, and even boy band pop.  Yet few Christian artists created the kind of synth‑centric music I loved and wanted to hear.  If I wanted to hear good Christian synth-pop, then I would have to create it myself.  I saw a gap, and believed God had called me to fill it.

 

My music blends all the things I love.  You’ll hear bits of Depeche Mode, Erasure and New Order.  If you like Chvrches, Cut Copy or The Presets then you’ll also find something to like.  I hope you’ll also receive a message that builds your faith and draws you closer to God.

 

Of course you’re probably still wondering what my music actually sounds like.  No amount of description can explain that.  So just click over to my songs page and listen for yourself.