With a mission to use music to connect people with Jesus, and a mandate to raise the standard of Christian music in NZ, Parachute Music came into being. The year was 1989 and the time was right.
Founder Mark de Jong, who had his roots in Youth For Christ big concert events, launched into the deep and began a ministry that has seen 19 years of rapid growth. Passionate about working with musicians who are not afraid to sing about what they believe in, Mark is all about the potential in a song that can change the heart.
“There’s power in a song to touch the human spirit when words are simply not enough.”
Parachute Music grew into a national organisation very quickly, filling the gap between artists and record companies and hosting the largest four day festival outside the US to showcase both local and international musicians. The event has not only become a “must” on the kiwi summer calendar but evangelical, in that a large percentage of unchurched people attend the annual event.
Operating with a Board of Trustees, a staff of 20, interns, a Festival Executive and thousands of volunteers, Parachute Music is a charitable trust with a long haul mentality.
It’s 3 phase approach is this:
1. to develop music written and performed by Christians in NZ
2. to take this music into the international Christian market
3. to take this music into the mainstream industry
TECHNICOLOR, the Parachute Band’s latest release sees a band that has found their voice. With eleven tracks of sonically colourful worship songs, TECHNICOLOR is based around the concept that God’s living water equals life in all its colour… full blazing colour.
The album’s opener ‘Come to the River’ sets the scene, showcasing a new found synergy within the band and plays on the Message’s version of Psalm 51 “Soak me in your laundry…I’ll come out clean…bring me from grey exile, put fresh wind in my sails”.
From the impassioned electro rock of ‘No Eye Has Seen’ to the U2-esque ‘Shout it Out’ it’s clear that TECHNICOLOR’S songs of salvation deliver with punch and sincerity, while the soulful intimacy of tracks like ‘Grace’ and ‘In Liberty’ present a band who aren’t afraid to wear their devotion on their sleeves.
