The Parachute Band was originally formed in 1996 as the worship band for New Zealand's Parachute Music Festival. As the band's popularity grew in its home country, so did the band's mission: to lead people of all races and ages in worship, using songs as a tool to see lives changed and hearts connected with God.
Technicolor is the follow-up to the 2007 critically-acclaimed Roadmaps and Revelations, which had marked the debut of the re-fashioned Parachute Band, made up of Omega Levine (vocals), Sam de Jong (drums), Rhys Machell (bass) Alister Wood (keyboards) and Simon Moore (guitars). Parachute Band, which has existed for more than a decade, was first created to host New Zealand's annual Parachute Festival.
"Technicolor represents a concept we developed for this album which is 'water equals life, equals colour' - full blazing colour, when we live with God at our side," says band member Sam de Jong.
"As we were preparing for this album, we noticed that quite a few of the songs had an underlying theme of water or, God's living water. For us this living water is God's love, grace and mercy flooding and cleansing our lives as we worship Him.
"This theme also ties in to our heart for social justice issues and in particular, our work with World Vision in Rwanda," he continues. "In our travels we have seen places and people that are in desperate need of both physical water and God's living water.
"As a band we feel challenged to put actions to our faith, as we are encouraged in Hebrews 13 to do, and use what's in our hands and what we have been given to see lives changed."
Technicolor includes songs written by acclaimed New Zealand songwriters, including several tracks written by members of the band. The track listing for the CD is:
1. "COME TO THE RIVER" (Sam de Jong, Omega Levine, Ric Knott)
2. YOUR WORD" (Nic Manders, Luke Oram, Sam de Jong, Omega Levine)
3. "GLORIOUS IS OUR GOD" (Ric Knott)
4. "LIVING RAIN" (Ric Knott, Shaun K. Anderson)
5. "SHOUT IT OUT" (Omega Levine, Sam de Jong, Christina Houghton, Nic Manders)
6. "TAKE OVER" (Ric Knott, Michael Mann)
7. "GRACE" (Ric Knott)
8. "THE GREATEST LOVE" (Brendan Vucich, Julia Vucich, Nic Manders, Sam de Jong)
9. "EVERLASTING" (Ric Knott)
10. "IN LIBERTY (HALLELUJAH)" (Omega Levine & Sam de Jong)
11. "COME BEFORE" (Bruce Conlon, Jeremy Smith)
12. "YOU REMAIN" (Nic Kranzlin)
The project will be released with a bonus DVD that contains live concert footage from last year's Parachute Festival and a powerful segment featuring behind-the-scenes footage and Omega Levine's testimony of overcoming depression, low self esteem and thoughts of suicide as a teen.
Integrity will service at least two songs from the new Technicolor CD to radio. "Living Rain" will go to Inspirational radio and "Your Word" will be serviced to the Adult Contemporary format.
Another notable song on Technicolor is "Everlasting," a song which includes the Tanzanian choir The Sowers Group.
