November 20, 2024 • 15 mins
Join host Kahn Ellmers for an insightful episode of Adventist Ways, featuring a conversation with musician Neville Peter. Discover Neville's transition from secular to sacred music, his creative process, and his heartfelt experiences on tour. Learn about his inspiration behind his piece 'Space Flight' and ways to support Adventist artists.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Opening Prayer
00:39 Podcast Vision and Format
03:15 Guest Introduction: Neville Peter
03:47 Neville's Musical Journey
06:16 Touring Experiences
07:14 Describing Neville's Music Style
08:59 Featured Song: Space Flight
13:27 Supporting Adventist Creatives
17:14 Conclusion and Farewell
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
(00:11):
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
I am your host, Karn Elmas.
On today's episode, I talk to Nivol Peter, and he shared with me about one of his latest
tracks, Spaceflight.
On
(00:52):
Adventist Waves, we look at the songs of Adventist musicians.
Song stories told one piece at a time.
Thank you for listening.
Introducing Nivol Peter.
(01:13):
I started off as a secular musician.
I guess you could say I'm a former Power Bar and the Jazz musician.
I sang a lot in the secular world and did some jazz festivals back in my early to mid-20s.
(01:35):
And then I had a turning point in my life, and he began to draw me to himself.
When I made the decision to follow the Lord, my music came with it.
And I've always felt like if you're going to do something, you need to do it with all
your might.
(01:55):
And as a result, my music hopefully reflects that.
In the beginning, much of the influences I had when I transitioned remained in my music.
And over the years, my music has evolved.
So now I guess you could say it's a little less like the way it sounded before Power Bar
(02:18):
and the Jazz.
And now it's taken on more of a soulful, sacred kind of vibe to it.
I write a lot of scripture songs.
Now I've been doing a lot of commission-based work now for various ministries who contact
me to write scripture songs for them.
(02:39):
And I think that may have had a lot to do with the evolution of my music.
I didn't mention that I'm actually a singer.
I do play, but singing is what I enjoy doing the most.
And I write my own music as well.
If you go to my YouTube channel, what you will find is me sitting at the piano playing
(03:03):
and singing.
And I share a lot of my original music.
It's just the joy of my heart, man, to preach the gospel through the music that I do.
I understand that you also do a bit of touring, right?
You just recently came back from a tour?
Yes.
I got back from Germany a few days ago, still recuperating from that.
(03:27):
I was in Germany for about a month, a little less than a month.
I did some concerts, and then I also was providing music for a camp meeting there, which was
a really wonderful experience.
The German people are wonderful.
And it was really nice hearing them sing some of my music, because at my concerts, what
(03:51):
I tend to do is teach them some of the songs that are a little bit more simpler.
And then I have them sing.
And so it was nice to hear people singing my music whose first language is not English.
It was a real blessing, actually.
It was real nice.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
If you were to summarize your style of music and your music in a way that our listeners
(04:17):
who have never heard of you before could understand, how would you describe that to them?
I'd like to say it's soft, it's sacred, and it's soulful.
It's a combination of all of those characteristics.
From time to time, I may do something a little bit more joyful and exuberant and something
(04:38):
that would make you want to tap your foot.
But for the most part, it's soft, it's sacred, and it's soulful.
Yeah.
So it has that soulful quality to it, but it's still within the boundaries of sacredness
and so on.
Really since a lot of it lately, a lot of my music lately has been just scripture.
(05:03):
I do quite a bit of original music too, but I don't know lately I just been on a scripture
song kick.
That's cool.
I actually recently did a podcast with Christian Paul.
I've just finished producing it and we go into the technique of producing Christian scripture
songs.
Oh, nice.
So yeah, that was pretty interesting.
I'll definitely share that with you.
(05:24):
And it would be interesting to hear how you go about your composition of scripture songs
as well at some point.
Maybe we could talk some more about that.
I'd love to hear.
But for now, I asked you a question about one piece of music earlier that you thought
really reflects your style.
Do you want to share with us?
(05:46):
Yeah.
There is a song that I do.
It's not scripture.
I know we were talking about scripture.
This one is not a scripture song and it's actually more on a happy, joyful, soulful,
tip, more toe tapping kind of thing.
But it's just voice and piano.
A lot of my music, most of my music is unplugged, meaning that it's intimate.
(06:12):
Voice and piano, voice and guitar or something like that.
Yeah, so this particular song is a song that I really have to say that it's probably one
of my favorites that I've written so far.
I wrote it a few years ago.
It's called Space Flight.
(06:33):
The moon is very far away.
From the planets where angels play.
Where galaxies and stars collide.
Too far away to take a ride.
(06:55):
The only spaceship I will trust.
Was not designed by Elon Musk.
But it's travel worthy, I'm sure.
The inspiration behind it is interesting because it was written, I think it was like we were
(07:18):
coming off the pandemic.
So I think the song was written in 2021.
And Space X was launching one of their Dragon capsules out to the International Space Station
and my son at the time was really into space travel.
(07:39):
He was watching the launch.
He's going to lose that script on me.
I spread my wings and I'll be free.
I won't need a space suit to breathe.
Oh no, there'll be no death when I leave.
(08:01):
And I was sitting there watching it with him.
I was just lost in my thoughts and I remember thinking to myself, man, it would be so nice
if I could be on the capsule going up to the space station.
And then I started thinking about how a lot of these secular atheist scientists, people
who have faith and they a lot of times have a very arrogant attitude.
(08:27):
Like they know everything.
So I was thinking about that and then I just felt this impression like a whisper from God.
And it's like he was saying, Nivelle, if you are faithful, you will see a lot more than
(08:51):
these scientists ever will see and you will travel and go much further in the universe
than they'll ever travel.
Gravity is going to lose its grip on me.
Yeah, I spread my wings and I'll be free.
Listen, listen.
(09:12):
I won't need your technology.
And the next day, the song Space Flight was born and it's happy.
It's exuberant.
It's joyful.
But it's a song that really resonates with me.
It's a song that just puts me in mind of the second coming.
(09:57):
Like I said, we were talking about scripture songs.
This isn't a scripture song, but it definitely points to the second coming.
And so it's very biblical and it's fun and I love it.
I hope the listeners like it too.
When I rise up, hallelujah, the sky's gonna roll away, time to fly away into the light
(10:20):
on my space flight, oh yeah, and when I take this trip, gravity is gonna lose its grip
on me.
Yeah, I spread my wings and I'll be free.
(10:46):
What do you hope that the listeners would take from that song?
That Jesus is coming again and that they should be faithful because if they're faithful, like
the Lord shared with me before I wrote the song, that if we're faithful, we will see
a lot more than these astrophysicists will ever see and we'll travel a lot farther than
(11:10):
they will ever travel and we'll have many wonderful and glorious experiences in the
universe that they will never have.
We won't need technology or a space suit or a space colony like Elon Musk.
I heard that he has some ambition to build a space colony on Mars.
(11:33):
We won't need none of that stuff.
You know what I'm saying?
That's what they should take from it.
Yeah, man.
So what are some practical ways that our listeners can support Adventist creatives like yourself?
I'm so happy you asked that question.
I need to give a preamble to my answer.
The preamble is that music, unfortunately, even in the secular realm, is losing value
(12:01):
very quickly because of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Play and so on.
I don't have the time to really explain why that is true, but it is true.
Music is losing value at a very fast rate.
And so if you're going to be a singing evangelist, you have to do it for the love of God and
(12:24):
for the love of the art form and for the love of souls.
And so just like you would support a ministry that is not centered around music, say it
is written or amazing facts, it would be a real wonderful thing if you would consider
lending your support to Adventist creatives like myself who love the three angels' messages.
(12:49):
So for me, one of the ways you could do that is joining my YouTube channel and becoming
a member.
And if you do that, you'll be able to stream all eight of my albums from my YouTube channel.
So that's one way you can do it.
Another way you can do it is leaving a donation at my website, and thevillepeter.com forward
(13:10):
slash donations.
Another way you can do it is by purchasing my music at my web store.
That's thevillepeter.com forward slash store.
And what I'm saying here is relevant to all artists like myself.
Use our music, support us with your financial gifts, and pray for us.
(13:35):
The most important thing is to pray for us because I, unfortunately, I am aware that
they are Adventist artists who they hook up with first day churches and because first
day churches pay them well, they tend to fall away from the three angels' messages as a
result.
(13:55):
I know at least one person that happened to.
And so you could encourage us by praying for us for sure and by making sure that you do
all in your power to keep us afloat financially, especially if we are doing independent self-supporting
ministry.
(14:16):
I know some creatives have jobs on the side, and that's cool that they can do that.
But I know some don't.
I'm one of those Adventist artists who don't.
I subsist completely off of my music.
If you could keep me in prayer, keep us in prayer, those of us who are self-supporting,
(14:36):
and whenever you can support us with your financial gifts, but most importantly, just
keep us lifted before the Father that will be faithful and strong and always ready to
give an answer for the reason of the hope that is within us.
And pray that our music reflects our love for Jesus and our love for the soon coming
(14:57):
of Jesus.
Adventist Waves
Thank you for tuning in to Adventist Waves.
This podcast wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the support of Blue Vineyard Audio.
Need support with producing your podcasts?
Blue Vineyard provides help from start to finish.
(15:18):
Read the website today at www.bluevignard.com forward slash audio.
If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Your feedback helps us bring you more inspiring content.
This podcast was produced by Khan Elmas.
Special thanks to our guests, Kendall, Neville, and Carly for coming on to the show.
(15:40):
We've been listening to Adventist Waves.
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
(00:11):
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
I am your host, Karn Elmas.
On today's episode, I talk to Nivol Peter, and he shared with me about one of his latest
tracks, Spaceflight.
On
(00:52):
Adventist Waves, we look at the songs of Adventist musicians.
Song stories told one piece at a time.
Thank you for listening.
Introducing Nivol Peter.
(01:13):
I started off as a secular musician.
I guess you could say I'm a former Power Bar and the Jazz musician.
I sang a lot in the secular world and did some jazz festivals back in my early to mid-20s.
(01:35):
And then I had a turning point in my life, and he began to draw me to himself.
When I made the decision to follow the Lord, my music came with it.
And I've always felt like if you're going to do something, you need to do it with all
your might.
(01:55):
And as a result, my music hopefully reflects that.
In the beginning, much of the influences I had when I transitioned remained in my music.
And over the years, my music has evolved.
So now I guess you could say it's a little less like the way it sounded before Power Bar
(02:18):
and the Jazz.
And now it's taken on more of a soulful, sacred kind of vibe to it.
I write a lot of scripture songs.
Now I've been doing a lot of commission-based work now for various ministries who contact
me to write scripture songs for them.
(02:39):
And I think that may have had a lot to do with the evolution of my music.
I didn't mention that I'm actually a singer.
I do play, but singing is what I enjoy doing the most.
And I write my own music as well.
If you go to my YouTube channel, what you will find is me sitting at the piano playing
(03:03):
and singing.
And I share a lot of my original music.
It's just the joy of my heart, man, to preach the gospel through the music that I do.
I understand that you also do a bit of touring, right?
You just recently came back from a tour?
Yes.
I got back from Germany a few days ago, still recuperating from that.
(03:27):
I was in Germany for about a month, a little less than a month.
I did some concerts, and then I also was providing music for a camp meeting there, which was
a really wonderful experience.
The German people are wonderful.
And it was really nice hearing them sing some of my music, because at my concerts, what
(03:51):
I tend to do is teach them some of the songs that are a little bit more simpler.
And then I have them sing.
And so it was nice to hear people singing my music whose first language is not English.
It was a real blessing, actually.
It was real nice.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
If you were to summarize your style of music and your music in a way that our listeners
(04:17):
who have never heard of you before could understand, how would you describe that to them?
I'd like to say it's soft, it's sacred, and it's soulful.
It's a combination of all of those characteristics.
From time to time, I may do something a little bit more joyful and exuberant and something
(04:38):
that would make you want to tap your foot.
But for the most part, it's soft, it's sacred, and it's soulful.
Yeah.
So it has that soulful quality to it, but it's still within the boundaries of sacredness
and so on.
Really since a lot of it lately, a lot of my music lately has been just scripture.
(05:03):
I do quite a bit of original music too, but I don't know lately I just been on a scripture
song kick.
That's cool.
I actually recently did a podcast with Christian Paul.
I've just finished producing it and we go into the technique of producing Christian scripture
songs.
Oh, nice.
So yeah, that was pretty interesting.
I'll definitely share that with you.
(05:24):
And it would be interesting to hear how you go about your composition of scripture songs
as well at some point.
Maybe we could talk some more about that.
I'd love to hear.
But for now, I asked you a question about one piece of music earlier that you thought
really reflects your style.
Do you want to share with us?
(05:46):
Yeah.
There is a song that I do.
It's not scripture.
I know we were talking about scripture.
This one is not a scripture song and it's actually more on a happy, joyful, soulful,
tip, more toe tapping kind of thing.
But it's just voice and piano.
A lot of my music, most of my music is unplugged, meaning that it's intimate.
(06:12):
Voice and piano, voice and guitar or something like that.
Yeah, so this particular song is a song that I really have to say that it's probably one
of my favorites that I've written so far.
I wrote it a few years ago.
It's called Space Flight.
(06:33):
The moon is very far away.
From the planets where angels play.
Where galaxies and stars collide.
Too far away to take a ride.
(06:55):
The only spaceship I will trust.
Was not designed by Elon Musk.
But it's travel worthy, I'm sure.
The inspiration behind it is interesting because it was written, I think it was like we were
(07:18):
coming off the pandemic.
So I think the song was written in 2021.
And Space X was launching one of their Dragon capsules out to the International Space Station
and my son at the time was really into space travel.
(07:39):
He was watching the launch.
He's going to lose that script on me.
I spread my wings and I'll be free.
I won't need a space suit to breathe.
Oh no, there'll be no death when I leave.
(08:01):
And I was sitting there watching it with him.
I was just lost in my thoughts and I remember thinking to myself, man, it would be so nice
if I could be on the capsule going up to the space station.
And then I started thinking about how a lot of these secular atheist scientists, people
who have faith and they a lot of times have a very arrogant attitude.
(08:27):
Like they know everything.
So I was thinking about that and then I just felt this impression like a whisper from God.
And it's like he was saying, Nivelle, if you are faithful, you will see a lot more than
(08:51):
these scientists ever will see and you will travel and go much further in the universe
than they'll ever travel.
Gravity is going to lose its grip on me.
Yeah, I spread my wings and I'll be free.
Listen, listen.
(09:12):
I won't need your technology.
And the next day, the song Space Flight was born and it's happy.
It's exuberant.
It's joyful.
But it's a song that really resonates with me.
It's a song that just puts me in mind of the second coming.
(09:57):
Like I said, we were talking about scripture songs.
This isn't a scripture song, but it definitely points to the second coming.
And so it's very biblical and it's fun and I love it.
I hope the listeners like it too.
When I rise up, hallelujah, the sky's gonna roll away, time to fly away into the light
(10:20):
on my space flight, oh yeah, and when I take this trip, gravity is gonna lose its grip
on me.
Yeah, I spread my wings and I'll be free.
(10:46):
What do you hope that the listeners would take from that song?
That Jesus is coming again and that they should be faithful because if they're faithful, like
the Lord shared with me before I wrote the song, that if we're faithful, we will see
a lot more than these astrophysicists will ever see and we'll travel a lot farther than
(11:10):
they will ever travel and we'll have many wonderful and glorious experiences in the
universe that they will never have.
We won't need technology or a space suit or a space colony like Elon Musk.
I heard that he has some ambition to build a space colony on Mars.
(11:33):
We won't need none of that stuff.
You know what I'm saying?
That's what they should take from it.
Yeah, man.
So what are some practical ways that our listeners can support Adventist creatives like yourself?
I'm so happy you asked that question.
I need to give a preamble to my answer.
The preamble is that music, unfortunately, even in the secular realm, is losing value
(12:01):
very quickly because of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Play and so on.
I don't have the time to really explain why that is true, but it is true.
Music is losing value at a very fast rate.
And so if you're going to be a singing evangelist, you have to do it for the love of God and
(12:24):
for the love of the art form and for the love of souls.
And so just like you would support a ministry that is not centered around music, say it
is written or amazing facts, it would be a real wonderful thing if you would consider
lending your support to Adventist creatives like myself who love the three angels' messages.
(12:49):
So for me, one of the ways you could do that is joining my YouTube channel and becoming
a member.
And if you do that, you'll be able to stream all eight of my albums from my YouTube channel.
So that's one way you can do it.
Another way you can do it is leaving a donation at my website, and thevillepeter.com forward
(13:10):
slash donations.
Another way you can do it is by purchasing my music at my web store.
That's thevillepeter.com forward slash store.
And what I'm saying here is relevant to all artists like myself.
Use our music, support us with your financial gifts, and pray for us.
(13:35):
The most important thing is to pray for us because I, unfortunately, I am aware that
they are Adventist artists who they hook up with first day churches and because first
day churches pay them well, they tend to fall away from the three angels' messages as a
result.
(13:55):
I know at least one person that happened to.
And so you could encourage us by praying for us for sure and by making sure that you do
all in your power to keep us afloat financially, especially if we are doing independent self-supporting
ministry.
(14:16):
I know some creatives have jobs on the side, and that's cool that they can do that.
But I know some don't.
I'm one of those Adventist artists who don't.
I subsist completely off of my music.
If you could keep me in prayer, keep us in prayer, those of us who are self-supporting,
(14:36):
and whenever you can support us with your financial gifts, but most importantly, just
keep us lifted before the Father that will be faithful and strong and always ready to
give an answer for the reason of the hope that is within us.
And pray that our music reflects our love for Jesus and our love for the soon coming
(14:57):
of Jesus.
Adventist Waves
Thank you for tuning in to Adventist Waves.
This podcast wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the support of Blue Vineyard Audio.
Need support with producing your podcasts?
Blue Vineyard provides help from start to finish.
(15:18):
Read the website today at www.bluevignard.com forward slash audio.
If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Your feedback helps us bring you more inspiring content.
This podcast was produced by Khan Elmas.
Special thanks to our guests, Kendall, Neville, and Carly for coming on to the show.
(15:40):
We've been listening to Adventist Waves.
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