The Anachronists: Augustine's Confessions

Regent College Podcast

Claire and Rachel caught up with Regent alums Andrés Pérez Gonzálz , Corey Janz, and Jonathan Lipps, also known as the Anachronists, to talk about their beautiful new indie-folk EP Confessions, based on Augustine’s famous work of the same name. In this special podcast episode, we hear excerpts from the songs, their process of writing and reflecting on the Confessions over Zoom during COVID, and we get the chance to hear the world premiere of “All of Our Decayed Parts.” They also reflect on the importance of artistic reflection in our interpretation of, and engagement with, theology. It’s a beautiful, Regent-y conversation. Enjoy!

(Post-production for this episode by Jonathan Lipps)

Biography

The Anachronists are Andrés Pérez Gonzálz , Corey Janz, and Jonathan Lipps, all accomplished musicians and songwriters in their own right. Hailing from three different countries (Mexico, Canada, and the US, respectively), they met as theology students here at Regent College. Having already collaborated for some time on music for College events, and faced with the lockdown environment of the early Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the three friends decided to work on this project together. Fueled by a shared love for deep theological reflection as well as intelligent and soulful songwriting, Anachronists were formed as a way to introduce their colleagues and contemporaries to a new mode of engaging with ancient thinkers; they set out to write music that would satisfy the mind and the discerning music aficionado’s ear, as well as the heart. Today, we will be talking with them about their album Confessions, based on St. Augustine’s writings of the same name.

Find all the information about the EP and the Anachronists here.

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Chapters

1. The Anachronists: Augustine's Confessions (00:00:00)

2. Intro and Bios (00:00:15)

3. Andrés, Corey and Jonathan: Introductions (00:01:45)

4. The Origins of Regent Audible (00:06:12)

5. Musical Backgrounds and Experience (00:07:07)

6. Augustine's Confessions: Why this Text for the EP? (00:09:07)

7. A Pandemic Project: Augustine Book Study and Songwriting Spreadsheets (00:14:06)

8. Process: Artistic Constraints, Musical Influences, Thematic Triptychs (00:18:40)

9. Jonathan: From Abstract to Personal (00:21:59)

10. Andrés: Knowing and Being Known by the Text (00:24:24)

11. Corey: Reading Quickly vs. Reading Meditatively (00:26:40)

12. From 30 Songs to 6: How Did You Decide? (00:29:57)

13. Tell Us About the Songs and Releases (00:33:19)

14. Andrés: God of the Runaways (A) (00:34:33)

15. Jonathan: Get Up, O Sleeper (B) (00:38:14)

16. Corey: Rest (C) (00:41:40)

17. Corey: The Racket (C') (00:45:28)

18. Jonathan: The Daily Furnace (B') (00:49:11)

19. Andrés: All of Our Decayed Parts (C') (00:52:06)

20. The Album Artwork: Minni Havas, Memento Mori (00:58:13)

21. Production: David Lipps (00:59:45)

22. Hopes for the Album and the Anachronists Project (01:00:17)

23. Future Projects? Athanasius, Julian of Norwich and Irenaeus or Origen (01:03:18)

24. Performing Together? (01:05:37)

25. Release Information / Social Media (01:07:52)

26. Premier: All of Our Decayed Parts (01:09:34)