Thursday 11th December 2025
Chris Mountford spoke at length to Lindz West of dance music doyens LZ7
Lindz West
Over the years LZ7
have become the best-selling act in British Christian music history.
Their frontman, rapper, singer and songwriter Lindz West spoke about
their 20+ years in mission.
Chris: Lindz, it’s hard to believe that ‘Ruckus’ came out 20
years ago!
Lindz: I know – where’s that time gone? Since then, I’ve had two
kids, moved to London, travelled hundreds of thousands of miles, and
seen just as many young people encounter Jesus. It’s been an amazing
journey.
Chris: And LZ7 continues to grow and evolve.
Lindz: Definitely. We left The Message Trust in 2010 to start our own
organisation, Light Music, and launched the Illuminate schools tour –
out of the House of Lords, believe it or not! It’s grown into
something huge: schools tours, festivals, gigs, and now working out of
London full-time. It’s been really fruitful.
Chris: Do you still feel that same sense of vision and
calling that started all this?
Lindz: Yeah, absolutely. Music has that universal wave – it crosses
every boundary and evolves constantly. When we made ”Ruckus, I’d been
watching bands like The Prodigy and Jay-Z / Linkin Park at the MEN
Arena, just taking in that wall of sound. I remember thinking, how do
we create that kind of impact, but with hope at the centre? The first
LZ7 album had that
rap-rock energy, then we shifted toward an EDM and DJ-led sound that
still carried a message. Now, this next album brings us back to our
roots – heavy basslines, drum and bass vibes, very ’90s-inspired. It’s
a new era, but authentically us.
Chris: Let’s talk about your single, “Rewind”.
Lindz: “Rewind” came from the idea of wanting to go back to that
moment when someone first connects with Jesus – that powerful point
where you say, “My past is done; my future’s in His hands.” It’s
inspired by artists like Chase & Status and Wilkinson, but
lyrically it’s all about that transformative moment of faith. When we
do school lessons, we often see kids standing up saying, “I want to be
part of the change.” Teachers cry, bullies apologise, students hug
each other. Those are Rewind moments – when the Holy Spirit clearly
moves. I wanted to capture that in a song.
Chris: You literally launched it in a chip shop, didn’t
you?
Lindz: (laughs) Yeah! When I moved to London about 18 months ago, I
started partnering with Youth Alpha so that after kids respond in
schools, we can invite them straight into discipleship the next week.
My local chip shop owner became a mate – great fish and chips, by the
way – and one night I just said, “We should do a rave in here.” He
loved it! We cleared out the back room, packed in 80 people, gave away
free fish and chips, and launched “Rewind”. It was boiling hot,
packed, and completely wild – chips flying, people dancing, total
chaos but such joy. We even did a short gospel talk in the middle.
There were barbers, bartenders, even some local dealers there. It was
all about hope. And now people stop me in the street asking, “When’s
the next one?” We’re planning the next launch there soon.
Chris: You clearly see music as mission.
Lindz: Exactly. LZ7
has always been about changing lives through music. The stage is just
the platform for the Gospel. Music breaks barriers – backgrounds,
stereotypes, histories. It’s the universal language God keeps using to
open hearts.
Chris: You’ve worked with the producer Solomon Olds (from
Family Force 5) again on this single, right?
Lindz: Yeah, I love that guy. I first met him at Flevo Festival back
in 2010, just as we were stepping out of The Message. He came on stage
with those massive Hulk hands and just exploded with energy! I went
backstage, said, “We’ve got to work together,” and he came over for
two weeks. We rented a barn, turned it into a studio, and wrote songs
like “Elevator”, “Movie” and “Next Level”. He’s full of creativity –
just electric. For “Rewind”, I sent him this very UK-flavoured beat,
and he was straight in: “I’m all over that!” His vocals take the track
to another level.
Chris: As well as making amazing records LZ7 are very much club
guys, not pop singers. Live gigs are still crucial in what you
do.
Lindz: It’s funny – a lot of students now have never been to a live
gig because of COVID. We’ll go into a school and they don’t know how
to react at first! But once the music hits, something unlocks. Music
still has that universal language, but young people are looking for
one key thing – authenticity. A survey of 30,000 under-18s said 82%
wanted role models who are authentic. If your faith is real, that’s
what connects. 
The opinions expressed in this article are
not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may
not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a
later date.
Chris Mountford is Programme Controller and Production Manager for the Cross Rhythms radio station in Stoke-on-Trent.