Seven7h Way: Bringing Art Back to Christ

In October, we had the privilege of interviewing the up-and-coming musical act Seven7h Way: a Christian indie duo comprised of brothers Christian and Matthew Hamel. Seven7h Way was recently scouted and signed to Orenda Label Group, and has since landed spots on Spotify editorial playlists like Christian Alt and Indie Spirit and made waves with their youthful, unabashed artistry.

Below, read about how the brothers navigate their musical and interpersonal chemistry, their recent success and struggles, and how they found out about MXD.

Q: Who are you?

A: “[Matthew] We’re two bros who wanna bring art back to Christ, and refresh the Christian space with something brand new. There’s ‘Christian,’ then there’s Christian versions of pop and other genres of music. But we wanna invent a new sound entirely.”

Q: Why did you start making music together?

A: “[Christian] I’m 5 years older than Matthew. We first did music classes together as kids, then did music in church, singing worship together. We tried learning as many instruments as possible, and then our parents suggested we start a band, back in 2015. At the time, those were the times of Chris Tomlin. Then in the late 2010s and early 2020s, we started making hip-hop. If you didn’t like CHH then, you would've hated us, haha.

Around 2024, we had put down the music for a couple of years, getting jobs, going to college, and working… But there’s been a rekindling. All our training became useful for us again, and we fell in love with creating music all over again.”

Q: Why MXD?

A: “[Christian] We were familiar with MXD already. Matthew was the one who said, ‘Yo, Jude Barclay is doing this. Once we get $300 from streams, we can pay for a mix.’ So we saved up, and 'Shepherd' was our first professionally mixed record — and it was mixed by you guys at MXD. [Matthew] Our personal mixes often sound localized and centric, but MXD was able to really bring the song out and make the mix sound full.”

Q: How is your chemistry as a sibling duo?

A: “[Christian] Yes, there can be butting of heads, but the amazing thing about being siblings is that we’ve scuffled our whole lives. There’s no brink in our relationship. We’re still brothers, still friends. We pick up whatever slack that has to be picked up. We have different approaches to creativity – Matthew’s voice is more youthful, and mine is more serious. [Matthew] I’m good at drums and bass, while he’s really good at guitar. We’re coherent because we’re not alike.”

Q: What are some recent highs and lows as an up-and-coming artist?

A: “[Matthew] First, our music is bigger than ever, having a community. [Christian] Not just a fanbase, but people who are sharing their journeys in the faith – people reach out to us all the time, and they share their songs with their non-Christian friends. [Matthew] The numbers don’t matter as much as the community. This is what we love.”

“[Matthew] Struggles? Now that’s a big one. Our biggest struggle has been balancing time for music and time for regular things. I started music before college – I actually have one year left – but the music is bigger than it’s ever been. Also the content demand. Keeping yourself relevant. [Christian] And I’m a full-time teacher, and there’s much to balance here. For example, we were up at 12:30 AM last night visualizing the upcoming EP. The balance of time, work, and music.”

Q: How do you define success?

A: “[Matthew] I’d say success to us is continuing to stay true to our creativity and make art that’s never been made before. That’s how we’re defining success right now. If numbers come along, that’s great too, but even without them, that's how we see success.

[Christian] I'd say remaining faithful in what God has given us, whether it be a lot or a little. It’s not all about the numbers, the listeners, but continuing to be creative, I would say.”

Q: What's next for y'all this upcoming year?

A: “[Matthew] We’re excited to perform at Seek Jesus Fest in Australia this January! We don’t know what’s in store for next year, but we have goals. We wanna go on tour over the summer, drop the debut album, but who knows? We’re ambitious, and we’re only 1.5 years into pursuing this, but we have big dreams and goals. We’re gonna try what we can do.”

Shoutout to Matthew and Christian for this amazing interview. Check out our collaborations in the MXD Radar playlist.

And go follow Seven7h Way on Instagram, and stream their latest project, "how it feels to be with YOU"!