Electralyte is a four-piece British rock band, based in Chelmsford, Essex. Last year they supported Delirious? on their UK Omnisonic Tour. This summer they released their latest album Scratch Beneath The Surface. Their festival performances boosted both their profile and their fan base.

This is a band that likes to ask questions. Their lives and their lyrics balance their Christian faith with the world in which we all live. Their songs are full of heavenly and earthly questions, and challenges. Where does imagination finish and God begin? What should we do about lonely people? Where does God fit in my love life?

Challenge gathered three (of four) members of the band Electralyte round a conference phone. Hereís what they had to say.

'If our album helps people to wrestle with and think more about eternal conversations then weíve succeeded,í says songwriter and front man Matt Leeder. Perhaps surprisingly it was the Salvation Army who first 'employed' the boys' talents nearly five years ago to reach out to young people.

Had their goals and ambitions changed?
'I think we are still honing that,' says Matt. 'I think we have all had in our heart what we were meant to be doing. It's taken time to work out how we do that together. We've done an awful lot of different stuff - a lot of work with young people, work with the wider church but also doing mainstream gigs to 'regular' people. 'I think that what we want to do is bridge the gap and just be out in the real world bringing out a bit of a message and challenge.'

What inspires the lyrics?
'The idea of the music is to have integrity with 'who' we are a band. So the stuff that we face day to day is the stuff we want to engage with in our song writing. It bubbles up, it's natural. The mood of the album is a reflection of where I am (and the band) at any one time.'

Where did it all begin?
'We have all grown up in the church,' says Paul the bass player. 'Jon (drums) and I have had quite spectacular going away from church and then working it out - epiphany moments and coming back to the church. I strayed a long way away in my teenage years.'

Were they are all 'born' musicians?
'We're proper musos! We've learnt our craft not in the church, but in school bands, jazz bands and orchestras,' says Paul. 'I was busking with my dad from when I could walk,' recalls Jon. 'We definitely believe that music holds something significant in its ability to connect peoplesí spirit with bigger things,' Matt adds. 'In our case we believe it connects with God in a special way. 'But we often end up in our songs with a lot more question marks than exclamation marks!'

And finally, that name Electralyte - where did that come from?
'We read a definition of an 'Electrolyte 'once,' says Paul. 'Apparently Electrolytes are the things that give a battery its charge. You also find Electrolytes in the human body - they flow around our blood stream; without them we wouldn't last long. 'Reading about Electrolytes conjured up a picture for us of all these little electrolytes - carrying with them life and vibrancy - flowing around the communities we live in, our friends and our families; bringing life. We thought that as Christians this was a really helpful way to describe what we're all about. So, a little spelling tweak (to ensure people can find us on Google nice and quickly) and ELECTRALYTE was born!'