Hillsong UNITED'S Joel Houston’s AMXNRADIO Unveils Debut Album

By Timothy Yap Apr 07, 2025 05:55 PM EDT

Joel Houston, the multi-award winning songwriter, producer, and frontman of Hillsong UNITED, unveils the full-length debut album from his latest creative venture, AMXNRADIO. Titled The Profound Foolishness Of ~, the project is available now via Anotherland.

Following a string of EPs that introduced listeners to AMXNRADIO, this album represents the most complete and revealing portrait of the project to date. It's worship music reimagined, unfiltered, experimental, deeply personal, and profoundly honest.

"This isn't UNITED. And it's not a solo project, either," Houston explains. "It's more like an outlet; a place to explore what worship can sound like when nothing's off the table. I needed to make this, not for a crowd, but for my soul. And I hope there are others out there who connect with that."

Spanning 15 tracks and just over an hour in length, The Profound Foolishness Of ~ is a poetic and cinematic listening experience; a collage of late-night prayers, raw journal entries, and experimental worship expressions.

The album features previously released songs like "SOM3ONE like U," "i just wanna beliiieve.." featuring Ivan Theva, and "iN THE ENd (up2U)" with longtime collaborator Matt Crocker. They are tracks that have already begun to define AMXNRADIO's distinctive sound.

"I set out to make a body of work that didn't chase commerciality or fit the mold," says Houston. "Just honest-to-God prayers I wrote like stream-of-consciousness - feelings with a beat, music like a wall of mistakes, words like a spray paint mural. Hopefully something that gets better with time, and reveals something new each time you listen."

Co-produced by Houston alongside longtime creative partner Michael Guy Chislett (also of UNITED) and UK-based producer Aaron Hollinger, the album also features contributions from Benjamin William Hastings, Aodhan King, Ben Fielding, Nathan Finochio, Anabelle Kitto, Jeriana, Joshua Kpfeuzen, Ben Tan, and others, making up a creative circle of friends and collaborators whose fingerprints can be felt throughout the project.

Musically, The Profound Foolishness Of ~ draws inspiration from across the spectrum; ambient and electronic elements mix with intimate piano, cinematic builds, and melodic fragments. The project evokes comparisons to Bon Iver, Fred again.., Sigur Rós, and even Moby or Massive Attack, while ultimately standing in a category of its own: deeply spiritual, strikingly vulnerable, and wholly original.

"If all this ever is, is something that helped me find God again - or helped someone else find themselves in God again - then it's done its job," Houston says. "I'm not trying to impress anyone. I just wanted to make something real."

With more AMXNRADIO music planned and UNITED's return on the horizon, Houston sees both projects as distinct but complementary expressions: united in purpose, grounded in a shared pursuit of worship that tells the truth.

The Profound Foolishness Of ~ Track Listing:

1. /\ ~ L ~ P ~ H ~ /\

2. Little Blue Machine

3. Breathe Again (U Gi////\e L!FE)

4. Modus/Operandiii

5. o//\o (i can't do this)

6. i just wanna beliiieve..

7. ~ someth(i//)g ~

8. SOM3ONE like U

9. t//\//+ (every scar holds a piece of my heart)

10. Who U Are? (YH////HY)

11. After~Everything (still u)