Back in 2020 I set out to write an original Christmas song. The world felt new and scary and nobody quite knew what to make of the pandemic or could comprehend how it would change our lives at the beginning. The forecasted couple of years didn’t sound like a big deal at that time, coming out of a pretty okay spring and summer.
In the midst of a months-long stint recording the bulk of Sojourns in my bedroom, I felt an annual polar-opposite festivity overtake me. For a long time I spent months writing a song, and thus would start the festive tunes in June. It is a common occurrence for me to have Christmas music on the brain any given day of the year, but this time it felt different.
In the beginning, O, the Holidays are Near! was actually just a little prelude to Wintertime is Back; a minute-long retro intro of sorts. Thankfully, my good friend Drew suggested I develop it into its own song.
Digging into that song concept brought out many of the things that made Christmas music so special to me over the years: inspiring imagery, coziness/warmth, references to the time, orchestral elements, cheerfulness, togetherness, etc. I added many layers to that recording that set the tone. I found some clinking dishes and indistinct conversation clips online and added those to three separate recordings of a crackling fire. Layering orchestra with a tack piano and a warbly, vintage guitar sound tied it all together. The last piece of the puzzle was to get that crispy, warm crooner vocal delivery that I had admired and tried to emulate my whole life. It will never be quite like my heroes Nat King Cole or Mel Tormé, but it did the trick on this song. Listen here.
Wintertime is Back! came about via a much more current approach. For a time I think that Christmas originals lent quite heavily on all of the aspects I relied on for O, the Holidays Are Near!, and began to sound pretty similar and lifeless. I turned to a genre that wasn’t in my wheelhouse, nor my experience of Christmas music to this point: funk. Vulfpeck had released Christmas in L.A. a few years prior and I was absolutely obsessed by it. It was a much more modern and specific take, which felt so fresh and joyful.
The message that I wanted to get across was exactly what Joel and I had been aiming to get across while doing covers throughout the years: to try to share the utter joy we feel with others, regardless of how and what others celebrate. I’ve realized over the years that it wasn’t Christmas that was so special to me, but the things about that time of year: settling in for the night, spending more time with friends and family, taking it a bit easier and giving others a break, reminding others that they are important to you, eating a little too much for a short period, showing affection through gifts, gestures, and time spent together, sleeping well/not sleeping well in the interest of having a good time, looking at your life and humankind in general a little differently.
The whole process of recording this song and video were so special to me, and I am really grateful to everyone who was involved. We recorded most of the extra layers in Joel and Randi Stretch’s basement: Omnichord, Dylan’s guitar, percussion, claps, bells, choir, group atmosphere. We also recorded the music video at their place. I did the storyboarding and directing and shooting (not to mention I sewed a sleeping cap) and convinced Joel to play an old curmudgeon who is accosted in his own home by a cheerful group of Lethbridge musicians. (You really need to see it to believe it - check it out here).
I think you can really hear the message in this song beyond the lyrics and I am really grateful that I found my way back to Lethbridge to spend some more time with these stinkers. I will sure be spending more time with them in this coming year. Happy Holidays, and best to you all (and expect a holiday cover ASAP).
Listen to the album here: