As you might know I release a new original Christmas single each year. My Christmas songs are generally on the darker side, so 2020 did not pose any obstacles for achieving that this year.
I think many artists including myself in the beginning of this pandemic thought that we’d finally have lots of time to create, something that can easily be pushed aside by a busy tour schedule a regular year. I also think that more artists than just me, then sat down with a deep sigh and no inspiration and no creative urge to do anything. Because touring, playing live and meeting people is what feeds inspiration, and we haven’t been able to do any of those things this year.
So that is the grounds to this Christmas single, as well as reflection of the craziness of this whole year with people calling the pandemic a hoax, and the general fail of most of the world do handle it in a good way. All the while we have lots of other problems on this planet as well. So I guess you could call it a doomsday Christmas song, because why not, it’s 2020.
What I did have time to do this year was to put extra work into the production. When I initially started my tradition of Christmas songs, it was also a way for me to experiment and just have fun with the sound, and it didn’t have to follow the sound of my albums. But as years passed, my Christmas songs became just another part of my repertoire and lost their experimental flare. So this year I am bringing it back full whack with a big dream-folk production. I use 5 different guitars and a banjo on this track. I have brought in bass from Sweden (by Janne Manninen) and drums all the way from New Orleans (by Marc Pagani).
As a bonus I have added a stripped down one guitar and vocals version, which is also part of a digital EP called “Notes For Christmas” with acoustic versions of my 2 latest Christmas singles as well as a traditional Swedish Christmas song performed in Swedish and German.
The single is a free download (or pay what you want if you are feeling generous), and the 4 track EP is $5 or pay what you want. I hope you will enjoy them both!
