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Free Swim (with bassist Yolanda The Panda)



It's Christmas Eve so for this week's mixtape we bring you an hour of seasonal songs - and from 3am today they're yours to keep via the 6 Music Downloads Page - our small seasonal gift, made possible by the generosity of the artists concerned. And so onto the vexed subject of Christmas Singles - of which said mixtape entirely consists.

To declare an interest, in childhood I sang in my local church choir - briefly rising to the dizzy heights of Head Chorister before my voice broke in the early 1960s.Ìý So although smartphones, social media and adventurous new artists very much float my boat, in some areas I'm still a traditionalist. My idea of a Christmas soundtrack has always been more Carols From King's than seasonal cash-ins by the likes of Slade, Wizzard and Wham!

But there's no getting away from it: Christmas Singles are now a permanent part of the UK's musical landscape, and this year it seemed like every emerging artist in the land had decided to make one. My colleague Mar De Miguel at our blog rashly put out a request for seasonally-themed songs and by early December had already received well over three hundred for her Christmas Day special.

For this mixtape, I had to listen - with gritted teeth - to every single track uploaded to Ö÷²¥´óÐã Introducing in the last three months that had "Christmas" in the title. Imagine! And yet buried in that vast sugary snowdrift of clichéd sleighbells and schlock sentimentality, there were nineteen gems that I actually liked very much. Some of them funny, some cynical, some genuinely affecting… and some so silly and strange they were simply irresistible. Yes, Lynne Butler with your Yodelling Christmas Song, I'm talking about you.

Have a cool Yule everybody and we'll be back next week with a small selection of the many Introducing artists we think you should look out for in 2013.

FREE SWIM - A Rip Roaring Christmas [start 0:13]

Free Swim is one of Paul Coltofeanu’s two musical incarnations. The other, Android Angel, is what will be preoccupying him in early 2013 as he releases a new album, 'Lie Back & Think of England', which Paul tells us was inspired by his recent travels through Eastern Europe. Then, later in the Spring, Free Swim returns with a 5th EP; the 4th is currently available for download via his bandcamp page, as is this festive offering.

HOLLY AND THE WOLF - Marzipan Reindeer [start 04:28]

Friends of ours and others on 6 Music (The Hawk has already given this festive gem a couple of spins), Holly and the Wolf are Holly Dearden (vocals and piano), Robbie Jarvis (drums) and Alex Karban (double-bass). Marzipan Reindeer follows the release of their debut single, Holding Me Back, and is the title track of a new digitally-available EP. I highly recommend you watch the Tony Johnson animated video that accompanies it, which has already garnered over thirty-thousand hits via YouTube and the DailyMotion.

SIDE SHOW - Cashing in on Christmas [start 07:13]

From Southport, Side Show are a crew of wild young things that pride themselves on putting the fun into punk. They have released 2 EPs and 2 singles, of which this is the most recent, and are also hard-working regulars on the gig circuit, performing in places as far-afield as Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle and Penrith. Festivals, they tell us, are the order of 2013.

KARIINA GRETERE - Twas The Night Before Christmas [start 9:25]

Kariina is a Latvian-British singer-songwriter and composer. Predisposed to Baltic gloom and artistic multiplicity, she draws her influences from The Cocteau Twins, Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell and Arvo Pärt - among many, many others. Her solo EP 'Bittersweet' was released in 2010, while her latest project sounds very intriguing. Entitled ‘Amber & Fly’, it’s a medley of introspects and magic realism involving fossilised insects, Joan of Arc and a hit-man. The video for Twas The Night Before Christmas can be .
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BOYDZOID - Christmas Carol [start 13:48]

Boydzoid is the pseudonym (an old nickname, in fact) of Suffolk denizen, Dan Hayden. A long-time guitarist, Dan started making beats earlier this year, having been introduced to the wonders of technology by producer-slash-housemate, Scarf Face (genius!). He is currently working on an EP and regularly updates his soundcloud page, should you wish to hear more of his work.

JACEN BRUCE - Christmas and New Year [start 15:38]

Jacen is a musician who keeps himself busy. As well as recording the UK and US (including a session at Sun Studios with the late Paul Burlison), he has TV and radio credits on Day and Night, The Trisha Show, Radio Caroline, Heart FM and Radio 1, among others. His trademark style is a fusion of country and rockabilly, as you’ll find out if you can make it Cafe Rouge in Bury St Edmunds on December 31st. If you can’t, a comprehensive list of his forthcoming gigs is available on his website.

THE OTHER GUYS - Christmas Gets Worse Every Year [start 18:18]

The Other Guys were formed in 2004 by a group of students from St. Andrews to bring American collegiate a cappella to the UK. In 2011, the group 'shot to fame' when they released Royal Romance, a video and song to mark the wedding of two of the University of St. Andrews' finest Alumni, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Since then they have recorded two albums, Barely Regal and Christmas, and released a charity single entitled St. Andrews Girls. With Christmas Gets Worse Every Year, they intended to get to Christmas Number 1, receiving support from Steven Fry and Colin Montgomerie amongst others. At time of writing, all I can tell you with regards to their efforts is that the song has had over 100,000 views on YouTube

LAURENCE MADE ME CRY - You Can't Have Christmas, It's Mine [start 22:56]

The artist behind this project is multi-instrumentalist Jo Whitby - a West Country girl making roots in the Welsh capital Cardiff. She is currently busy recording ‘The Diary of Me’, an album exploring the dialogue we all have with our individual inner voice, with various collaborators in and outside the UK. ‘The Diary of Me’ will be released on March 11th.

LEANIE & THE XMAS FACTORS - Cardboard Christmas [start 27:33]

Léanie Kaleido is a pint-sized purveyor of folk-pop. Daughter of Top Topham, original Yardbirds lead-guitarist, she released her début album 'Karamelién' in 2006, which was well-received in both the local and national press. For this, a one-off project, she enlisted the help of Joolz Dunkley, Chris Goddard and Arthur, aged 2, on guest vocals. The video is on YouTube. Léanie is currently finishing her second album and plans to release it next year, when she'll be back on the gig circuit to promote it.

THE FAM L E - Happy Christmas Haters [start 30:30]

The FAM L E is a collective of 4 individuals who go by the names of MLE, Callum Crowley, Bam Bam & PaDANtic. They are based in South Wales and were the brainchild of MLE (real name Emily Bates).Ìý To date, they have produced a variety of solo & collaborative studio tracks, with their first, &-track EP available for download now. The EP was recorded in MLE’s living room, affectionately known as Studio 23.

OF ARROWE HILL - Christmas Distance [start 33:55]

Written & recorded on Christmas Day 2011, Of Arrowe Hill's 'Christmas Distance' is mainman Adam Easterbrook'sÌý first - and only - foray into the murky world of the Christmas Single. You can view the accompanying poignant (if rather morbid) promo film online, while the song itself the song is the closing track on the most recent OAH album: Love Letters, Hate Mail & The Haunted Self. Not only have we played tracks from it on 6 music Introducing but Mojo magazine described it as "lo-fi basement psychedelia of a spectral hue" and awarded it four well-deserved stars.

FALLINGHAM FAIR - Think Of It As Christmas [start 36:29]

Fallingham Fair are a three-part-harmony folk trio comprising Fred Claridge, Aoife McCauley and Tim Gilvin - who is no stranger to my Introducing shows on 6 Music. They formed in 2010 in Birmingham off the back of a string of collaborative gigs, and recorded their self-released debut album Fallingham Fair in 2011. After a year of playing a lot of diverse shows (Wychwood Festival, New Roots Folk Festival, Camden Rock) and release of the single "Luck", the band will kick-off 2013 by recording a second album. A not-to-be-missed documentary following their Laundrette Sessions - 3 gigs in 3 laundrettes in 3 cities in 1 day – is also due for release in January.

SWAMP DUCK - Duckin' Out Of Christmas [start 40:26]

Canterbury-based Swamp Duck have produced two albums. Their debut, Quack of Dawn, was recorded in 2008. Early copies of the CD were coloured in by the band members during gig intervals. The new album, Quacking Up, from which this track is taken, is currently at the printers. Expect nothing more for them in the very short-term, as bassist-cum-engineer Snave Dave is on paternity leave!

CORNELIA BROWN - Christmas For Everyone [start 43:23]

Cornelia Brown (known to friends and family as Neli) is an unsigned Christian singer and songwriter based in Devon. Christmas For Everyone comes from her third and latest album Freedom - which was released earlier this month and is available from her website. It follows on from her earlier full-length releases Friends in 2010 and Multimesc in 2008.

LIFE IN A BLENDER - Hey, Christmas [start 46:12]

For over 25 years, Life in a Blender has been the canvas for singer / songwriter Don Ralph's blackly comic landscapes. The group has released seven albums ranging from screaming punk to orchestrated chamber pop, and has brought the high theatrics of its live act to stages from Berlin to Austin to Toronto to Brooklyn and Seattle. Don Ralph formed the band with high school friend Dave Moody (then bassist, now cellist), and within a couple of years had acquired the drumming services of Ken Meyer. Guitarist Al Houghton and bassist Mark Lerner joined in 1992, while violinist Rebecca Weiner Tompkins signed on in 1993.

JESS MORGAN - Christmas Eve [start 50:11]

Jess is a singer-songwriter who is steadily building a name for herself among the roots and folk community. Recorded with musical friends and collaborators in Bergen, Norway, Jess self-released her debut album, ‘All Swell’, to notable acclaim in 2010. Since then, she has played regular shows in Norway, Germany and Holland. At home Jess has earned her place supporting with the likes of First Aid Kit, Chris Wood and Megson and well as playing at clubs and venues up and down the UK. Jess released her second album ‘Aye Me’ in the Spring of 2012, which was championed by our very own Steve Lamacq. Over the past couple of months, Jess has beenÌý promoting a video EP featuring live intimate performances of her songs filmed at 'Old Merchants House' on Great Yarmouth's historic South Quay.

FLEECE - The Banks Have Stolen Christmas [start 53:47]

Fleece describe themselves as "a Welsh/Irish/Dutch combo of semi-employed musicians based in County Leitrim in the Northwest of Ireland". As well as being the most under-populated county in the country, Leitrim is also - they tell us - a musical wilderness and it is in this environment that "Fleecerock" was born. Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, gigs are rare. So rather than performing live, word is that they're hunkering down in their Fleece-lined bunker "writing and recording multi-genre songs of unrequited love, despair and misery (but in a good way)".

TURBO LASER - Sexual Christmas [start 57:29]

Turbo Laser are Chris Wilkinson and Alan Matthews, a tongue-in-cheek rock / metal duo from Newbury in Berkshire. They have spent the last 2 years recording a self-titled debut album. Featuring 12 tracks of this fair nation’s most masculine music, it is now available digitally. Alternatively, they have free music to download via Soundcloud or stream on Spotify.

LYNNE BUTLER - A Yodelling Christmas Song [start 1:00:37]

A professional musician since 2004, Lynne has released three previous albums and is currently working on a fourth, due for release summer 2013. Well-known to lovers of bluegrass as an Internet DJ and authority on the genre, she has now, as you can hear, taught herself to yodel. Such is her prowess that she has done a duet with none other than Joe Brown MBE, and also made it onto the Cornbury Festival compilation CD with the Ukulele Club Of Sonning Common. She plans to tour next spring.

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