Every year, there seems to be at least one track like this that hits me the right way at the right time. An Electronic soundscape that's not trying to catch anyone's attention...just happy to be. And I consider my desire to post such things as a feature, not a bug. I have no idea who Mishella is or where she's from. Here's what we know. "Spontaneous Christmas chill vibe track I made in like 2 dayz". Well, alright then. It's one of the things I love about Christmas music. It comes in all sizes and shapes, from places expected and unexpected, from the famous and the unknown, with high expectations and with no expectations. And someone somewhere (in this case, me) is going to like it. "Xmas Vibes" is available as a free download from Soundcloud..you know, if it happens to hit you the right way at the right time.
Born in Wisconsin, "built" in Minnesota (that's how she puts it), Sarah Krueger is an Indie Folk Pop/Americana artist (or, as she says "Folk - Rock - Soul - Americana or whatever"). She's turned up as a backing vocalist on a release or two, but she's been putting together some solid solo work for the last three years or so.
The "Northern Air" EP is her Christmas present to fans and fans-to-be. There are two originals and three traditional carols on this record, recorded in November with the aid of Jordan Taylor. The songs are fairly well stripped down and that does give the EP a genuine midwestern Christmas vibe. I can't complain about any of it. I love the two originals and Sarah sings a fabulous "Silent Night". But, meaning absolutely no disrespect to her vocals, my favorite is the EP's lone instrumental, "Do You Hear What I Hear", which has a sort of Prarie Gospel Ambient feel to it. Absolute perfection. You can download "Northern Air" by Sarah Krueger on a "name-your-price" basis via Bandcamp.  Louis, I hate you. Well, no, not really, but...
So I got an email the other day and I honestly hadn't had time to read it until just now. And Louis points me to Randi Fay. Randi's a Green Bay, Wisconsin artist noted for Blues and Jazz, primarily. She's won the WAMI (no, seriously--Wisconsin Area Music Industry--WAMI) two years in a row as best Jazz artist. She just released this gorgeous tune, "Little Babe", which is a song that attempts to capture Mary's view of this little miracle she'd carried for 9 months and the world, which of course is different now, immediately after the birth of Jesus. And when I say "little miracle", I don't even mean that in the sense of "virgin birth" and all that. All children are miracles. Just sayin'. Neither a religious or political view on my part, I promise. The song is just beautiful. I'd have to believe, as Randi wrote this, that she is, herself, a mother. And, as I was typing that, I checked her web site and she's not only a mother, but a grandmother. Respect. "Little Babe" is nearly 7 and a half minutes long and not nearly long enough. Best of all, it's FREE! But wait... I look over to the right on Randi's music page and she's got an entire Christmas album, "Noel" (from 2011). Dang it, Louis. What are you doing to me? Another Christmas album I'm gonna have to buy? I hate you, Louis. I really really hate you right now. (Nah! Just kidding) Head on over to Randi Fay's web site to grab the free download of "Little Babe" just for signing on to the mailing list. Stay long enough to check out "Noel", too (it's here). And, if you're paying attention, there's another free Christmas song for you. Nope, not even gonna tell you which one it is. |
The FREE ListHere we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations. Archives2010 FREE List Categories
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