Brand New Christmas is the latest from Sydney / NewYorker Nathan Leigh Jones! What a jolly good album. We even get to hear the gorgeous David Raleigh on duet with Nathan for a stunning rendition of Winter Wonderland! theaussieword.com caught up with our good friends in New York and here’s what they had to say!
Nathan Leigh Jones:
I had a blast making this album. Everyone loves a good Christmas song — but then again, everyone hates a bad one! So there was a lot of pressure to make the collection of songs on ‘Brand New Christmas’ fresh and original, and I think it all came together. One of my favourite tracks on the album is one that I recorded with my good friend and fellow singer/songwriter/piano player David Raleigh from New York City. It’s a version of Winter Wonderland. Like all the tracks on the album, it’s quite a departure from the original, but it has a really cool vibe that suits David’s voice perfectly. In fact, our voices blend so well on this track that some people can’t tell who’s singing what!
David Raleigh:
It was such a joy to spend the last few days shooting the video for Winter Wonderland with Nathan Leigh Jones! Besides the honor of being asked to be a part of this project, I was equally honored that Duncan Scheib a great director and fan of my music offered to take the reigns (Ha ha! Reigns? Get it? Santa, sleigh, reindeer?!) and, with his outstanding crew, deliver such an epic showcase for this fantastic arrangement by Nathan. This winter wonderland we captured on film is SO New York. Being a transplanted Aussie himself, Duncan really got and understood NLJ’s vision and I think the fans are gonna love it. They will also love that they can watch us freezing our butts off in the cold yet enjoy it from the comfort of their beach front Christmas “barbies”! Jealous!
Nathan Leigh Jones:
I’ve produced an album for David before, and am currently producing another one which will drop early 2014, but recording a duet was an entirely new experience altogether! It was a super fun one though, and making this video just took it to the next level. I was also able to collaborate with Sally Cameron on this album, one-fourth of the multi-ARIA award winning vocal group The Idea Of North, who lent some backing vocals to ‘O Holy Night’. The premise for this album was to take well-known carols and totally rewrite the melodies. It’s been hilarious to watch people’s faces while listening to this album, and see it dawn on them that they kind of already know this song, but it’s in a brand new way. Hopefully ‘Brand New Christmas’ gives people a refreshing take on their favourite holiday songs, and adds to the joy of this wonderful season. Merry Christmas!Love you boys! Merry Christmas ~ theaussieword x