Astrocolor, has deconstructed some true holiday classics, with their holiday album, Lit Up, out December 11th on Last Gang Records. the 10 song soundtrack was conceived as an experimental Christmas album for a new generation of holiday listeners, it features 10 seasonal classics that have been reinvented.

Today, the band premiered their take on the classic Xmas tune “Sleigh Ride,” and the band has set the tune to the time-tested classic fireplace videos of yesteryear. Watch and listen via YouTube. “It really is a Christmas-themed album, rather than a traditional selection of individual Christmas songs, which hopefully translates into a broader appreciation of the album. Our ultimate goal was to create something even a non-Christmas fan would enjoy,” they describe.

Based in Victoria, BC, Astrocolor is Andrew Poirier (guitar), Anand Greenwell (saxophone), Chris Mackenzie (drums), William Farrant (bass), and Piers Henwood (guitar). Additional programming and instrumentation was provided by Matt Lyall, the Righteous Rainbows of Togetherness, and Jason Cook. Co-produced by Astrocolor and Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Dan Mangan, AC Newman), the ambient, dubby, yet festive album takes cues from influences including Massive Attack, Air, Stan Getz, and St. Germain. The album features choice vocal moments from a collection of the band’s friends — Kandle, Rykka, Antonia Freybe-Smith, and Abi Rose, which add sonic depth to the proceedings.

“A couple of us were living together at the time we began visualizing what the album might be, listening to the jazz great Stan Getz and his album Getz Au Go-Go a lot for inspiration,” they describe. “The version of “Summertime” from that album became a jumping off point for what we were trying to do, taking the classic “summertime and the livin’ is easy” hook and reshaping it into an exploratory piece. We too wanted to create a sense of familiarity and exploration within the context of a Christmas album.” Lit Up will also be released in the UK on December 11th, via Last Gang Records.

Astrocolor
Lit Up
Out December 11th, 2015 + Goodies throughout the holiday season…
Last Gang Records

Tracklist:
Do You Hear What I Hear? (feat. Antonia Freybe-Smith)
We Three Kings (feat. Abi Rose)
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Sleigh Ride (feat. Abi Rose)
Silent Night (feat. Rykka)
O Christmas Tree (feat. Abi Rose)
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Sugar Plums
The First Noel
The Little Drummer Boy (feat. Kandle)