LISTEN: Mick J. Clark — It's Christmas Party Time.
Mick J. Clark is a singer and songwriter from Croydon, England, with a catalogue spanning pop, rock and country. His releases include the album Causes and the festive EP Mick's Christmas Mix. Released on November 6, "It's Christmas Party Time." is a song about getting together for a Christmas party.
I absolutely loved the mixing decisions on this track. We can hear a Christmas party going on in the background, and it's surprisingly loud, to the point where it's almost competing with the music and the vocals. And I think that's a brilliant idea! It immediately puts you in a festive mood.
Of course, all the other Christmas essentials are here too. There's that fast, upbeat rhythm straight out of the Motown hits of the '60s and '70s, complete with the obligatory tambourine. I swear, whenever I hear a tambourine in a Christmas song, I imagine Santa flying through the sky in his sleigh (maybe I somehow associate the tambourine sound with the bells). And with this tempo, he's going so fast that the wind must be whistling past the reindeers' ears! There's plenty of the actuall bell jingling too.
But what I especially love is the way the vocals are sung. We all know how Christmas songs are often recorded by technically brilliant singers who follow all the conventions of the genre and show off their incredible vocal abilities, like Mariah Carey on her immortal Christmas hit. Here, the singing has this wonderfully warm, intimate, almost homemade quality. It makes me imagine sitting by the Christmas tree, or by a fireplace with stockings hanging from the mantelpiece, surrounded by relatives and kids running around, threatening to knock the tree over at any moment.
And apart from that absolutely crazy synth solo, with its pitch sliding all over the place, which I loved, the vocals are probably my favorite thing about this song. There's something so touching about them that I genuinely want to play the track again just to hear the singer.
And coming back to the mix, I enjoyed how modest and intimate it sounds. The drums aren't enormous, there's no exaggerated low end, and the vocals aren't pushed right into your face. Everything has this cozy, slightly crowded, family-Christmas-party feel to it. I think that's a huge part of why I enjoyed the song so much.
I absolutely loved the mixing decisions on this track. We can hear a Christmas party going on in the background, and it's surprisingly loud, to the point where it's almost competing with the music and the vocals. And I think that's a brilliant idea! It immediately puts you in a festive mood.
Of course, all the other Christmas essentials are here too. There's that fast, upbeat rhythm straight out of the Motown hits of the '60s and '70s, complete with the obligatory tambourine. I swear, whenever I hear a tambourine in a Christmas song, I imagine Santa flying through the sky in his sleigh (maybe I somehow associate the tambourine sound with the bells). And with this tempo, he's going so fast that the wind must be whistling past the reindeers' ears! There's plenty of the actuall bell jingling too.
But what I especially love is the way the vocals are sung. We all know how Christmas songs are often recorded by technically brilliant singers who follow all the conventions of the genre and show off their incredible vocal abilities, like Mariah Carey on her immortal Christmas hit. Here, the singing has this wonderfully warm, intimate, almost homemade quality. It makes me imagine sitting by the Christmas tree, or by a fireplace with stockings hanging from the mantelpiece, surrounded by relatives and kids running around, threatening to knock the tree over at any moment.
And apart from that absolutely crazy synth solo, with its pitch sliding all over the place, which I loved, the vocals are probably my favorite thing about this song. There's something so touching about them that I genuinely want to play the track again just to hear the singer.
And coming back to the mix, I enjoyed how modest and intimate it sounds. The drums aren't enormous, there's no exaggerated low end, and the vocals aren't pushed right into your face. Everything has this cozy, slightly crowded, family-Christmas-party feel to it. I think that's a huge part of why I enjoyed the song so much.