Like many musicians during the pandemic, Anita Eccleston took solace from music, writing songs, fighting through the noise and the turmoil, trying to stay sane. Weeks and months passed and then suddenly and yet slowly it was Christmastime. It felt collectively like the Holiday spirit had arrived early and was on full blast, everyone and everything compensating for the long solitude during this period of separation.
“I turned my thoughts inward, to my family and the many Christmases at the home where I grew up. I saw in my mind’s eye, the view of the Christmas lights out above my bedroom window as a child. I remembered gazing into the night sky at the stars, wondering if the bright one was the Christmas Star, the longest nights of the year, especially Christmas Eve, waiting for morning, excited and filled with wonder.”
Nostalgia inspired an idyllic remembrance, and the song poured out of her in a couple of days. Unable to be home in Kamloops for Christmas after such a year was eased along by the happiness of sharing the song via a Christmas Day zoom hang with her family.
She banded together with cellist Doug Gorkoff (Black Dog String Quartet, The Living, Plastic Acid Orchestra) to produce the recording at her home studio. “When this thing started, everyone had to figure out how to record at home. We made this recording in my basement, in a cozy room packed with books and musical instruments.” Kris Ruston (Death Mountain Sound) mixed the track and Chris Gestrin (Public Alley 421) mastered it. Anita partnered up with Patrick Collins (Always Further Films, This End Up, Peaches) to produce the music video to accompany the song.
This year Anita is glad to give her song to the world, a present she hopes will warm hearts and stir up the enduring nostalgia the season brings, like a winter oasis, every year. She is also finally planning a trip home.
Song Credits:
Anita Eccleston – Vocals, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Piano, Ukulele, Percussion.
Doug Gorkoff – Cello, Electric Cello.
Recorded by Anita Eccleston at South Van Studios (Vancouver, BC).
Mixed by K. Ruston at Death Mountain Sound (Heffley Creek, BC).
Mastered by Chris Gestrin at Public Alley 421 (Vancouver, BC)
