The three members of Vaults are no strangers to harmonious festive melodies, after performing the backing track for this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert; a cover of Randy Crawford’s One Day I’ll Fly Away.
The British electronica band, based in London have had a busy year, reaching viral YouTube success and releasing their first album, Caught in Still Life, at the beginning of December.
Taking some well-deserved time off over the holidays, Blythe Pepino, Barney Freeman and Ben Vella share the tracks they’ll be playing to channel Santa’s spirit this Christmas.
I Believe In Father Christmas – Greg Lake
In a UNILAD Sound exclusive, Ben told us the band have been incorporating Christmas tracks into their ethereal live sets.
He said:
I picked this one as we’ve recently been playing it for a few acoustic shows, although I’ve known it for years. It’s a really lovely guitar piece to play; very prog for a Christmas song! It’s also quite an anti-Christmas song in terms of the lyrics, which is why it works with us playing it!
The Holly and The Ivy
Keeping things old school, Ben also picked a choral classic in The Holly and the Ivy, saying, ‘I thought I’d pick one very traditional one as well. We occasionally get dragged to carol services at Christmas and I find myself belting this one out for some reason .’
He also told us his daughter is called Holly, ‘so it carries a bit more meaning now’.
Stay Another Day – East 17
Blythe offered up a Christmas number one, courtesy of puffer jacket-wearing, street-dancing bad boys of pop, East 17.
She said:
Who can resist this ultimate and timeless classic, complete with epic music video?
If you’ve had too much whisky and your belt is popping with mince pies and stuffing, if everyone seems to be sliding towards bed you can simply wake up the party and get Grandma swaying around the kitchen to East 17’s classic moves…
Those white suits! That hat! “Baby if you got to go away…”!
A Spaceman Came Travelling – Chris de Burgh
This rather unusual yuletide ballad makes it onto Vaults’ playlist for its conspiratorial lyrics and upbeat melodrama.
Barney said, ‘Another great prog Christmas song. I think it’s about Jesus being an alien, possibly. Chris De Burgh is mental.’
Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea
Topping the list of Barney’s all-time favourite tracks, crooner Chris Rea closes Christmas proceedings. He grinned, ‘I love putting it on literally as I drive home to visit my two Aunts. They make the best mince pies. I’m a lucky, lucky man.’
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.