Everyone has their favorite holiday music memories. I grew up with my parent’s collection of ‘60s holiday albums which we would stack on the turntable and play over and over from Thanksgiving to the end of the year.

Voices, choirs, organs, pianos, and bells. Music that immediately brings back those memories of family reunions, decorations, and food when I listen to it now.

Since that time, few holiday recordings have affected me in the same way, except for one; a now out-of-print holiday themed CD by the pioneering digital label Second Hearing that features recordings of a Regina Music Box, English handbells, choirs, organs, and pianos. This CD (and certain CDs by Vince Guaraldi or Mannheim Steamroller) best represent my family holiday soundtrack now.

Much of that holiday sound has subtly crept into the sound of Sensitive Chaos, though disguised and downplayed. But for live performances during the holiday season, all the stops come out and I dive headlong into making modern, electronic holiday music. This CD is a sampling of some of the best of recent holiday live recordings, improvised at festive gatherings with the intent of provoking some of the same memories that my favorite holiday CDs bring to me. I hope the tunes and sounds ring true!

All songs produced, mixed, edited, and mastered by Jim Combs
at Common Sound Studio in June/July 2011.

Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells Suite was
recorded live at City Skies/Kavarna on December 5, 2009.
Ceiliúradh Mhór, Winter Winds Across the Heartland, Spirit
of the Season, and Carillon et le Champagne were recorded
live during the Academe of the Oaks benefit auction,
Old Decatur Courthouse on December 6, 2008.

Nightshift at the Baby Mecha Nursery was originally
released on the Leak album November 2006.

Equipment used on these recordings:
Sequentix P3 sequencer, Roland JD-800/JV-1080, Novation Nova/SuperNova, Yamaha Tenori-On, Korg ESX-1/ES-1/ER-1, Emu Morpheus, Kurzweil K2000,MOTU DP7, Texas Instruments Touch and Tell