Song Premiere: "I Believe In Father Christmas" by Chris Stringer

Hey guys!

Christmas is approaching us quickly.

And I feel like you might have one of the three following reactions to it:
1) you  l o v e  Christmas and are already counting down the days
2) you're panicking because you haven't gotten all the presents yet
3) you don't care because you don't celebrate it

Whichever reaction you're having, a little Christmas music can't hurt.
Even if you don't celebrate this time of the year, you might love the music.
And if you're currently stressing over presents, put the headphones on, love, and relax.

We're pretty thrilled to premiere a Christmas song for you today.


- Song Premiere -
"I Believe In Father Christmas" by Chris Stringer (Greg Lake cover)

Chris Stringer is Alternative Folk artist based in London, UK.

Chris grew up in the seaside city of Swansea, South Wales, before relocating to London in early 2013.
Inspired by the soulfulness of folk music, the grit of rock music and the spirit of 1980s pop, he creates high energy music with real heart.
The addition of band The Rocketeers in 2017 has given Chris’ songs the full sound to match his powerful, soaring vocals and evocative lyrics.


Chris took the time to chat us through the creative process of recording the cover, creating the artwork and why he chose this song:

"I've always been a huge fan of Christmas songs.
When I was younger, we used to listen to the same Christmas album every Christmas morning, so it became a solid part of Christmas for me. Add in the fact that I love to be a nerd about songwriting, and a slight obsession may have been born...
I could have picked any of my favourites, really, but I felt like "I Believe In Father Christmas" had so much scope to make it entirely my own whilst simultaneously being able to stay relatively true to the original, so that's what I intended to do.

I recorded the whole song over the course of about a month, at my home. In the beginning, I had some quite clear ideas about how I wanted certain parts to sound, and certain elements I wanted to include - the electric guitar over the second verse, particularly the part behind the line "I believed in Father Christmas", was in fact the very first part I had in mind.

Learning to play the main chords for the song took far more work - I've always been good at working songs out; it's what I usually do, but for this I took to YouTube and religiously watched an amazing tutorial in order to learn it. The picking style was way different to anything I've played on the guitar, and I had to record the various guitar parts about a fortnight apart because of the mammoth blisters I developed on my thumb and forefinger!
I decided I wanted to stay true to the original, while taking advantage of Lake's prog style to allow myself some space to layer instrumentation and build up to quite a full sound. I emulated the 12-string guitar by layering/duplication my guitar parts and transposing the duplicate by a full octave - sneaky!

For the artwork I considered photography and illustration, until I decided that as I was trying to stay true to the original musically, why not stay true to the original visually, too? I recreated the original artwork as closely as I could, matching the colours, and even trying to find out the original fonts used! And lastly, I added a texture to the artwork to give a dated, vintage feel, as it didn't look quite right "clean".
As a whole, I feel like the project became less of a straightforward cover, and more of a homage to the song and to the late Greg Lake.




To me, Christmas is and pretty much always has been about family.
 I was not raised religious, and so at home Christmas never really had that element to it. Growing up, I'd wake up and spend the morning with my mum and sister, have a glass of Buck's Fizz and put on the Christmas music. We'd do the presents together, and then around midday head to my grandparents' place - it's what my song "Black & White Memories" is about. And to me that is what Christmas is all about: spending time with the people I love and hold dear.


"I Believe In Father Christmas" is available for free download from my Bandcamp page.
However if you would like to donate to Rowan Tree Cancer Care, it would mean a lot to me and my family. Please only do so if you can.



Check out Chris' cover of "I Believe In Father Christmas" right here:




Chris Stringer online: Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram





Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Words about song & image: Chris Stringer

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Song Premiere: "This Feeling" by Dylan Cassin

Hey guys!

Well, this is exciting!

Today we're not only premiering a brilliant tune for you, we're premiering a tune by an artist who has been trapped in the HITS gang for six years.

Jokes aside, I am really happy to be surrounded by people who create. Some are videographers, some photographers and others constantly deliver brilliant music.
I believe that having a creative friend group is super important for being creative and staying inspired.

Needless to say, (but I'll say it anyways), I'm excited that we get to collab with those friends all the time and get to be a part of their creative journeys - just like they are a part of ours.

So ladies and gentlemen, here's your exclusive premiere!
You're gonna love it!


- Song Premiere -
"This Feeling" by Dylan Cassin


Dylan Cassin is singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
His sound is walking on the fine line between Acoustic and Pop-Rock before settling down for Alternative.

Dylan used to play lead guitar and sing backing vocals in The Arkanes.
After the band split up, Dylan just couldn't stop making music and soon headed out into the industry on his own.
He has been gigging in and around Liverpool, appeared on a radio show and is constantly writing new material. 

In April 2018, Dylan made his solo-debut in Germany - at our house in the sand birthday show.
He had the difficult task of being the first act to go on stage that night and he killed it.
If you would like to see for yourself, here's the video proof.


"This Feeling" is electrifying.
It's one of those tracks that just makes you wanna get up and move.

The song greets you with a catchy guitar riff which you'll keep hearing throughout the song. Bassline and rhythm guitar bring a funky and lively feeling to the song, while the drums showcase Dylan's ability to craft a song from start to finish, all while also playing with different dynamics in the second chorus.

Every element of the track has its own job to do and they all work together so well, letting the song come to life.

The song also reveals Dylan's talent as a lyricist, allowing his listeners to find relatable words and vivid storytelling.

It's only the start of many more releases to come - but we're already ready for more!


And now it's time for all of you to listen to Dylan's new single before the official release tomorrow.
That's right, Team HITS gets the exclusive listen! Whoop!


Listen to "This Feeling" right here:




Dylan Cassin online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram






Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Image: John Latham

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Single Premiere: "One By One" by Ian Late

Hey guys!

Do you know that feeling of pure excitement when you hear a brilliant new song?
You know, when you can't believe you've just stumbled upon a track which is so good that you can't help but have it on repeat?

Well, we're pretty lucky to experience that on a regular basis.
But what's cool is that we get to share those songs and therefore the feeling with you.

Today we actually get to share it with you before anyone else gets to share it -
isn't that mega cool?

On this fine Friday we get to premiere Ian Late's single "One By One" and we're all in for a treat.


- Single Premiere -
"One By One" by Ian Late


Ian Late is a musician based in Berlin, Germany.

His sound marches on the fine line between Pop and Indie-Folk and creates beautiful and vivid atmospheres.
His lyrics deal with society's problems and tell personal stories, always aiming to make you feel and think.

Ian's debut EP "II" was released in 2014 and has allowed the singer/songwriter to build a loyal fanbase, as well as tour Germany, Austria and Switzerland and play lots of festivals on top of that.
But he's also been able to travel further than that and play shows in Nashville, New York City, Shanghai and Taipei.

The release of his debut album "Choices" is right around the corner - on May 4th the record will meet the world and we can't wait to hear it.


After already winning us over with his first single "All That I Am", about which Ian told us a lot more in our "Behind The Song" feature, we are now excited to premiere follow up "One By One".


"One By One" describes the chaos we often find or feel in big cities and the restlessness and helplessness that comes along with it.

It's fresh, it's upbeat and it most likely will make you forget about your surroundings and get you on your feet.
The song has something so addictive to it and perfectly fits into the releases of colourful Spring releases.
With Ian's warm vocals, it's no surprise that the song is a joy to listen to, as the vocals carefully guide you through the track. 
 
The instrumentation is uplifiting and controlling, but in a charming and subtle manner - nothing screams in your face, yet nothing hides behind a facade.
Light guitar riffs make the song so addictive, while the drum beat makes sure you're not letting your feelings get you down - and let's be real - that's something we all need.

We think this track belongs on your playlist, so join our dance party and let's keep on moving.


Be one of the first people to listen to "One By One" here:




Loved what you just heard?
Lucky you (if you're based in Germany) - because you can go and hear it live here:


10th May - Other Music Academy, Weimar
11th May - Flowpo, Chemnitz
16th May - Marie-Antoine, Berlin (record release show)
18th May - Museumskeller, Erfurt
19th May - Kukuun, Hamburg



Ian Late online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram



- HITS would like to thank Ian and Christian for letting us host this premiere. -




Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Image: Patricia Haas via Ian Late

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