Feature: Chandra Decodes “Christmas Hugs”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
Singer Chandra has this really annoying habit of forming entire songs in his head. This song was no different but then the band got hold of the song and made it their own. You can probably hear in this song that we had so much fun creating it, injecting as many smiles and nostalgic nods to all our favourite Christmas songs and movies as possible. We just wanted it to be 4 minutes of pure joy that would warm even the grinchiest critic's heart!
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for "Christmas Hugs" to life?
For this song, we worked with a close friend of the band Aaron Shawt, who also co-produced previous singles “I'll Be There.” “Pretty and Smile (No Fox Gibbon).” You can definitely hear that in this song and we've purposefully done that because we wanted to to sit well with the Lifted EP. Aaron just went to town on this, taking on board all of our ideas and making the song glow with Christmas cheer. Tubular Bells, Sleigh Bells, Timpani Drums, Horns, Strings... it's all in there.
What impact do you hope this track will have on your audience?
This isn't a cynical Christmas tie-in. Anyone who knows our music knows what messages we like to portray and this song is true to us. We would like to think that it's the perfect blend of pop-rock and Christmas, and because of that we hope that, even if you're not a fan of Christmas, this song will melt your heart a little. It celebrates the fact that people are so much kinder, more charitable and loving at Christmas and that we should all make an effort to spread Christmas cheer.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
We're a 4-piece pop-rock band from Bristol who just love having fun and putting on a good show. Well, technically we're a 3-piece right now and we're looking for a great lead guitarist so if you know anyone...
Our thing is that we write uplifting, singalong songs that put people in a great mood and leave you beaming from ear-to-ear, wanting more.
Are there any specific themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?
It's really simple to be honest with you. Enjoy life, be kind to one another and never give up on your dreams. You'll hear that running through the very core of everything we do.