Feature: Martin Reynolds Decodes “It All Feels Like Christmas”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "It All Feels Like Christmas?"
It was a very simple process in all honesty, the track was recorded in my rehearsal space at Sinewave Studios, it’s where I mainly do all my recording now, with the exception of the keys which Sheena recorded at home, and the Saxophone which was recorded late at night in Becky’s parents’ kitchen. I put down the acoustic part first, I think I then put the vocals down, possibly a bit of lead (The guitars were recorded clean, the sound on the record is a Sheraton 2 going through a VOX AC30 and an AC15) and then the drums. Normally people do the drums first, but I wasn’t 100% sure it was going to have drums until I’d listened back.
Could you discuss the lyrical themes or messages conveyed in "It All Feels Like Christmas?"
It's about looking back on my own personal experiences and seeing how they helped shape me, and using those experiences to want for a better future. The line "Children are playing out in the street" is referring to something kids in my street would do on Christmas day, myself included. It refers to a time of innocence, when we all got on with one another, without any reason to judge one another, before money or any other influences clouded people’s judgement. "Choirs are singing in Harmony" refers to the world all singing from the same hymn sheet and living harmoniously, all working as one. "A ceasefire called on your enemies" was referring to people dropping their act or grudge and choosing to get along with one another. I remember I'd go to the pub on Christmas Eve and it was the one time of year when people truly seemed in good spirits and would be pleasant to one another, it's also a reference to the Christmas truce, which was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the western front of the first world war around Christmas 1914. I guess I'm trying to say that if that's how the world was, then everyday would feel like Christmas day, and Christmas is used for wanting a better world, or a new beginning, but as long as we are all doing our bit, and we're all trying our best to be good people, then that's all you can really ask for. "The lights on the house by the arches, always reminded me, that no matter how old you get, you're never too old to still believe" is a reference to an actual house that used to decorate their house every year and it seemed to bring a lot of joy to people passing by and it's something that I'd look forward to seeing every Christmas. Sadly the couple died during COVID, so I thought I'd put them in the song as a nod to them. I later found out they were the uncle and auntie of one of my best mates. I guess the line is just telling you to not give up on your dreams and bringing joy to people’s lives, because that's what life is about.
What has been one of your most favourite memories along the path to making "It All Feels Like Christmas?"
Trying to record a saxophone in Becky’s parents’ kitchen whilst her parents were in bed, that was interesting. Having her son Arlo’s sleigh bells on the track was another, the song was originally going to be called Arlo’s Bells. I also lost the track twice due to having the world’s worst laptop. Usually whenever I’m trying to record there’s always something that goes wrong or breaks, the limitations of not having loads of cash I guess… but Becky encouraged me to carry on chipping away at it, I almost didn’t put the song out, mainly because I’m indifferent to Christmas songs, and by that I guess I mean they can be a little cheesy… but there are some that I like, but I guess to me it’s just another one of my songs that's set at Christmas, and in my heart I thought if I can put it out to help others then it would be worth it, so that’s why all the proceeds are going to CRISIS. It’s all BBC Derby’s fault anyway as one of the conditions of being on their live show was doing a Christmas song, I didn’t really want to cover one so I just used it as an excuse to write my own, so I used it as a writing exercise, it was something different to write about, just to see if I could.
How do you channel your emotions and connect with your audience during live performances?
By simply being myself, I believe all you have to do is be yourself and you’ll be alright. As long as you give it your all, and you play with passion and belief, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, why are you doing it?
What challenges have you faced as a singer-songwriter, and how have you overcome them?
I guess the biggest challenge is that there are so many singer-songwriters out there. I guess if you want people to pay attention to you, you’ve got to be doing something really special, something that sets you apart from the rest, and you’ve got to be saying something that no one else is saying.. otherwise you’ll just blend into the crowd.
