Blog: The Making Of

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This year's Christmas song - Have A Drink With Us (Drink Doch Eine Met) - has been going down REALLY well with everyone so far, which is EXTREMELY gratifying. We knew that WE loved it, but it's great to know that other people do too!

Evidence of this enjoyment has come in various ways - views of the video, sales of the Christmas Selection Box album (i.e. in that there have BEEN some sales, most years there aren't!) etc - but most importantly in the form of EMAILS from people who've enjoyed it. This has been the best part of the whole process, to be honest, and again it's surprised me quite how many people have emailed, it's been lovely!

Amongst those emails there has been a recurring question, asking how we did the "music box" bit right at the very end. For those who have been following the SAGA of this recording, this was the secret item I was on about a couple of weeks ago which Frankie said would "increase the Christmassiness by 1100% GUARANTEED". I think we can all agree that it did EXACTLY THAT! It's actually a programmable music device that he got from Ikea (or Muji, or Habitat, or some other place that sells Christmas Novelty Items near the checkout tills, he can't remember) YEARS ago because it looked so COOL, and remembered when he was thinking about the session. When we were CHALLENGED by Cologne Popfest to learn the song they sent us a fanzine with the sheet music inside, so Frankie was able to use his MUSICAL BRANE to transpose the NOTES into DOTS which he punched out, individually, from the ribbon provided with the gizmo, and which he then sticky taped together to form the LOOP which you can see in the video.

It took him FLIPPING HOURS to do but, I reckon it was totally worth it! In the video it is played by Emma, but I think the one you can hear was played by Frankie - Emma played it on top of a box of mince pies, which I don't think had quite enough RESONANCE to provide the lovely noise you hear on the track!

This section was filmed during the recording session, and is the only part of the ORIGINAL video (which was deemed "too glum") to survive into the new improved SECOND video. In order to provide contrast, and to give an insight into the INTENSE SERIOUSNESS of our recording sessions, and also as a BIT OF FESTIVE FUN, I'll stick both versions below. I think you'll agree that we used the right one!


(original version)


(second, much better, version)

posted 12/12/2017 by MJ Hibbett

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SPAMBOT FILTER: an animal that says 'to-whit to-whoo' (3)
	(e.g. for an animal that says 'cluck' type 'hen')