Alex Whorms sums up the season with a stunning and timely rendition of I’ll Be Home For Christmas — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“The idea for this project came about last year,” the award-winning Hamilton singer-songwriter recalls. “I was on tour to promote my EP Burgundy and I met producer Micah Doern at a radio interview at Ryerson University’s CJRU. We became friends after that, and decided to try recording together.
“I was looking for a change in my sound this year,” she continues. “Most of my past recordings have used many instruments and very detailed arrangements, so we thought a solo piece would be refreshing. When I perform with my band, we always have a moment in the set where they walk off and I play solo; it creates an intimate moment, and we wanted to capture that kind of feeling in this project. I’ll Be Home For Christmas is one of my favourite holiday songs, but it holds even more significance this year because the pandemic will prevent many people from gathering for the holidays. The final line, ‘I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams’ is especially emotional given this year’s health concerns and stay-at-home regulations.”
Whorms’ rendition of the holiday classic — first cut by Bing Crosby in 1943 — was recorded and mixed by Doern, and mastered by Juno winner and Grammy nominee Dan Brodbeck. The song was recorded at Noble Street’s Studio A, which gave Whorms the opportunity to play a Fazioli. “I was stunned by how beautiful their piano sounded! It was a dream come true to record on that instrument. It was also my first recording session since COVID-19 hit Ontario. Wearing a mask while playing made me very aware of my breathing, which was an interesting feeling; at one point, I noticed myself breathing in time with the musical phrases as I was playing piano.”
The artwork was created by Whorms’ longtime friend Madeline Czukar. “She also designed the artwork for my EP Our Lives in 2017. For this, she drew me playing the piano with some Christmas decorations.” Watch I’ll Be Home For Christmas above, hear more from Alex Whorms below, and find out more on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
