Francesca Battistelli’s 11-track album, Christmas, produced by Ian Eskelin, is comprised of both classics and some newly-penned Christmas tunes.
“I am beyond excited about this Christmas album,” said Battistelli. “My producer, Ian Eskelin, did an incredible job bringing my vision for these songs to life, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear them! Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I hope that this album is one people want to listen to year after year.”
NRT's Bill Lurwick shares a moment with Franny to talk about what the holidays--and Christmas songs--mean to her.
It's your first ever Christmas project. I read that this is something you always wanted to do even before you started to doing regular music so to speak. Is that true?
Absolutely. I love Christmas music. Always have. It's always been a dream of mine to get to make a Christmas album. When I got signed and started down this path I thought it would be years and years and years.
When my label approached me and said, "How about this year?" I was like, "OK." It's been a dream come true.
I always ask artists, when they do Christmas projects, and then they do traditional Christmas songs like "The Christmas Song," originally done by Nat King Cole. Is that a little daunting to undertake?
Yeah, definitely. Writing Christmas songs is daunting as well because you're going up against some of the greatest songs that people know the best.
What we tried to do a lot with this record is take some classics like that and change them up a little bit. With "The Christmas Song" we made a ballad into a real up tempo jazzy thing.
I love doing that. I love messing with the norm. I think that it works.
One of our favorite songs at NewReleaseTuesday is "Christmas Dreams." Where did this come from?
This is my first Christmas that I really feel like my son, who's two, will understand a little more of what's going on. He knows what a party is. He knows what presents are. I think that he is going to have a blast.
With my daughter, who's only four months old, knowing that Christmas only gets better. I'm so excited this year just to see what he is going to experience and what he's going to think. I think as a parent there's really nothing better than seeing Christmas through their eyes. I wanted to write a song about that.
When you're doing a Christmas project you have your own favorite songs that you like to put on. Did we mention your favorite Christmas song and did it make it onto this?
For the longest time it actually was "The Christmas Song," but now that I've made this record I think my favorite traditional hymn--carol, is "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel" and that didn't make it on. Just the lyrics.
When you really listen to the song and just the ache in the words of wanting Jesus to come and be rescued. That's really the prayer and it's just an incredible, beautiful song. I love the way it turned out. That one actually--you asked about one take. It's not one take, but the way they built the track for that song, I just sat in the studio with a keyboard player and he said, "Here's a microphone. I'm just going to play the first chord and you start singing and I'll follow you."
They built the track around my timing. When it came down to everyone to play to it and me to sing to it later on, it's so funny because you can hear the click track in it. It's keeping time and then it gets faster and then it slows down and then it gets faster.
Speaking of kids, kids are going to love the song "Marshmallow World," don't you think?
I do.
What's that song all about?
It's funny. That song is actually a standard, but a lot of people have never heard it because it's a little more obscure so they think that I wrote it, but I didn't to clarify for anyone wondering. It's a hilarious song. The lyrics, if you listen to them, are kind of goofy, but so much fun because it's about at Christmas time it's a marshmallow world and everything is just a little more exciting and the clouds are like marshmallows.
It's really silly, but it's one of my favorites to sing and to see people's reaction to. I do think the kids like it.
"Heaven Everywhere" is another one of the original tracks on the project. What's that song all about?
I wrote that with Ben Glover, who I also wrote "You're Here" With a few years ago. We said, "We're doing another Christmas song. What are we going to do this time?" I just started talking about how I've noticed in the Christmas season everyone just tends to be a little bit more giving and a little more kind and a little more selfless.
What if we lived that way all year around? It's a simple concept, but I think the song is resonating with people because we all feel that way. I think it's something we can all learn from is to try to bring Heaven to Earth and being Jesus to people all year round, not just at Christmas.
We're excited about this. It's really a great Christmas project. Some people are saying this is the must get, must have Christmas project of the season. Well done.
We love you guys. Thanks for all your support and making it happen.
