On the Joyzine Advent Calendar we’re giving away free downloads of tracks by artists that we love (including plenty of exclusives and a fair few festive favourites) every day until Christmas Eve on what, as far as we’re aware (and we’re always happy to be corrected), is the longest running such calendar on the web.
Today they’ve provided us with ‘Swim Under The Winter’, a track released yesterday as a members-only exclusive to subscribers of the Lost Map Records PostMap Club, who receive beautifully designed twice-monthly postcards with download codes for equally lovely music throughout the year. Previous cards have included Rozi Plain, Pictish Trail, Alabaster dePlume and many more. You can subscribe here from as little as £3 + postage per month!
We caught up with Firestations to ask them about today’s track and their thoughts on the perfect Christmas song.
What have you been up to in 2022?
We’ve been working on a third album this year. I’d been (this is Mike here, hi) writing a new batch of songs for the last 18 months or so, and as a band we selected the creme de la creme to take to the studio. At the end of May we went to the amazing Otterhead Studios (https://www.otterheadstudios.com/home) and had a great time working with audio wizards Oscar and Ellis committing songs to the hard drive via microphones and amps etc. Since then I’ve been mixing and doing a bit of additional recording at home, but for the first time we did pretty much everything all together in the studio. Good times.
What do you have planned for next year?
The plan is to release the new songs as an album, hit social media hard with some fascinating content, and do some gigs / a tour. We have played live a bit this year, but not as much as we’d like to.
What can you tell us about today’s track?
‘Swim Under The Winter’ is kind of a prescription for myself / ourselves for surviving tough times. It has the word ‘winter’ in it, so we thought now would be an ideal time to put it out, and Lost Map kindly agreed.
What makes the perfect Christmas song?
Well, it should probably have the word ‘winter’ in it. Beyond that, mix politics with seasonal themes and do a melody in a major key. Always add brass and jingle bells. ‘Stop The Cavalry’ for the win! I always shed a seasonal tear to that one.
Download ‘Swim Under The Winter‘
Follow Firestations on Facebook and find out more about Lost Map Records on their website
If you enjoy the track, we’d love you to consider making a donation to Child Poverty Action Group
Check back every day until Christmas Eve for more free music – if you’ve missed a day, you’ll find all of this year’s tracks so far on the links below. Merry Christmas everyone!
Day One: Piney Gir – Do Good For Goodness Sake
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