Joy to the world! It’s the return of our favourite festive tradition, the Joyzine Advent Calendar, back for its 22nd consecutive edition, which as far as we’re aware makes it the longest running on the net.
As always, every track is completely free to download and we don’t require you to sign up for a mailing list (though you can if you want to) or hand over your personal data – it’s our way of saying thank you to everyone who’s visited the site during 2025 and to hopefully bring a few more listeners to some very deserving artists.
However, if you do enjoy the tracks we would love you to consider making a donation to our chosen cause, which this year is HOPE not hate, and their stirling work researching, campaigning, and supporting communities to build HOPE and oppose far-right extremism. You can make a donation here.
The Scaramanga Six, formed in 1995, comprise Paul Morricone, Steven Morricone, Julia Arnez and Gareth Champion. Paul Morricone has described the band’s sound as operating “in landscape, not portrait… very widescreen. Each song is like a short film.” Their latest release, Bad Time Music, is no exception. It’s enormous fun to listen to—packed with attitude, playful eccentricity, and the band’s trademark quirkiness. The mix is superb, and every sound is crafted with real care and character.
My first introduction to the band was through their fantastic album GLUT, released earlier this year. I was initially asked to review the “Hully Gully” video, a single from the album, and it turned out to be a revelation. Its inventive use of AI technology offered a fresh and distinctive example of what’s possible when creative artists embrace new tools. There was no hesitation or fear—just pure playfulness. I was immediately drawn in, and ended up listening to and reviewing the entire album.
Much like that experience, the Bad Time Music EP is fantastic. Do yourself a favour and listen to the whole thing. Please tour Australia!
We caught up with Paul Morricone for a festive q&a session:
Tell us a little bit about your track please
This is actually a festive song. Around this time the year, loads of people gleefully post their ‘end of year list’ or ‘Instafests’ featuring all the bands and artists they have unwittingly allowed to be decimated by streaming their music from sites and their payment terms. And at the same time, they are also adding insult to injury by helping to fund lethal automated weaponry (or LAWs) as the money is invested from Sp*tify into less cool things. This song is exactly about that. It is not only the worst example of trickle down economics, it is actively destroying the thing it leeches from as host and potentially destroying actual lives too, depending on whether you class erasing enemies as defence or destruction. A band is for life, and other people’s lives are for life, not just for Christmas.
What have you been up to in 2025?
Oh, it’s been a little busy I guess. Two brand new studio albums and one EP released along with 8 music videos and a bunch of gigs. GLUT came out in April and DEARTH in November. We’ll probably start the next one soon too. Oh yes, we also turned 30.
And what are your plans for next year?
We will continue to exist, as we do every year. We will do this despite anything that might try and stop us. And if in 30 years time the world still exists, then so will we, making a racket that confuses music journalists and common folk alike.
What have been your musical highlights of the year from other bands/artists?
People keep asking me this at the end of every year, and I’m terrible for keeping up with music I’m supposed to like. I don’t take much notice of the usual channels so it is usually a complete surprise to me when someone goes on about a brand new act they have ‘discovered’ this year. You didn’t discover them. It was served to you. My favourite music has been generally chanced upon by going to a gig (everyone should go to gigs and get out more) or when someone else recommends something they really like. Fuck Off Philip by Hens Bens is good. Reptilian Brain by Volk Soup is also good. LSD by Cardiacs is a masterpiece, but I’m not allowed to choose a posthumous release by a legacy band apparently (it isn’t either).
Christmas: The most wonderful time of the year or a big bag of humbug?
Christmas is wonderful because it is full of love. That is the most important thing in the world. It is also humbug because of the reason for this song (see above).
’Thems The LAWs’ is taken from our ‘Bad Time Music’ EP which came out this summer. Please get the rest of it here: https://thescaramangasix.bandcamp.com/album/bad-time-music-ep-2
While you’re at it, we’ve got loads of other releases and some very cool t-shirts available at our BandCamp Page here: https://thescaramangasix.bandcamp.com/
See above for the link to our BandCamp page. Our website is www.thescaramangasix.co.uk– find out where we are playing here before rather than after we have played in your town.
We also post stupidity to our Instagram at @thescaramangasix and Facebook at @thescaramangasix
Stream and download ‘Them’s The LAWs’
Make a donation to HOPE not hate
Scaramanga Six: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Check out more fantastic free music on this year’s calendar:
1: Piney Gir & Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot
2: Syd Howells
3: The Happy Hollow
4: Stephen Evens
5: Ombudsmen
Check back tomorrow for another free festive download!
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