It’s only October, but singer-songwriterIngrid Michaelsonis in full holiday swing.
For the new record, Michaelson let her Christmas obsession take over.
“It’s not the kind of album I’ve always made,” she says.
Credit: Shervin Lainez
I wanted to do something that was an instant, nostalgic classic, basically.
It wouldn’t go sour, or go bad, or be dated.
I love what you did with “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Cabin 24 Records
I don’t know why.
I went online and looked.
I thought, somebody must have done this before, the slow style.
If you listen to the lyrics, they’re so beautiful.
They’re so sad.
[But] I couldn’t find anything.
I thought,I’m going to do it.
We actually shot a video for that a couple of days ago.
It is so gorgeous.
I’ll give you a hint: there’s dancers involved.
When they first showed me the movement, I was just weeping in the dance studio.
What made you decideto make that song the one that’s most different from its original take?
Also to make it fit the rest of the record, I didn’t want to jazz it up.
I thought that would cheapen it somehow.
There’s some sadness to it, but also a lot of optimism.
Was it inspired by anyone in particular?It’s about my mom.
I lost my mother four years ago now.
So we’re at four now.
I wrote that last year for the holidays.
And if you want to indulge in your sadness, you might listen to it.
“Mele Kalikimaka” is that how you pronounce it?
is one of the more uplifting tracks.
It always made sense to sing that song and it’s so much fun.
It’s a three-part harmony with my family that we’ve been singing for years.
So it’s the perfect choice.
Let’s talk Christmas traditions.
Are there any childhood memories that inspired the music on this album?
She would cook all these Swedish Christmas dishes and people would bring a big potluck.
My father would be playing the piano and he wrote a lot of Christmas carols.
We’d sing his carols and would be drinking, eating.
The fact that we’re still doing this, it was bittersweet, but it was really special.
I did it at my apartment with my boyfriend and his two daughters.
It was like we sort of transferred the tradition to my apartment.
It’s really comforting to know that the tradition doesn’t have to die.
It can work, and can grow and it can change.
Is there a favorite present you remember opening as a kid?Yeah, I do.
I saw it under the tree.
It was one of those Fisher-Price kitchens.
Those were the best.With the stove, the little fridge.
For a child, it was huge.
I remember it was just sitting there and just [being] like,What?!
I can’t believe that.
I wanted to pretend like I was baking things.
Of course, who knew I would turn out to love to bake?
I don’t need people to be like lingering and focused on lyrics.
It’s not that kind of record.
I just want it to become part of the lexicon of people’s go-to holiday records.
