It all started with a request to come up with a Christmas song from two
different sources but rather than just releasing ”Silent Night” as a
single Lars decided to include a few other tracks that he has been
working on since 2014 which he felt did not really fit in on any of his
other releases. While this EP might be showcasing a different side of
the artist, definitely more bluesy and laidback the guitar work is
talking for itself. The three cover songs on the EP have been arranged
by Lars in a very different way as you may never have heard them before.
The very special arrangements of "House of the Rising Sun" and "Autumn
Leaves" dates back to 2014 when Lars formed a band to play a Jazz/Blues
festival as well as a few other local gigs. The backing tracks for
these two songs as well as "When December Rules" and "Professor
Wilson's Dance" were recorded between 2015-2017 while "Silent Night"
was arranged and recorded in November 2020.
Lars' philosophy about covering classic songs is that you either make
them "Your own" or stay away. For "Autumn Leaves" Lars, normally a
Stratocaster lover played his Telecaster and you can definitely heard
the different tone.
Lars always wanted to record with
Nevena Brankovic and Johanna Mattsson, two really great singers and
this time it just happened without much planning, so pure luck perhaps.
Nevena Brankovic
- Vocals on "House of the Rising Sun" and Lars
Johanna Mattsson -
vocals on "Silent Night" and Lars
Production
and recording credits:
Lars Eric Mattsson - Guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals
Johanna Mattsson - vocals on ”Silent Night”
Nevena Brankovic - vocals on ”House of the Rising Sun”
Christer Jansson - Drums
Track
listing:
• 01. House of the Rising Sun
• 02. Autumn Leaves
• 03. When December Rules
• 04. Professor Wilson’s Dance
• 05. Silent Night