In “Christmas Disco”, Tor James Faulkner turns classic holiday longing into empowerment and glitter-filled fun, proving Christmas can be wonderful on your own terms.
1- How would you describe your new song to someone who hasn’t heard it yet? What emotions do you want to convey?
It’s a cheeky take on a Christmas song. There’s disco beats, there’s line dancing elements. there’s trumpets.
I absolutely LOVE Christmas and holiday music but so much of it is “Oh, I’m yearning for your kiss this Christmas day, ahhh boohoo” and when I was working on my holiday record “XMAS!” I was like “Wait a minute! What if you’re sick of waiting, what if you’re pleased that they’re not going to turn up?”.
So, it’s about finding that joy in being able to say “no way, no way actually” and having a really nice Christmas on your own & guess what? ‘Cause you kept messing me around, you’re on Santa’s naughty list!
2- What was the main inspiration for the song? Can you share personal stories or influences that guided you?
Actually, someone kept saying he was going to come home for Christmas and never did. I would be sat waiting for him with snacks and Pokémon and he wouldn’t show up.
So that was part of it, I was like “How rude!”
That’s where the lines “Every year you say you’re coming home and every year I’m sitting all alone” came from.
There’s also a little nod to Mrs Brown’s Boys in there. I love that character and in Ireland and the UK the Christmas specials are huge. Her catchphrase “That’s nice!” has always really tickled me. It’s so cutting yet so harmless.
Obviously the mistletoe line takes on a more romantic take but I wanted it to fit about anyone who may have messed you around at Christmas or really any holiday and as I say just finding the joy in having a nice time without them.
3- How did the song come about? Were there any collaborations?
Never in a million years of pink moons would I have thought I’d be the sort of artist who’d do a Christmas song, let alone a full holiday record.
But Cher did one a couple of years ago and I absolutely fell in love with “DJ Play a Christmas Song”. I’ve always loved Christmas music but until I heard that I never really felt inclined to make my own. She did something really special with that song and indeed the entire album.
I also absolutely loved her sheer unbothered demeane about the project, even calling it “Christmas” was a very tongue-in-cheek I thought.
So, it’s not that I wanted to emulate Cher but I wanted to take on some of that spirit.
This idea that a Christmas song can be self affirming and empowering is quite cool I think.
4- Which artists or experiences influenced your sound?
Obviously Christmas has it’s own kind of sound and I did want to include that a little. But I also wanted to have that blend of disco-pop with a little bit of country line dancing.
Maybe you are on your own and you just want to have a boogie to yourself or maybe you’re with friends and you want to put a routine together with a few glasses of wine.
When I was really little there was a lot of Christmas novelty records being released year after year. You definitely hear some of that in “Christmas Disco”.
5- Is there a particular moment related to the creation of the song that you remember with pleasure or satisfaction?
The whole process of making the “XMAS!” album was a little surreal, actually.
I’ve spoken publicly before about how my career was halted by decisions that weren’t mine and how I wasn’t allowed to release music for quite a long time. This meant that a lot of the sessions were done very secretly and working with producers remotely.
Pretty much all of “XMAS!” including “Christmas Disco” was recorded in Spring with my chihuahua Nobby in my arms, huddled into a microphone in-between matches of Paladins.
The satisfaction came when I had the finished track and I was giving my gaming friends a sneaky listen and them going “Oh, ok this is good but why you making Christmas music at Easter?” haha and I had to explain “Ya know it needs to be done in advance”.
So it was cool that despite being in a situation where I had to hide what I was doing I got share the special moment of the finished track with Nobby and my friends.
6- What emotions do you hope to convey to the public?
Empowerment, joy and happiness. With a sprinkle of glitter and a spoonful of cheek.
7- What can we expect from the future? Do you have any news coming?
There’s nothing set in stone at the moment in terms of release dates or anything but there’s a double single on the way which is a re-release and new versions of 2 of my popular tracks. Putting a new spin on these songs has been quite interesting.
I’ve also recorded something new with Cre@m Soda which should be out early next year.
8- What message would you like to give to those who follow you or discover you for the first time?
Just a big thank you. You’re all amazing.
