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TARJA RELEASES WINTER ALBUM
“from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)“
ON NOVEMBER 17, 2017 ON earMUSIC.
INCLUDING BRAND NEW ORIGINAL SONG “TOGETHER“.
This year, Tarja is bringing the festive season early with the release of her brand new Christmas album “from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)” on November 17. This Christmas you can expect the unexpected.
The album includes 11 Christmas classics and brings them to a never before seen level, uniquely blending Tarja“s classically trained voice with darker gothic influences. Utilizing the sound of a grand orchestra, the most successful Finnish solo artist puts a sinister spin on traditional songs like “O Tannenbaum”, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and “Feliz Navidad”, reminding the listener of a dark movie score. Besides covering classic carols, “from Spirits and Ghosts” also features a 12th track, the brand new original “Together”. This song is aligned with the dark sound of the album and embodies the theme of ghosts and mysticism throughout, in a brilliant, Tarja-styled manner.
Says Tarja: “Producing a dark Christmas album in the middle of the summer is a very interesting process, especially if you are doing it by the turquoise Caribbean Sea. Significantly different from the snowy Christmas that I am used to in my home country Finland. Another proof that the darkness comes from deep within. On this album, I explored the other side of Christmas. The Christmas of the lonely people and the missing ones. The Christmas for those that do not find joy in the blinking lights and the jingle bells. ”
“from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)” is going to be released on November 17th, 2017 on earMUSIC as 1CD digipak, 1LP Gatefold (180g, black) and Digital.
The “Official Store for a dark Christmas” offers a wide variety of exclusive, limited fan items and bundles.
The album is produced by Tarja, the American Emmy Award winning film score composer Jim Dooley and British producer Tim Palmer, known for his work with Pearl Jam, U2, David Bowie, Lang Lang and The Cure among others, who also mixed the album at 62“ Studio in Texas. The album was mastered at Sterling Sound in NY City.
This Christmas, gather your loved ones, dim the lights, put on some candles and play Tarja“s “from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas) loud!
TRACKLIST:
Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Together
We Three Kings
Deck The Halls
Pie Jesu
Amazing Grace
O Tannenbaum
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
God Rest Ye
Feliz Navidad
What Child Is This
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
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This September, the Caribbean island of Barbuda has been hit by the category 5 hurricane Irma. The whole population of 1,800 needed to flee their homes in order to survive. Tarja, who has recorded the main part of her vocals for her recently released winter album ““from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)” on said island and has a very close relationship to the place and its inhabitants, decided that now is the time to help.
Together with friends and fellow musicians such as Michael Monroe, Doro Pesch, Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe), Marko Saaresto (Poets Of The Fall), Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius), Simone Simons (Epica), Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Joe Lynn Turner, Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) and Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), Tarja created a new version of the Christmas carol “Feliz Navidad”.
All incomes generated will be donated, with earMUSIC doubling the amount.
Explains Tarja:
“The tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda has been devastated by Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storm recorded in history to sustain over 200 km per hour winds for 24 hours.
Around 90% of the nation’s structures and vehicles have been destroyed.
Irma passed over Barbuda early on Wednesday, 6th of September 2017, as a Category 5 hurricane.
Barbuda is situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda.
The island is now a near-deserted disaster zone. Almost all of its 1,500 residents were relocated to the sister island of Antigua. Critical facilities including roads and communications systems were ravaged, with the recovery effort set to take months or years.
I have had a home in Antigua, Caribbean for quite a few years now. I have friends there, but mainly, I have seen how the locals live and how unprepared they are for this magnitude of destruction.
I had just finished recording my winter album “from Spirits and Ghosts” in Antigua before the hurricane hit the Caribbean. I was already immersed in Christmas feelings at that time and immediately it came to my mind that the people of Barbuda will have a very dark Christmas this year and in the years to come. I wanted to find a way to give them hope for a brighter future.
So Christmas gave me the perfect excuse to call some dear friends and ask them to help me raise some funds for the people in Barbuda.
We are going to donate all incomes generated from the version of ‘Feliz Navidad’ we recorded, and my record company earMUSIC will add a similar amount on top of it for the charity.
When the time comes, I will personally make sure the donation is given to the right hands.
I thank you all my friends Michael, Doro, Tony, Elize, Marco, Timo, Simone, Cristina, Joe, Floor, Hansi and Sharon from the bottom of my heart. I am very glad and honoured that you could be a part of this. Your voices will give hope and they will be heard.
We need all of you to spread the word in order for fans and music lovers to get to know about this charity project. Is time to get together and to share our passion for this good cause. You can review the music style, production, sound or the performance of the ones involved, but this time the focus should be in a different place.
Dear fans, I really hope that together we can make a change. If you are not used to download music or if you don't collect vinyls, it shouldn't stop you from helping. Do it this time for the people in Barbuda. Please share this song with all your friends and relatives and ask them to do the same.
We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of our hearts.”
The 7inch vinyl of "Feliz Navidad" is numbered and limited to 1000 copies.
Side A
1. Feliz Navidad (Barbuda Relief And Recovery Charity Version)
Side B
1. Feliz Navidad
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CD DigiPak
Out: 17.11.2017
Vinyl LP
Out: 17.11.2017
Digital
Out: 17.11.2017
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
7-Inch Vinyl (Ltd Edition)
Out: 06.10.2017
O Tannenbaum
7-Inch Vinyl (Ltd Edition)
Out: 27.10.2017
Feliz Navidad
7-Inch Vinyl (Ltd Edition)
Out: 08.12.2017
from Spirits and Ghosts (Dark Versions) - EP
Digital
Out: 20.12.2017
from Spirits and Ghosts
(Ltd edition boxset)
Out: 16.11.2018
from Spirits And Ghosts (Score For A Dark Christmas)
(2020 Edition)
2 CD
Out: 06.11.2020
Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019
Ltd. 2LP Gatefold
Out: 27.11.2020
Together Live at Hradec Králové 2019
Digital
Out: 30.10.2020
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Live at Hradec Králové 2019
Digital
Out: 06.12.2020
Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019
Digital
Out: 06.11.2020
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