There’s a lot of hype building up to Christmas Day (and/or Hanukkah or whatever holiday you enjoy embracing) but it can be stressful! So much preparation it can be exhausting.

Shaboi has emerged from his musical hibernation to release “The Day After Christmas” on our holiday sampler. It serves as a reminder to treat yourself after the big day has passed. You earned it. He has even graced us with a delightful music video combining stop motion and modern animation.. along with a surprise treat at the end.

Pick up the sampler over on Bandcamp or Ampwall… or maybe stream it on your favorite streamer. It’s available everywhere to enjoy. If you have the ability, consider buying it on Bandcamp or Ampwall – we’ll donate 100% of the proceeds to CASA Nashville.

The contribution from New Man for our Holiday Sampler 2024 is a bombastic, enthusiastic, rumination on Christmas. Is it a happy day? Is it a melancholy day of reflection? Is it a pain in the ass or the one day of the year with no hang ups? The truth lies somewhere in between.

New Man, aka Cody Newman, did a stellar job creating an animated video for the track which you can now watch in full!

New Man will be playing at The 5 Spot on December 19th as part of the YK Records Holiday Party Extravaganza! Doors are at 6pm and I have it on good authority that they’ll be playing this track. Come hang out!

At the end of November we announced the YK Records Holiday Sampler 2024, a compilation of classic Christmas compositions, more modern jams and plenty of originals. Today, we’re as excited as a kid blasting open a wrapped gift to present the full creation:

All proceeds from the release will be donated to CASA Nashville; a non-profit helping foster kids all year round. We’ve managed to raise several hundred dollars already and I’m hopeful we can raise even more.

To that end, the release is exclusive to Bandcamp and Ampwall until December 13th. For the next week, you’ll need to point your browser at those locations to hear the phenomenal gathering of songs.

To preserve the compilation properly (like a Christmas cookie left in the tin), I’ve created this mini-site. Over there you’ll find all the links to buy the sampler, links to stream (when it’s available) and all of the Rankin/Bass style renderings of the artists.

---

On a personal note, I just wanna say how excited and proud I am of this one. It took a year to come together and the final results are extremely pleasing. Holiday music can be a real bore but the yk roster really brought their A game here, start to finish. Very happy to be a part of releasing it into the world.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Back in September, Eve Maret released the single “Mantra” / “Miracle” – a pair of songs that evoke embracing positivity while calling you to the dance floor. Director Jereme Frey took on the task of creating a video for “Mantra” and today we’re extremely excited to share those results with you.

The results are a futuristic, cyberpunk landscape with Eve Maret literally transforming into alternate versions. We all contain multitudes and it’s on display here.

Pick up the single over on Bandcamp or Ampwall and be sure to save it in your favorite streamer.

In the fall of 2016, a grave mistake was made. A mistake so grotesque that the world has not yet recovered from the repercussions of its impact. A mistake that must be corrected… starting now.

You see, on September 30th, 2016, Birdcloud released their double-LP Singles Only. A twenty-eight track compilation that brought together every single song that the satirical country duo had released upon the world from all their prior releases. Singles Only serves as a Best Of and the authoritative tome of Birdcloud songs. Except, one very important song was missing.*

“Cool Christmas” is the most fully produced track by the normally acoustic pair and an absolute gem in their body of work. It has a video that doesn’t feature either Makenzie Green or Jasmin Kaset. It has drums. It has deep bass. It has addictive lyrics and an unbelievably charming, occasionally unhinged, performance. The title would go on to be the name of the reoccurring live holiday extravaganza and is, inarguably, completely unforgettable start to finish.

To properly commemorate the track, and to fix this historical oversight, we’ve put together an extremely special 7″ that is available for preorder now.

First, we sourced the original session files from producer Jordan Lehning. While digging through some ancient hard drive backups, we also found recordings of a never-before-released rendition of “Silent Night.” Engineering wizard Patrick Damphier remastered both tracks for optimal sonic fidelity.

Next, the packaging came together as the most extravagant affair. The jacket is printed on special hologram paper, giving it an iridescent that only the holidays could bring you. The record itself is a honey baked ham picture disc. A finer creation, there is not.

This beast is in production now and has been an absolute pleasure to bring together. Finally, peace can come to the tumultuous waves of history.

---

*Note that “Wild Turkey 101” / “Fiasco” is also not included on Singles Only but was released afterwards, so it was not a part of history’s greatest mistake.

The end of the year is on the horizon but YK Records has MANY new treats for you still left to be unveiled. Just last week you got two brand new songs from The Robe! Hope you’re devouring those.

Today, we’re excited to announce the YK Records Holiday Sampler 2024. This has been in the works for the entire year and we finally get to unveil it to the world. Twenty tracks from twenty YK artists of original and classic holiday songs. We are biased but you are going to love it.

This compilation of goodies won’t be released until December 6th but you can preorder it today. By doing so, I’ll ensure you get to hear 2 of the songs before it’s officially released. And that’s not even the best news!

The proceeds of the compilation will donated to CASA Nashville, a non-profit organization that ensures foster children have safe homes. Paying for music may seem archaic in 2024 but helping kids have safe and happy holidays is timeless.

---

The Tracks!

Roger Moutenot – Letter to Santa
Tower Defense – What Do You Want For Christmas?
Matt & The Watt Gives – No Child (Wants Their Picture Made With Santa)
The Robe – Gloria In Excelsis Deo (Calceamentum Vultus)
Coupler – Christmas Time Is Here
New Man – Christmas is a Mirror of the Mind
Trash Man – Wire Christmas Tree
Birdcloud – Cool Christmas
Telefone – Toys
Little Bandit – (Have Yourself) A Merry Little Christmas
Talking with Hands – Christmas Time
Fetching Pails – Where the Santas Meet
Stone Jack Jones – Away in a Manger
Annie Williams – Ave Maria
The Myrrhmen – Ding Dong Merrily On High
Shaboi – The Day After Christmas
Mac Burrus & Tiffany Topol – With You (This Christmas)
The Features – The New Christmas Wish Book
sugar sk*–*lls – Last Christmas
Black Bra – Just Like Christmas (Ode to Mimi)

Hopefully by now when you see The Robe and J.B. Bennett listed together, you know you’re in for a treat. Previously, the two released The Jason EP (2021) and “Suddenly Last Summer” (2024) and it’s clear that their mind meld works wonders together. Now they are back in collaboration with “N as in Nina” b/w “In Panorma.” I recommend tuning in and letting yourself soar into the outer reaches – fully immerse yourself.

The tracks are on Bandcamp, Ampwall, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and everywhere you like to stream. Get them in your rotation.

Here are both tracks on YouTube, for your convenience.

If you haven’t heard everything from The Robe this year, please steer your browser over to this playlist and hit shuffle.

As with Eve Maret and Meadownoise and many others who have contributed to this exercise, it’s always fascinating to hear the inspirations and influences of an artist, particularly when they select the playlist themselves!

Trash Man has provided an absolute blast of a playlist – 30 minutes across 11 songs. It’s appropriately brief given the brevity of his own work. The playlist is available on Spotify and YouTube Music (which, if you didn’t know, is really just differently looking YouTube). Here it is embedded for your convenience:

When you’re done listening, go queue up Moment of Bleakness and see if you can hear those influences seeping through. It’s on Bandcamp, Ampwall, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and all the rest!

The Privates were active from 2004 to 2009; releasing two albums and two EPs in that time. They played a good number of shows but never toured outside of Nashville. Every band members all went on to do additional projects that are fascinating and compelling in their own, very different, ways.

When Dave Paulson approached me to release We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We? I was immediately on board. I’ve listened to the catalog of Privates work countless times and immediately loved the two new songs. I think it’s safe to say I am not alone in that feeling.

---

First off, the Nashville Scene provided a full page article on the Best Of compilation – “The Privates Revisit a Standout Catalog in Nashville Rock.” It’s a great read filled with insightful and memorable quotes from the band, including this one:

“We’re like cicadas,” says Paulson. “We basically come back and do the same thing. I assume when all those cicadas get out of the ground, they’re like, ‘Ah, we still got it. Nothing’s changed.’”

The Basement was absolutely packed with fans like myself ready to hear the band reunite for the first time in over a decade. The night was opened by Matt & The Watt Gives with an absolutely stellar set and then The Privates returned to the stage. They did not disappoint.

The Scene returned with even more coverage of the show – “The Privates Pilot Their Local-Rock Time Machine Back to 2008” – providing eloquent insights on the performances of both bands and a set of photos from Steve Cross that help capture the evening.

---

It’s unclear if this is the end of the line for The Privates re-emergence. There are no plans for additional shows but there’s also no plans to not have shows.

There’s no telling if there will be more music or more shows from the band but it’s clear that their music still grabs people in all the right ways. YK is honored to be a part of the preservation process to ensure that anyone that has previously enjoyed the band can continue to do so and, maybe, some new fans will hop along as well.

Let’s hope that it won’t be a full cicada cycle before we speak of them again.

Talking with Hands third album, Organic Machine, is an examination of the relationship between man, machine and the music indsutry. Generative AI and Human Creativity have a fascinating coupling at this point in time. It’s undeniably helpful but also potentially teetering on taking creative jobs. In that same wheelhouse, music as an art form is being devalued due to tech moguls decisions to treat everything as content. It’s not personal, it’s just business.

These are all heady subjects but Talking with Hands tackles them incredibly effectively and charmingly. With the latest single, “Everything is Better,” there’s a direct dialogue between these two things. However, it’s unclear how that relationship is going.

Matthew Smith has never told me directly what the song is about but the combination of his delivery and the lyrics themselves leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Does the narrator truly love the subject? Is it reciprocal? Is the narrator a human or machine? Does the music video undermine the song itself as a bit of distracting hand waving? Only you can decide these things.

The video is available on YouTube and the album is streaming everywhere. If you wish to support it, find it on Bandcamp and Ampwall.