Over the years, I have done a plethora of remixes and covers of Christmas songs — before I decided to stop observing the holiday in general. Some of them are pretty good so I have included them here.
Christmas Is Coming Earl Three’s Drum & Bassmas Mix)
Vince Guaraldi
2011
This one was the first. It got a lot of YouTube play, and was up for a very long time before copyright notices appeared in some countries. I always liked this piece and I thought it would just go great with
Credits
written by Vince Guaraldi. produced by Lee Mendelsohn. remix and additional production by Earl Three.
The Coventry Carol (Earl Three’s Glowstick Magi Remix)
Alison Moyet feat. Collegium Vocale Gent
2012
This one was created the following year. The original recording was Moyet’s contribution to the A Very Special Christmas compilation of 1987. It was always one of my favourite selections from that record. I decided to give it a dance feel and I mixed in a choral recording I found on YouTube. After some time, I received a comment from the choir director asking me to take it down, then some time later, one of the singers commented that he was glad to be a part of the remix. So I left it up.
Credits
Traditional. performed by Alison Moyet and Collegium Vocale Gent. produced by Jimmy Iovine. remix and additional production by Earl Three.
NutCracker Remixes
2013
That year, I had this idea to remix the entirety of the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, but was only able to come up with versions of three of the pieces. But I was quite happy with them — they transformed the classical music into EDM of various genres and I often thought it would be interesting to actually create a ballet around these versions.
Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (Earl 3’s Sugar Rush Mix)
Tchaikovsky
Done in a crazy drum and bass style using the every popular Amen loop.
Nutcracker March (Earl Three’s Come Get ‘Em Mix)
Tchaikovsky
Kind of a trap remix? I was never really sure what trap was.
Arabian Dance (Earl Three’s Dub In 3s Version)
Tchaikovsky
A dark EDM waltz that I was really happy with.
CREDITS
composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. remix and additional production by Earl Three.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Earl Three’s Agnosticized Remix)
Erasure
2014
This was an extra track from their 1988 EP Crackers International, and it never really had an beat or percussion to it, but I fixed it.
CREDITS
Traditional. performed and arranged by Erasure. mixed by Mark Saunders. remix and additional production by Earl Three.
River
Earl Three
2017
I gave the remixes a break for a few years, then came across this track that I’d never heard before by Joni Mitchell and decided to do a cover. I was working my my singing voice at the time and the original version was not in my key. So I had to drop the instrumentation a few tones and it now sounds very melancholy.
CREDITS
written by Christine McVie and Eddy Quintela Mendonca. performed by Earl Three.
We All Sleigh Ride In A Rhythm Nation
Alexander O’Neal vs. Janet Jackson
2021
This was a really fun one, but it’s probably only interesting to me. I had been wanting to remix Sleigh Ride by Alexander O’Neal for an Xmix for some time but I could never wrap my head around how to do it. So that year while messing around, I got the idea to mix it with Rhythm Nation. Both songs were produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis so they had similar sounds and production. I’ll admit this one goes on longer than it should, but I was into it.
CREDITS
‘Sleigh Ride’ written by James Harris III and Terry Lewis. ‘Rhythm Nation’ written by Janet Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis. produced by Jam & Lewis. megamixed by Earl Three.
Carol Of The Bells (Earl Three’s Carol Of The Beeps Remix)
The Piano Guys vs The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
2023
It was a couple of years after I heard the Piano Guys‘ version of this classic piece by Mykola Leontovych that I wanted to remix it, but again I couldn’t figure out how. One year it just came to me and it turned out better than I’d hoped. It’s a hard stomping club mix with some great energy.
CREDITS
performed by The Piano Guys and The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. remix and additional production by Earl Three.