Listen to Joshua Stamper’s experimental Christmas album As A Fire Between Walls

It’s a Christmas album, but not like the ones you used to know. Yesterday, Philly experimental composer Joshua Stamper – who you might recall from his ambitious remix project  earlier this year involving collabos with fellow Philly artists like Lushlife – dropped me a note about his new EP As A Fire Between Walls, promising a set of “atypical” holiday music. I immediately wanted to hear what he was talking about, and it delivers delightfully. 

Of the EP, Stamper says this:

Strings! Brass! Tasty Drums! Mellotrons! … It includes the talents of a whole mess of Philly talent – folks from Son Step, Cuddle Magic, Liz and the Lost Boys, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia just to name a few. As always streaming is free. All download proceeds are being donated to the Support Center for Child Advocates, whose mission is to advocate for abused and neglected children in Philadelphia with the goal of securing a permanent and nurturing environment for every child.

The three-song collection is a lush set of dreamy orchestrations, the glockenspiel chimes and understated piano delightfully recalling Christmas soundtracks, with sly references to traditional favorites like “Jingle Bells” snuck in. Give the set a listen below, and download it for $3 at Bandcamp.