Now that you have met all nineteen songs, let me pull back the curtain on how they came together. We had a genuinely great time making this record, and that joy, along with a whole lot of hard work, is a big part of why it sounds fresh
This album has been a true journey of perseverance. I started writing back in October 2025 and finally crossed the finish line in July 2026. That is nine months of late nights, endless drafting, and countless polish passes to get every single detail right. Writing this album was equal parts fun and challenge, but every hour spent tweaking lyrics and refining melodies brought us closer to where we wanted to be.
Finding the Fun in the Friction
Here is how I work: I draft, and then I do meticulous polish passes. On almost every track, those extra rounds of editing revealed a hidden gem waiting to be uncovered.
My son turned out to be my biggest inspiration for the most fun, upbeat tracks on the record—especially all of the skeleton songs! His energy and imagination pushed me to lean into the playfulness of those tracks:
- Skeleton Fred originally started with a tiny continuity slip where the same character had two different names. Instead of fixing it quietly, we leaned all the way in and made them both named Fred.
- Skeleton Twist quickly became my son’s ultimate favorite—it turned into our go-to track for spontaneous living room dance-offs!
- Skeleton Tango finally gave us the chance to execute the single joke a skeleton dance song owes you: the arm falling off mid-dip!
- Potion Commotion started with a bridge that simply described a xylophone—so in the rewrite, we blew up the potion instead.
- Gargoyle’s Lament had a bridge listing French horns, which we replaced with the story of the sculptor who gave him eyes but no life.
- Cackling Carnival traded a plain list of instruments for a persistent carnival barker who refuses to let you leave.
The Craft of the Edit
Beyond individual songs, we kept a running watch list of words that were getting overused across the album—things like candles, moonlight, and shadows.
To make the overall listening experience cohesive, we got strategic: we assigned candles specifically to “Carve It Out” (since that song is literally about lighting them) and cleared them out everywhere else. Shadows went strictly to “Reign of Shadows.” That kind of unglamorous, line-by-line bookkeeping is what transforms nineteen separate holiday songs into one polished, crafted album.
That is the difference I am always chasing. A recycled novelty song gets played because it is familiar. I want these tracks to get played because they are genuinely good—because every bridge earns its place, every rewrite improves the story, and every image finds its right home. The jokes and the heart are usually already sitting in the song somewhere; my job is to log the hours, persevere through the rewrites, and get out of the way.
We got there, and I couldn’t be prouder to share it with you!
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Why Pre-Saving A Folklore Christmas Means the World
(And How It Helps You!)
If you’ve ever wondered why artists are always asking you to pre-save their upcoming music on Spotify, here’s the secret: it’s the single best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat, while giving independent music a massive boost!
Whether you’re excited for the spooky ghost stories or the tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, here is what pre-saving actually does for you, and for the album:
- It drops right into your library on launch day: The moment A Folklore Christmas goes live, Spotify will automatically add it straight to your Liked Songs and library. You won’t have to search for it, set a reminder, or worry about missing release day.
- It feeds the Spotify algorithm: Algorithms pay close attention to pre-save numbers. A high pre-save count signals to Spotify that listeners are eager for these songs, which helps push our holiday tracks onto official curated playlists, radio feeds, and recommendation charts for brand new listeners.
- It helps independent music thrive: Every single pre-save gives independent artists a louder voice on major streaming platforms, helping us share these rich holiday traditions and old-world stories far and wide.
It only takes one click, but it makes a huge difference!
