Tis the season for all things festive, & NUKG is no exception to that! With that said, here's a few Garagey Christmas selects for you to add to your party playlists - should you be seeking some seasonal ditties which fall outside the norm: -
Phonetix - Christmas Cookies
The first of multiple choices from Mr Jazz Step - the man affectionately (and perhaps aptly) also known as "the Michael Bublé of UKG". This one's taken from 2023's 'Wow! That's What I Call A Festive Tearup' EP and sees Rob drop a banging Speed Garage take on the standard 'Good King Wenceslas'. Topical yet surprisingly well geared up for the dancefloor. Get it here.
CJ Reign - Steppers Bells
An undisclosed free bonus track attached exclusively to the Bandcamp release of Para's 'Got My Mind' on Riddler Records back in 2013, leading Polish producer CJ Reign's steppy take on 'Jingle Bells' remains a firm fave amongst fans of the genre at this time of winter some 11 years on!
Phonetix ft. Harsh & Laura Alice - Last Christmas
Produced at the same time he was recording his '27 Months' album, Phonetix enlisted the help of long time collaborator Harsh to supply vocals on a typically Phonetix version of the Wham! hit - in order to raise funds for his then-poorly daughter. The track, which gives a subtle nod to the Mentor Remake of 'Closer Than Close', also features then-obscure but now-infamous NUKG starlet Laura Alice (on subtle backing vocal duties). A favourite of legendary Todd Edwards, it's cheesy singalong Garage at its finest! 2021 saw Rob commission friends Final Cutt Collective to do a remix and they delivered an absolute cracker - with a definite nod to the likes of MJ Cole. Get it here.
Para - Christmas Riddem
A time-limited donate-what-you-like download recorded in support of Phonetix's 'Last Christmas'; Para's 2018 take on Chris Brown's cover of the Donny Hathaway classic is simply sublime. Unfortunately, because it was time-limited - you won't be able to get a hold of the mp3 now... but it does open Phonetix's 'Festive Cracker's mix on his YouTube channel - a great place to hear it in the mix.
Santa & His Elves - Winter Wonderland
A hilarious mashup of Antonio's 'Hyperfunk' and the Tony Bennett version of the Christmas standard of the same name, Mr Pud & Rob Someone really delivered the goods when they threw this one together back in 2011. The track received support at the time from DJ EZ on Kiss 100FM no-less! To the best of our knowledge, you won't find it anywhere - other than SoundCloud.
DJ Q - All I Want For Xmas is Q
One of the more random entries on this list, 2013's Garage House version of the Mariah Carey classic sees Q venture down a choppy cut-up House route to great effect. If you haven't heard it before, it might not be what you'd expect from DJ Q - nonetheless it is of course high level and has thus become a staple in record boxes across the globe since. Get it here.
Robbie T - Tuff Xmastime
Another one we couldn't source a preview of, 2006 saw Robbie T reimagine Wings' 'Wonderful Christmas Time' in the vein of Karl Tuff Enuff Brown. As with Para's 'Christmas Riddem': you'll hear it in Phonetix's 'Festive Cracker's mix on YouTube. And if it brings a smile to your face, you can still get it here.
Libera - Lacrymosa (Todd Edwards' Todd-ified Remix)
Whether you consider 'Lacrymosa' a true Christmas track probably depends largely on whether or not you're a fan of Harry Potter. For the many that are, it's a bonafide seasonal listen. And thankfully, 2010 saw legendary Todd Edwards put his niche spin on it - to great effect. It was a time-limited free download, whether you'll find it available anywhere now is a question for Google... but you can certainly still at least hear it in full via SoundCloud.
Phonetix - Silent Night
Probably the most laidback track featured here, Phonetix dropped this one in 2021 - riding off the success of his Jazz Step FM album... so it's unsurprising that it's Jazz-centric - with Jazz guitar and horns-aplenty. It featured at the time on a number of Spotify playlists and amassed a surprising number of streams - a testament to it's unique vibe. Get it here.
At the time of writing we also note Hans Glader is previewing some rather tasty sounding goodies via his Instagram page, so be sure to keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled for those when they drop this season.
Know of any Christmas crackers we left out? Let us know!
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