~Winter Wassailing~#9: 'Feliz Navidad' by Sea Of Bees

A Selection Of Seasonal Songs In The ~Streetlamp~ Stylee!

I have to admit that I am flying blind on this one tonight.

For you see this is not the Blog I had intended to write this evening. The song I had chosen to write about remains the same, 'Feliz Navidid', but the artist is now Sea Of Bees.
Let's see how we got here.

'Feliz Navidad' is one of, if not THE most popular Christmas song to have emerged from Latin America. It was written by the Puerto Rican singer/songwriter José Feliciano in 1970, and has proven to be a massive hit amongst the Spanish speaking populace of North and South America, although it still remains fairly obscure here in Britain, and indeed in most of Europe.
The version that I had originally chosen to write about tonight was by El Vez, the Mexican Elvis and one-time Morrissey support act! I originally heard El Vez's version about 10 years ago on an Indie Music Charity CD and was immediately seduced by his incorporation of Public Image Ltd's 'Public Image' into the track. This is the version that this Blog was supposed to be about, however when I went to search for a video clip to accompany the song on the Blog, the only version I could find once again had the Union Flag as it's sole image, and as I had already been berated by Griff for this in a previous Blog, I didn't want to stoke his ire once again.
Then, as I was looking through the other versions of the song that were available, I stumbled upon this rather gorgeous version by an artist called Sea Of Bees. Immediately smitten, I knew this was the version I had to write about.

So who are/is Sea Of Bees?
Well, Sea Of Bees is the pseudonym used by Sacremento singer/songwriter Julie Ann Bee aka Julie Baenziger aka Jules. The music is very Folk/Pop with a remarkably clean production sound that really accentuates Julie's incredibly pure voice. This vocal clarity gives the song an almost hymnal quality, and the backwards guitars give the song a slightly psychedelic, slightly woozy feel....like you've drunk too much Advocaat(Egg Nogg for our American readers). There's something very folksy and primitive about this version of the song that makes it a perfect ~Streetlamp~ Festive Favourite!


If you are intrigued by Julie's music having heard this track, then please check out her own excellent website here, where you can acquire a free download of her rather wonderful song 'Marmalade', plus be sure to check out her Last.fm, Myspace and Facebook pages.

All in all, a wonderful new discovery for us.
One I'm sure Griff will be rather partial to.

And if you'd like to hear El Vez's version, click here.

And here's the original......


......from the bottom of my heart!

~Gordon~