Essex County’s Brotherly Harmonies Are Next Level on ‘Last Christmas’ Cover [Exclusive Premiere]
Brother trio Essex County are gearing up for the holidays with a stunning cover of Wham!'s popular seasonal hit, "Last Christmas." Taste of Country has the exclusive premiere.
The Nashville (by way of London)-based band of bros put their distinct country influence on the pop song by changing the time signature from 4/4 to 6/8 and adding lap steel and a 20 piece orchestra to the mix. Brothers Nate, Mark and Kieran Bass' spellbinding harmonies instantly transform the 1986 Christmas classic into a modern-day country-pop track that is required listening for the 2018 holiday season.
In an interview with Taste of Country, frontman Nate Bass explains the evolution of this cover. It was actually Nate's idea to change the time signature of the song after watching countless covers of "Last Christmas" on YouTube.
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"We were always massive fans of George Micheal’s work growing up — his melodies and writing were just ingrained in our souls from a young age — so when we heard of his passing we were absolutely brokenhearted like millions were," he recalls. "When there was an opportunity to record a Christmas song, we instantly chose 'Last Christmas.'"
Essex County (formerly the Bass Brothers) worked with Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas) for the rendition, and they credit the producer for helping them discover new harmonies while recording the track.
"He really opened our minds to how we approach vocals in the studio. It’s been a very cool and inspiring experience to work with Ron Fair," Nate adds.
The trio have already been performing the song live around Nashville in addition to several new tracks they've been working on with Fair. "Last Christmas" will be available on Dec. 7. Essex County hope to release new music in 2019 and have already cut tracks from Nashville songwriters including the late Andrew Dorff (Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney) and Victoria Shaw (Garth Brooks, Lady Antebellum).
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