Cold December mornings, when you wake up and the sky is still dark through the misted window pane… Do you remember when, as children, we'd wake up already thinking about which little window to open on the colorful calendar hanging on the wall? That countdown to Christmas, hunting for the right date among the 25 little doors of the advent calendar, was like a sign of a slowly growing anticipation. With the certainty that every morning held a surprise in store. Deep down, isn't that the same thing that still makes us open our eyes to a new day?

For those who haven't lost the sense of anticipation (or for those who've decided it's time to rediscover it), OndaRock has decided to put together a very special advent calendar: every week in December, right up until Christmas Day, we'll be giving you a free downloadable track, a musical surprise to keep under the tree while you wait for the 25th. All Christmas-themed songs, of course, following in the footsteps of a tradition that — as Sufjan Stevens teaches us — isn't made up only of the slightly cloying sentimentality we've grown used to. Ready to open the first little window?

His father was a preacher, and to be honest, he too seems to have the calling. "Spreading the good news" is the mission Josh T. Pearson wants to entrust to his music: he admitted as much in his recent interview with OndaRock, with that thoroughly Texan blend of the sacred and the profane. So it's no surprise to find him grappling with the announcement of salvation in the classic "O Holy Night". His version is rarefied and solemn, and OndaRock is offering it to you in an Italian exclusive, as a preview of the American songwriter's new EP: it's made up of a handful of traditional Christmas songs recorded by Pearson in London for Rough Trade, the label that named his "Last Of The Country Gentleman" its album of the year. And if the songs on that album played out like the wounds of a harrowing existential via crucis, for Pearson the time now seems to have come for a hard-won redemption.

Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

O night divine, O night, O night divine.

Josh T. Pearson – O Holy Night [download]

"We're the best of friends, we go around and sing together. Do you want to come with us?". The playful invitation comes from Branches, a crew of Californian kids devoted to what they themselves call "indie folk rock family fun". Under the guidance of Tyler Madsen, they debuted in 2010 with a pair of EPs, "O, Light!" and "Cabin". In their hands, the spiritual "Go Tell It On The Mountain" turns into a sparkling indie-folk gem, built on tambourines, choruses and handclapping. A "singalong celebration", they call it: the ideal guise for bringing into the present the joyful song of liberation handed down since the early 1800s by the voices of slaves. The song of a longing that refuses to be resigned to going unanswered.

Go, tell it on the mountain,

Branches – Go Tell It On The Mountain [download]

For Bifrost Arts, rediscovering the communal dimension of music is a genuine mission: a mysterious form of sharing through which "something bigger and deeper than the sum of its individual parts can open up and blossom". The two albums released so far by the American collective (a third is in the works) have featured names of the caliber of Sufjan Stevens and Damien Jurado. In the track we're offering behind the third little window of our advent calendar, the voice of songwriter Matt Bauer makes the dawning of a promise palpable, while the Boston trio Maeve helps give the arrangement a choral breadth. It's an ancient hymn, composed in the 17th century by the German Johann Georg Ebeling, telling of men waiting for a glimmer of light in the night. Rather like all of us: "doubters and believers sharing the same pew". So say Bifrost Arts.

"Peace on earth, good will to men"

Bifrost Arts feat. Matt Bauer & Maeve – Veiled In Darkness [download]

The sound of Christmas bells draws ever closer: with a slow unfolding of acoustic caresses, Travel By Sea bring us its echo on the notes of "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day". The duo made up of Kyle Kersten and Brian Kraft, with three albums now under their belt, has always favored the dreamiest, most languid atmospheres: "sad music has always been the music that made me feel happiest," Kersten admits. In "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day", though, not even the wind of hatred can smother a hope for peace: American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote it during the Civil War, dedicating it to his son who had been wounded in battle. Travel By Sea's version is taken from their "Christmas Ep", shared with Kersten's other project, Greater Pacific, who made their debut this very year on the roster of Yer Bird.

Travel By Sea – I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day [download]

"Why this jubilee?”. The question contained in “Angels We Have Heard On High” (in its original, full-length version) resonates with greater intensity than ever in the air of Christmas Day. To use the words of Dickens's old Scrooge, “what right have you to be merry?”. Or rather, how is it possible to affirm that reality is good when the world seems to be going entirely the wrong way?

American songwriter Caleb Groh, it turns out, has some good reasons to offer today's Scrooges: after starting his career under the telling moniker of Happiest Lion, since 2009 he has decided to put together a proper band of Christmas carollers, under the banner of Caleb And The Caroling Caravan. The festive embroidery of his rendition of "Angels We Have Heard On High" carries all the enthusiasm of first love: the same look that must have been in the eyes of the shepherds on that silent night… When you meet someone with a gaze like that, the only thing to do is stick close to them. And never stop asking them why.

This is the Christmas wish we want to extend to everyone who has followed us this far, to this last stop on our advent calendar. As Dickens would say, "God bless us, every one!".

Angels we have heard on high

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see

Christ the Lord, the newborn king

Caleb And The Caroling Caravan – Angels We Have Heard On High [download]

All the tracks featured in OndaRock Advent Calendar were provided by the artists for free download. OndaRock makes no claim of ownership over the tracks, which remain the exclusive property of their respective copyright holders, artists, record labels and publishing companies.

Thanks go to the artists, the labels and everyone whose support made this collection possible.

We would like to thank the artists, the labels and everyone whose support made this compilation possible.

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