West Virginia-based songwriter Michael Iafrate announced the release of a surprise Christmas song, a cover of Norman Blake’s “Walking in the Air” via his own Modesty Songs label on December 7. The release is Iafrate’s fourth Christmas release in the last several years and proceeds from sale of the song will be donated to the Appalachian Prison Book Project. The song will be available via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc. on December 7.
“[The cover is] Norman Blake’s theme song from the 1982 animated film The Snowman,” says Iafrate. “I recently introduced my daughter to the film having not seen it since I was a child, and the hauntingly beautiful theme music really came back to me and struck me as something I’d like to record with acoustic guitar, harmonium, and strings.
“Nathan Musser, currently of the electronic duo Love & Data, recorded the violin and cello parts. My daughter, Hazel Iafrate, sang harmony vocals. David Klug played drums and percussion. It was recorded David Klug at his studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
Additionally, until the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, 2019), all proceeds resulting from the purchase of Iafrate’s previous Christmas releases (available at Bandcamp) will be donated as well. The Appalachian Prison Book Project has distributed approximately 25,000 books to incarcerated persons in the region since 2004.
Iafrate is also in the midst of preparing a follow-up full length to his 2017 record Christian Burial, which was released under the name M Iafrate & The Priesthood.
Visit Iafrate at his Bandcamp Page and at Modesty Songs.
Learn more about The Appalachian Prison Book Project at Appalachian Prison Book Project.