Beloved British singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, Newton Faulkner returns with his latest festive single, a reimagining of the classic ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ featuring vocals from Cat Rea, the niece of Blues singer, Chris Rea.

Introduced by bold electric guitar chords, followed by a gentle percussive beat that’s present throughout; Faulkner’s version of ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ immediately stands out from the original, offering a unique, indie-band feel that pairs nicely with Newton’s distinctively husky, folk-rock vocals. Measured yet considerably more foot-tapping than the 1986 Chris Rea original, Faulkner breathes an exciting new life into this modern-day reimaging.

A beautiful rendition, Newton and Cat’s voices work in harmony throughout the track, with a more up-tempo beat and a dreamy use of guitar lines and hooks from the off. There’s a lovely, melancholic break towards the end of the song in what is the instrumental part, and there is a real moment of magic of chord sequences, highlighting the slight structural changes that have made a massive difference to the overall offering.

Speaking on the making of his new single, Newton Faulkner shares:

“I got together with Cat, Niece of Chris Rea to make a new version of ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ that is true to the song but also brings it up to update production-wise. One of the biggest challenges was the, often cut, instrumental section which turned out to be my favourite bit in the end. The finished thing is exactly what I wanted it to be, a Christmas song that I have always loved with a tonne of fresh, modern production twists and stunning vocals from Cat Rea.”

Newton Faulkner ft. Cat Rea – Driving Home for Christmas

 

Follow Newton Faulkner on: Instagram