The Arctic Circle

power to the penguin!
Hot News; Fresh from the Floe.
Newsletter #6 - December 2007

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas and welcome to this sparkly special edition of Power to the Penguin! Christmas is a season close to our hearts at Arctic Circle and what better way to celebrate than with a winter spectacular at the Union Chapel AND the release of our exclusive compilation CD That Fuzzy Feeling.

In this delicately mulled yet action packed edition you will find:

UNION CHAPEL 05/12/07 The return of the Christmas Carols Concert
Featuring: North Sea Radio Orchestra+ Josh Weller
with very special guests Mara Carlyle & David Julyan
and introducing The Dollboy Windpipe Arkestra.
Hosted by Jonny Trunk

address: Compton Avenue, London N1 2UN
price: £14
time: 7.30 - 10.30pm

What will it sound like?
www.myspace.com/northsearadioorchestra
www.myspace.com/joshweller
www.myspace.com/maracarlyle
www.myspace.com/davidjulyan
www.myspace.com/dollboycouk

Where do I get tickets? www.wegottickets.com/event/22538
How do I get there? www.unionchapel.org.uk/pages/how_to_get_here.html

The Arctic Circle Presents: That Fuzzy Feeling
Cat: LOAF14
Format/Packaging: Limited Edition Box Set/Digipak CD
Release Date: 5/12/07

With 15 tracks of glowing festive perfection, this Arctic Circle compilation deftly reinvigorates the dead and buried genre of the Christmas Album. Bringing it back to life complete with all the warmth, sparkle and originality you need to bring That Fuzzy Feeling back into Christmas.

The release will be available for sale in two formats. The first, a lush limited edition (100 copies) handmade box from much in demand designers Pika Pika (responsible for the eye-catching artwork for all Arctic Circle Events). The other, a snowy-white digipak which will be available in a limited run of 500 copies.

Pre-Order: http://lorecordings.greedbag.com/buy/that-fuzzy-feeling-0/

'Adventurous Christmas compilation. Not a turkey in sight.' - Uncut magazine

'...if you're after an alternative take on xmas then this is for you' Norman Records

'Lovely' - Boomkat

On a tip-off we hunt down Vincent Oliver, a man who, we have it on good account is Christmas’s biggest fan. We tie him to his Christmas tree and poke him with the fairy. Eventually he relents and agrees to tell everything, like why Joseph was a loser. And that he’s Jamie Oliver’s cousin. No really.

Do you have any favourite records to play on christmas day that help alleviate the stresses and strains?
No. For some reason I have very vivid memories of hearing that song that goes:
"Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up, (Ooh ooh)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up, (Woah-oh)
And time won't take my love away.
Woah-oh, woah-oh, wo-woah-oh, oh-oh-oh-woah-oh,
You're such a, you're such a,
You're such a, you're such a hot temptation,
You just walk right in, walk, walk, walk right in.
Woah-oh, woah-oh, wo-woah-oh, oh-oh-oh-woah-oh,
Wo-woah-oh, woah-oh, oh-oh-oh-woah-oh, wo-wo-woah-oh. Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up,
(Thank, thank, thank you baby)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up, (Woah-oh)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up,
(Thank, thank, thank you baby)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up. (Walk right in)
'Cos you're ride on time, 'cos you're ride on time, ride on time,
'Cos you're ride on time, 'cos you're ride on time, ride on time.
Let me tell you, let me tell you what you do,
What you do, what you do to me. You're such a hot temptation,
You just walk right in, walk, walk, walk right in.
Woah-oh, woah-oh, wo-woah-oh, oh-oh-oh-woah-oh,
Wo-woah-oh, woah-oh, oh-oh-oh-woah-oh, wo-wo-woah-oh.
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up,
(Thank, thank, thank you baby)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up, (Woah-oh)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up,
(Thank, thank, thank you baby)
Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up. (Walk right in) (Away)
'Cos you're ride on time, 'cos you're ride on time, ride on time,
'Cos you're ride on time, 'cos you're ride on time, ride on time.
'Cos you're ride on time, ride on time,
'Cos you're ride on time, ride on time.
'Cos you're ride on time, ride, ride, ride on time,
'Cos 'cos you're ride on time, ride, ride, ride on time.
And time won't take my love away”

This is my genuine answer I didn't know the name of the song, so I searched the lyric that I remembered and pasted it here. The vocal in the track is notable because it's so f****g extreme. The rest of the track is really quite tame. It's just one of those technipop-soft chord-hits but sitting on top of that is someone absolutely screaching her poor lungs out.

If you could choose one band to come play in your living room on Christmas Day, which would it be?
A Good'un. Does it have to be a band? In that case I'll go for Arab Strap. I've kind of gone off them a bit, since they called their retrospective 'Ten years of tears' but they've been one of my favourite acts and there's only two of them. I imagine having a full band in your living room would be pretty unpleasant, what with all the cables and such. I'd ask them to play with just an acoustic guitar and a drum machine. Bare minimum. songs from the red thread would be good. Or Tom Waits. With a couple of clarinets and flutes and whatever weird instruments he'd like... all unplugged. Much better. Both of these acts would be smashing Christmas guests... they'd get blind drunk.

Can you capture the essence of your perfect Christmas (real or imaginary) in one short sentence? (under 15 words)
Costless, Christless, Carolless... and absolutely no shopping. Essentially just a nice big meal with my friends and family. Made by... Jamie Oliver. My cousin.

What associations with the following words spring to mind?
Yule-log: Poo
Xmas: Christmas
Jingle-bells: Genital cluster

What is your favourite Christmas carol/traditional song with childishly altered lyrics?
Love all that.. I can't actually think of any, though. 'o come little children'? I did a search for some and found this: "Across the nation, parents were shocked by news that their children, doubtless egged on by leftwing nutjobs, were substituting rude lyrics in traditional Christmas carols, the latest salvo in the Progressive War on Christmas. Instead of venerating our Lord Jesus Christ, these pint-size propagandists instead herald such secular figures as Batman and Robin, asserting in verse that the former "smells" and the latter had "laid an egg." Quite funny.

Were you ever in a Christmas play at school and what part did you play?
Plenty. Always Joseph (with one exception - a star). My girlfriend just pointed out that it's a pretty insignificant role, really... Joseph doesn't do actually do anything in the story of Jesus, what with the immaculate conception. Why do we even know about him? Loser. I'd have totally mounted Mary.

Have you been a good boy or naughty and are therefore undeserving?
Naughty boys take what they want whether they deserve it or not.

What do you want Santa Paws to bring you for Christmas little boy?
This is a tuff one. I'd say Death. Death for hip-hop. The cancer of culture, world-wide. Isn't it nice how I asked for Santa Paws to bring me something for someone else. : )

www.vincentoliver.co.uk
www.myspace.com/vincentoliver

You can hear Vincent Oliver share the love on That Fuzzy Feeling (details can be found above) Especially recommended as pressies for hard to please rellies!

It is Christmas Eve and I am writing to the sound of gentle snoring and the wind, which rattles the windowpanes. Our humble dormitory is prepared for the evening’s visitor with the best of our badly darned socks hung from the bed frame and of course a pick me up for Santa, which due to our somewhat reduced circumstances is nothing more than the dog-end of what Tinkles assures me is a ‘reefer’.

Jinx is lying across my feet, his slumbering body emitting a faint but foul odour of old smoked fish. Tinkles is tucked up on the bottom bunk wearing his best pyjamas, an effect somewhat undermined by the hobnail boots that stick out from the end of the bed. He is struggling to even pretend to be asleep and I observe him directing furtive glances towards the fireplace before screwing his eyes up in renewed effort to keep them closed. Scientist Bob is merrily snoring away on the top bunk clutching a Bunsen burner (as is quite within the ordinary I have found.)

Despite being determined to remain awake, it is almost midnight and my eyelids insist on drooping. I swear I can hear faint but jolly music on the wind and the distant tickle of bells…

Dear Reader! I had not shut my eyes for more than a moment and when I open them our festive offering has gone! Our visitor has proved himself surprisingly light of foot for a man his size and has left no trace but a curious bulge in each of our Christmas ‘stockings’ and a softly booming “ho ho ho” which hangs in the air with a whiff of hot reindeer.

‘Till next year Santa Paws! And here I sign off for the night, my chums. Happy Christmas to you all!

Yours merrily!

Chief Penguin

P.S. Was quite surprised dear reader to find on Christmas morn, that old Santa had eaten half a sack of raw potatoes and knocked over several specimens of Scientist Bob’s Snowman farm on his departure. Most odd, must investigate!