The La Nouvelle Musique Snowflakes Christmas single - music online and vinyl already sold out!

La Nouvelle Musique
Walking In The Air / Face Of A Saint
(Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, Snowflake 39, The Netherlands, 2025)

The time has come to introduce the four singles that are released as part of this year's edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club. We start with the fourth and last snowflake of 2025. Maybe not the most logical thing to do, to start at the end, but knowing that the band has already put the music online and the record is sold out - at least, here at Snowflakes Headquarters - I think it's a good idea to start with this single. Although the single is sold out here, the band still has copies, and you can also pre-order the single from several UK (online) shops.

The idea was to have 280 copies of each of the four singles, but in the end, Record Industry pressed 320 of the three other singles, and 280 of this one, which explain why this record is already sold out and the others are not (yet, Jeanines is close to being sold out).

When I heard La Nouvelle Musique's first single 'Time Ticks Slowly', released on lathe cut vinyl, I was really impressed. Without doubt one of my favorite singles of 2025. I checked out some other songs on their Bandcamp, and decided to ask them for Snowflakes. Fortunately, they were into the idea of recording a Christmas single, and I am happy they were, as the single turned out great!

More about the band and the record below.

The London-based psych-folk husband-and-wife duo La Nouvelle Musique released their self-titled debut album earlier in 2025 on Friends Of The Fish/Fruits de Mer Records, after releasing a 7-song EP last year. Singer and pianist Joanna Beck is a composer and performance artist who creates electroacoustic music and sonic art, and has scored theater and film productions. Guitarist Ian de Sylva played in the indie rock band Silver in the 1990s and has recorded as a solo artist. As La Nouvelle Musique, the duo creates psychedelic, cinematic music influenced by British folk.

In line with their preference for incorporating cinematic elements into their music, they chose to record 'Walking In The Air' from the soundtrack of the British animated film The Snowman for their Christmas single. Composer Howard Blake wrote the song, which was originally recorded for the film by Peter Auty and turned into a Top 5 hit in 1985 by another boy chorister, Aled Jones. The song became a British Christmas classic and has been included on many Christmas albums.

Accompanied by acoustic guitar and subtle electronics, Joanna sings the song beautifully. Angelic harmonies and whistling make the song sound even more delicate. In the original song on the B-side, the atmospheric piano ballad 'Face Of A Saint', Joanna showcases the full extent of her vocal range, harmonizing with herself. The song's imaginative lyrics paint a picture of traveling through wintry scenery where gray skies and darkness are illuminated by a light "brighter than we'll ever know". Musically and lyrically, 'Face Of A Saint' complements 'Walking In The Air,' as both songs touch on similar themes and evoke the cozy warmth of a fire on a chilly Christmas night. Released as part of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, the single comes packaged in stylish artwork and is pressed on limited-edition white bio vinyl.

Listen to the songs here:

You can still order the vinyl through the band: La Nouvelle Musique Bandcamp