Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with the amazing musical duo, Gordan Merrick and Cilla.
I was welcomed into Cilla's home with open arms and a glass of rum, which is a long-standing tradition. We discussed while lounging around the who, the what and the why behind this interesting, witty, quirky, and secretly sexy team. Gordon cleared his throat, adjusted his vest and crisped the pleat of his pants, Cilla gave her dress a little tug, revealing a little more clavical, and we began:
Who Are You?
Gordon: Cilla and I just want to make love songs that make making love make sense. That's why for over a decade we've been—separately, and in harmonic unison--struggling to bring music into the world that documents and explores a new type of love song, a kind of music not afraid to be in love with love itself.
Cilla: I'm Cilla. Cilla Danone. And you must be?
Having already introduced myself at the door, I did again. Michael.
Why Holiday Music?
Cilla: It speaks to my soul. LISTEN! No, not to me silly. Just li...sten....
A moment of silence begins, Cilla draws her hands into the air and then into her chest. Gordon must hear it to for he has his eyes closed and slowly sway. Me, I don't hear anything and am questioning this decision to conduct an interview. Gordon opens his eyes slowly and dramatically, clears his throat and continues.
Gordon: Few musics do love as well as holiday music—and few musics have the potential to get under people's skin quite like holiday music. You can't stop singing it, can you? You want to stop and you can't. What we're saying is: it's okay to let it sit there, burrowing into your skin. Relax.
As a wee thing, I played guitar at my school and counted the days to the holiday guitar mass. I've always wanted to find some way to recreate the whole-hearted, pine-wreathed-and-scented fun that came from those midnight-mass sing-alongs. I mean, these were Catholics, it's not like they could sing—but there was no shortage of enthusiasm and there's just something about the holidays that seemed to get everyone in key-ish and on time.
It was on one particularly cold holiday when I lived in Buffalo back in the early 00's when I came up with the idea of recording one holiday song a year for twelve years and then releasing it as the "Gordon Merrick Holiday Album." I recorded two songs before I settled in Wilmington in 2003 and met Cilla. When Cilla and I met all those years ago, we recognized each other as passengers on the same snowy, jingle-all-the-way journey. In 2004 we recorded "The Christmas Wish" from John Denver's Christmas album with the Muppets and have recorded one (sometimes two) songs a year since. This year's songs—"Heat Miser" and "Santa Claus Goodbye"—bring the total number of holiday hits up to 13.
What about this year's selections?
Gordon: Despite our musical synchronicity, sometimes we want to work on different aspects of our music, so this year (as with some others), we decided to record one largely electronic song (Cilla's choice) and a slightly more 70s, organic, blandemonium number. We love the dance floor as much as brown, woven wool couches, and we hope that these two songs will bring a dollop of Christmas cheer (and a hint of Christmas melancholy) into your homes this holiday season.
Cilla: I love dancing. Dancing in the snow! Now, would you be a dear and pass me the rum?
I placed my empty glass of rum on the table, picked up the jingle bells and ended this amazing afternoon with an impromptu listening party of the heavily bass-layed, club-esque sounding "Heatmiser".
As I left, with a pat on the butt by Gordon and a pinch by Cilla, as I awkwardly gazed back, I realized that I have just witnessed first hand music that made love making make sense. And it was, in fact, the most magical thing I've been lucky enough to experience.
