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In a review by Chris VanNess, Editor of the LA Free Press, Digital Activity's XMAS VOL. 1 been called a "post-modern" holiday album. I looked into this whole post-modern thang awhile back, and if you remove all the French philosophers, American university literary criticism, deconstructionism and class warfare, all that is meant by the term post-modern is that it recycles art and culture from earlier (usually modern) times. So, for example, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup paintings can be considered post-modern because they attempt to represent ("re-present", get it?) and transform the ubiquitous and mundane--i.e., product labels--into high art. Post-modernism, then, tends to be referential (often self-referential) and ironic, making political, ethical, and even moral judgments of society and popular culture.

Well, if it pleases Mr. VanNess to call XMAS VOL. 1 post-modern, then so be it. Certainly, Digital Activity's arrangements, by their synthesized nature, are samples and, consequently, recycled, at least at the level of sound frequency signatures of the instruments represented in the arrangements. And Christmas music, in its annual recycling of familiar themes, is the best example of post-mod kitsch that I can think of. But beyond these aspects, I don't hear irony or too much reference to other work; instead, I hear crisp, original, and at times delightful arrangements. Some of the arrangements might be striving for that light, xylophone-laden, game-show sound, but there is no overt recycling of existing arrangements, such as one hears in hip hop sampling or mash-ups. If the post-modernism exists at all, then it flies completely under my radar.

On the other hand, the music is fun, and the extended arrangements make the CD a good candidate for background party music. In particular, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas plays nice, and is a relatively under-utilized Christmas recyclable, so on that basis alone XMAS VOL. 1 is a worthy addition to anyone's CD changer during the extended holiday season that is (yikes!) already upon us.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2004)

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From the liner notes:

All arrangements by Digital Activity
Special thanks to everyone I love so dearly
Especially PM and PW and my Mac.

"Maybe the best thing about Digital Activity's XMAS album is that subtle 'VOL. 1' etched in deep red next to the title, because if this is only volume one, then there is more to come. And more is what you are going to want when you hear how arranger/programmer Geoff Weston has selected nine holiday favorites from your childhood and dressed them up in new arrangements that sound contemporary and timeless at the same time....

"Digital Activity's XMAS is not just another Christmas album; it is a post-modern holiday album for a new millennium evoking half a century of song and tradition. This is the disc that will remain on your CD player for the entire Christmas season. And just think. It's only 'VOL.1.'"
--Chris VanNess, Editor LA Free Press

From the promotional materials:

Geoff Westen and his troop of Digital Activists take full aim at the Holidays, injecting their Rock Ambient sensibility into your favorite Christmas songs. Converting the DIGITAL ACTIVITY sound lab into Santa's workshop, arranger/programmer Westen has applied his digital touch to the Christmas songs he grew up with, turning them into extended soundscapes.

Each musical journey embarks down its traditional instrumental road before veering off into a highly adventurous rhythmic and melodic excursion that has texture and concept. You get ebb and flow, twists and turns, loud to quiet, frantic to soothing--all in one piece of music. This 9-track collection is a musical odyssey that takes you through traditional standards with some rock, jazz, country, and even urban flourishes.

Like traditional ambient music, XMAS VOL. 1 can be played as a background that creates the perfect holiday atmosphere--for wrapping a few gifts or baking a batch of cookies. But turn up the volume on these Rock Ambient tracks, and you'll be rewarded with the inventiveness and daring of each arrangement and song.

Either way, DIGITAL ACTIVITY's XMAS VOL. 1 will delight, with a new surprise around every musical twist and turn. This is the perfect backdrop for Christmas every year! These Xmas soundscapes defy categorization and take this traditional material to a whole new place.

Digital Activity

XMAS VOL. 1

Artist link

Track List