Friday saw the release of Merry Christmas, Mr. Fields OST, a video-album created by Michael Angelakos (Passion Pit), Brent Katz (formerly of Harlem Shakes), and director Hana Haley. The Video-Album and OST was produced for AKH Productions and is being released in partnership with Frenchkiss Records. The trio has shared three tracks off Merry Christmas, Mr Field’s – “Christmas In Your Arms,” “Stained Glass Windows” and the title track. The ambitious idea for a soundtrack and accompanying video album was nearly impossible to finish in time for Christmas, but the three friends needed a fixed deadline like this. Though the project began with Angelakos and Katz years earlier, Haley completed the circle and the video album is her virtuosic directorial-debut, mirroring the familiar yet otherworldly effects of the music. After years of false starts, the two songwriters finally got to see one of their ambitious musical projects become real. Starting in March of 2016, they shut out the world and put nearly everything in their lives on hold. At first the project was being made for fun, but it would soon evolve into something incredibly personal and representative of their collective growth. Sleep deprivation and the regular routine of writing Christmas songs in the summer heat nearly drove them insane. By the time September came around, pragmatic onlookers could only scratch their chins as the three friends travelled to Buffalo’s Nichols School, Angelakos’s alma mater. This turned out to be the perfect place to film their dreamy World War II Christmas musical. The three artists gradually saw the confusion of others transform into encouraging enthusiasm, often rivaling their own. With the help of Nichols School, and with only 4 days to shoot, thirty-two children performed roles in a children’s play adaptation of trio’s original story of Merry Christmas, Mr Fields. The adaptation yielded a purer take on the project’s original idea, with characters gorgeously overwritten by the sharp and fussy Katz, and the majestic and bold score marking a tectonic shift into Angelakos’s inner encyclopedia of musical ideas and abilities. Haley’s ornate and compelling visuals are more than additional content: they were created in conjunction with the songs, and both work off each other to create a total experience. The three developed the project’s elements together, and wrapped the project only a few days ago. AKH Productions will be donating all of the proceeds to charity, as well as the Nichols SchoolArts Department. MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. FIELDS OST TRACKLISTING 1.Overture 2.Meet Me at Daphne’s 3.Evergreen 4.Weather the Storm 5.Permission to Audition 6.Footprints in the Snow 7.December to Remember 8.O Holy Night 9.Stained Glass Windows 10.Answer Me, Harry 11.And Never Be Afraid 12.Wake Up, It’s Christmas 13.Christmas in Your Arms 14.Merry Christmas, Mr. Fields 15.Stained Glass Windows (End Credits)