Two musicians have teamed up to release a Christmas single about the cost of living crisis.
Jordan Coulthard, 23, and Will Curry, 18, have collaborated on a house track called 'Christmas 99'. The lyrics of the song, which was released on Friday, focus on the ongoing financial crisis and the cost of Christmas.
The pair, who both live in County Durham, got together to make the tune after Will heard Jordan's previous single 'Miracle', which reached number 26 in the UK chart, and got in touch with him.
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Jordan, who goes by the name Coulthard, said the song looks back at how much more simple Christmas was in 1999 compared to 2022. Lyrics in the song include 'Christmas on Klarna' and 'exchanging gifts for equivalent'.
He said: "I have never done a Christmas song before and It was nice to work with someone else. Will is the first person I have ever stood and sang in front of. With Miracle, it was all done at home. We have had two weeks to pull this together.
"It's taking the whole tradition of a Christmas song and putting it into a house track. It's raising the typical issues of Christmas in 2022. The lyrics lead back to 1999 and how simple Christmas was. When kids were on the street on Christmas Day with toys. You don't get it anymore, it doesn't happen. Now it's Instagram and look at my new bag or my new shoes.
"I said if we do a Christmas song it has to be something that's real. Over the last few years, it has been hard. I have struggled and everyone struggles. I want my music to be based on real life. I don't want it to be fake. I wanted to keep everything so humble and so real.
"People seem to have this whole mentality of it's about how much you spend. We need to take it back to simpler times when Christmas was about sitting around together.
"We have kind of forgotten the tradition and the whole story of Christmas. I'm not a Christian but I respect the value of Christmas and what it stands for. For me it's about family, for other people it's about Christianity. But it's not about how much you have spent."
Jordan, who lives in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, previously released his single 'Miracle' on streaming services last month. He put his own spin on the dance classic by Coco Star.
Coco released her song 'I need a miracle' back in 1995 and it was re-released in 2000 by Fragma under 'Toca's Miracle'. During the covid-19 lockdown, Jordan started chatting to Coco online about his music.
Jordan began working on his own version of the song after noticing that it had never been covered by a male. He said he got positive feedback from Coco and she gave him her backing to release it.
Will, who makes rap, hip-hop and dance music, said he contacted Jordan to congratulate him after hearing miracle. They began chatting and organised to meet up to make music.
Will, who lives in Willington, near Crook, said he has been working on music for around four years and is currently working as bar staff.
He said: "I saw Jordan's remix of miracle and said 'hats off to you, well done'. I am excited about working with Jordan. He's the first male singer I have worked with. It was quite last minute but we have made it. It was all done within one studio session. We have got it released as soon as we could."
He said they want the song to be enjoyable to listen to but they also want to pass on a message to people. Will added: "I think the cost of living crisis is quite universal, everyone is feeling it. I'm seeing a lot of people suffering who aren't as fortunate as others.
"The song is basically saying people are struggling, it's not what we want to see, it's not nice. It's about spreading the message. There might be one person with an important role who may be able to make a change.
"We're both really proud of it. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do."
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