Down for the Count record two albums in three days at Angel Studios, including new Christmas record Count Down to Christmas

© Jack Childs

Press release: Fan-funded swing orchestra Down for the Count has recorded two full-length albums in an intensive three-day session at Angel Studios in London, engineered by John Barrett (Abbey Road Studios), mixed by Fiona Cruickshank (AIR Studios) and mastered by Cicely Balston (New Ground Audio).

The first album, Count Down to Christmas, is a festive record for the orchestra’s 40-piece big-band-with-strings line-up, with most of the musical arrangements written by conductor Mike Paul-Smith and fellow arranger and original band member Simon Joyner. It is the orchestra's second Christmas album, following Swing Into Christmas, released in 2021, and brings together festive standards and lesser-known seasonal material in Down for the Count's unique large swing ensemble setting. A second, non-festive album follows in spring 2027.

The sessions were made possible by a fan-backed crowdfunding campaign, which raised £27,500 from 400 backers, surpassing its original £25,000 target and allowing the orchestra to record both albums across three days this August - a demanding schedule for an ensemble of this scale.

‘We wanted to make a record that sounds like the Christmas albums of old - with that sense of festive warmth and nostalgia that you get from Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra yuletide classics, but with a bit of a modern touch,’  says conductor Mike Paul-Smith. ‘Recording our new Christmas album gave us the chance to play some songs audiences know, alongside several pieces they will probably be hearing for the first time, and having that mix is really what this orchestra is all about.’

Five of the crowdfunding campaign's most generous backers joined the band in the recording studio to experience the process first-hand. One of them had suggested the band record Joni Mitchell's River for the Christmas album, and the orchestra tracked it on the very day the donor was there. The group reconvened in the pub afterwards to share their impressions of the session, giving the backers the opportunity to meet the musicians and discuss the recording process.

Before leading one of the UK's largest touring jazz ensembles, Mike Paul-Smith studied medicine at the University of Oxford and completed a PhD in gene therapy at Imperial College London, before leaving science behind to become a full-time pianist, conductor and arranger. He now orchestrates much of Down for the Count's repertoire, and has also directed ensembles at international festivals including Montreux Jazz Festival and performed at North Sea Jazz Festival.

Down for the Count has previously sold out shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and Cadogan Hall, London, and has appeared on three occasions at the London Jazz Festival.

Count Down to Christmas will be out on 27th November 2026. The album will accompany Down for the Count's 20-date UK Swing Into Christmas tour, running from 28th November to 29th December.