Album Notes

"Tesla's Christmas" is an experiment in combining electronica with ancient sounding instruments. Christmas Carols... some familiar and others not so familiar. "These Christmas Carols will remind you of something you've never heard before".

ABOUT RICHARD SOUTHER:
Grew up in Hollywood, son of an actress, lived four blocks from Universal Studios and had a love for film music even then. Been playing piano since three and a half. I studied classical music for nine years with retired Dean of the Music Department of the University Of Utah, Thomas Giles (my next door neighbor). One year with Max Willerson (student of a student of Franz List) that almost killed me! Numerous rock bands (some almost famous!) on the Sunset Strip followed that.
1972, much to the shock of my family and many musician friends, I embraced Biblical Christianity. My life was falling apart and none of the philosophies or religions I had investigated could support the collapse. Up to that point the idea of asking Jesus Christ into my life to be my Lord and Savior made little sense. I felt I understood what god consciousness was. I knew the "everyone has the divine spark inside them" mantra very well. I always felt the divine light was inside me too... but praying a simple little prayer, inviting Jesus into my being, started something I hadn't experienced before. I can't say that I felt any immediate changes in the days afterwards. My dark clouds didn't lift right away. But I knew something was going on in my spirit, something new and my perspective on life was changing. I felt happy. Oddly enough I had never "really read the Bible" till that season. It became my constant companion and in time (and with a little help from some friends) I started attending a local church (a miracle in itself!).
I've been writing music all my life but recording solo projects since 1985. I've been fortunate enough to have had some of my work used by Daimler Mercedes-Benz in a European commercial, CBS 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano for a segment on Buddhist monks, PBS's Spanish version of "Sesame Street" continues to this day to use a song from my first album. I have song in the HBO film "Iron Jawed Angels" which played at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Some music in the NBC Dateline, Secrets behind 'The Da Vinci Code' segment. The project I'm most proud of is a independent 'no budget" documentary film I scored on the life of Blade Runner/Tron artist, Syd Mead.
I am also acting as Music Director at High Pointe Church in Midway, Utah.