Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol
Dezeen Music Project: a choir of outdated computer equipment and games consoles performs a rendition of Carol of the Bells in this music video by Glasgow filmmaker James Houston.
![Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/12/Vintage-computers-sing-a-Christmas-carol_dezeen_10.jpg)
Houston created the video as a Christmas e-card from The Glasgow School of Art, from which he graduated in 2008. "I thought it would be wise to do a song or a track," Houston told Dezeen. "Music is the best way to get festive."
![Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/12/Vintage-computers-sing-a-Christmas-carol_dezeen_1.jpg)
He used speech synthesis on some of the machines to make them sing while the other consoles sound the four repeated notes from the tune of Carol of the Bells, a Christmas carol composed in the early twentieth century.
![Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/12/Vintage-computers-sing-a-Christmas-carol_dezeen_3.jpg)
Houston wanted to continue his work using old technology to create sounds and images, and combine it with showcasing his old Christmas gifts: "The idea was to get a collection of old Christmas presents, stuff that I've been given over the years and try to make music out of that."
![Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/12/Vintage-computers-sing-a-Christmas-carol_dezeen_13.jpg)
All the machines are his own apart from a couple of items he sourced via Twitter. Old Apple Mac computers, a Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum + 1 and a SEGA Mega Drive are among the choir. The ensemble sings lyrics by writers Robert Florence and Philip Larkin about gaming at Christmas, which Houston did a lot as a child.
![Vintage computers sing a Christmas carol](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/12/Vintage-computers-sing-a-Christmas-carol_dezeen_11.jpg)
"Christmas for me is mostly about gaming," he explained. "Each Christmas is delineated with whatever game I was playing at the time." The video was filmed in The Glasgow School of Art school's Mackintosh Library, where the machines were unpacked and arranged on a table among Christmas decorations before playing the festive song.