Fourteen Milwaukee bands and a local recording studio donated their time and talents to create a new holiday album called “Sleighin’ It.”

Each band chose their favorite wintry tune and then did their own version of it. 

"We picked the bands and they picked the song,” says co-organizer Biju Zimmerman. “The songs turned out better than we expected, especially considering the short timeframe. The creativity is amazing.”

All of the tracks on "Sleighin' It" are below and nine of the 14 were recorded free of charge at Stillwave Studios:

• "Let It Snow," Hot By Ziggy
• "Wonderful Christmastime," Brave You
• "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," Dislocation
• "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," Scott Starr (of Fever Marlene)
• "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," The Door Stoppers 
• "New Born King," by Shonn Hinton & Shotgun
• "Happy Christmas," by Spare Change Trio
• "Little Drummer Boy," by Ice Island
• "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," by Complex Machine
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," by June Gloom
• "Christmas Burger," by Telethon
• "Not So Silent Night," by Lost Orange Cat
• "Feliz Navidad," by M545 
• "Every Other Day," by Tigera

To download the album, listeners set their own price – starting at $10. All of the proceeds will go to Mkeascene and another to-be-determined charity.

“Sleighin’ It” is the first project by Mkeascene, a not-for-profit organization that started up earlier this year dedicated to improving life for young Milwaukee people with mental health issues.

“We wanted to do something to give back to Milwaukee. All of the artists were so energetic to do this,” says Eric Johnson from Mkeascene and the band Hot By Ziggy, which has a track on the album. 

Johnson started the organization in June with his fiance, Hillarie Sandberg, and friends Greg Zupek and Andrew Klain (also in Hot By Ziggy). A fifth partner in the project, Alex Kultgen, passed away this summer. Initially his unexpected death stalled the organization’s early development, but eventually, his memory inspired the first steps.

“We’re doing this in memory of Alex and for kids and families in Milwaukee,” says Johnson. "The album turned out perfect. It's fun to listen to and it even had me shed a few tears."

To download the album and / or to find out more about Mkeascene, go here.