BRIEF ENCOUNTER: Wyndham Wallace.

It is nowhere near among the bookmakers' favourites, but arguably stands as the most atmospheric and appropriate contender for the Christmas number one spot this year.

The emotive spoken-word Hilli (At The Top Of The World) features the last ever vocal recording by legendary singer-songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood, famous for his collaborations with Nancy Sinatra, including These Boots Are Made For Walkin', who died on August 4 this year from cancer.

The evocative lyrics for the single, released next Monday by Ever Records, are complemented by an enchanting composition created by Iceland's Amiina, who are perhaps best known for providing the string section to Sigur Ros' live shows.

The collaboration, which mixes a magical fairytale feel with the looming spectre of climate change, was the brainchild of Hazlewood's manager and Amiina's A&R Wyndham Wallace.

Wallace, the former head of the UK arm of Berlin-based independent record label City Slang, now lives in Berlin, where he launched Ever Records with K7 before leaving to dedicate his time to writing a book about his relationship with Hazlewood.

While attempting to solve the dilemma of how to pick a single from Amiina's debut album, Kurr, which is entirely acoustic, Wallace hit upon the idea of teaming the quartet with Hazlewood who is one of their idols and also had a history of recording spoken-word vignettes such as Trouble Is A Lonesome Town.

"He had a very dry sense of humour and poetic way of delivering those lines. I always found them really magical," explains Wallace.