2010 - the year that was

Here is a round up of all The Declining Winter and related activities this year.

We started 'on the road' with a UK and Europe tour which included a robbery, sickness, hospitalisation, freezing cold and some very good shows. Here is a video of us on that very tour performing the old favourite 'Yorkcity3'



Our good friends at Norman Records re-issued our debut album 'Goodbye Minnesota' on wonderful 180 gram vinyl. These things look an absolute treat and still seem to be selling by the erm..... thimble load

'The Official World Cup Theme 2010' would have been great on vinyl but alas time got in the way/ or I didn't get my act together quick enough. Yet we did manage to get a release out and got our first mentions on Pitchfork, Drowned in Sound, and other more confused media outlets on which the joke was lost on. A nightmare start to finish this one, but we still think it sounds great and are hoping to reap the benefits in 2014. Here's the video........

We performed our final show (until mid next year) at the extraordinary Forest of Sound is Dead event at Left Bank, Leeds and waved a temporary goodbye to guitarist Paul Elam who headed for the stunning climes of Toronto.

With everything else happening, I forgot that I'd recorded 'Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window' which snuck out in November through our friends at Secret Furry Hole. The packaging on this is phenomenal and I was pleased the release coincided with freezing weather.

I also completed remixes for Brave Timbers, Winter North Atlantic, Team Forest, The Green Kingdom and performed on upcoming albums by Absent Without Leave and Epic 45.

Yet somehow its been a quiet year, I've spent a lot of it moving house or sorting out moving house or sorting out complications relating to moving house.

That all said we should be back next year though I can't promise when, I have a house to renovate. Don't give up on us though. Thanks to anyone who still reads/listens. An even bigger thanks to anyone who buys stuff, this keeps it all going in the days of diminishing returns.

richard/the declining winter

dec 2012

Seasonal Free Stuff

I like to give away a christmas treat or two each year and with the season fast approaching here is this years selection. Both are downloadable for absolutely nothing!

You can download for free a live version of our hit 'My Name In Ruins' taken from a performance in Antwerp, Belgium. The story behind the very different version is that our drummer had been rushed to hospital and so we had about an hour to come up with an acoustic set! Hence this version is very different from the one found on our 'Haunt the Upper Hallways' album.

and here for your christmas delectation is the original home sketch of 'The Official World Cup Theme 2010'