The Declining Winter is the musical project of Richard.Vincent Adams of Leeds UK, the co-founder of the continuing group Hood and a full time stricken office worker. This record features contributions from Chris Cole (Many Fingers, Matt Elliott) and Chris Adams (Hood, Bracken, Downpour). It is influenced by (but probably sounds nothing like) the music of Low, The Durutti Column, Songs of Green Pheasant and early Microdisney as well as the myriad sounds of J Dilla and associates.
This record is packaged in 100% recycled materials. All packaging comes from old unsold records, unwanted packaging and unused photos. The inner bags are made from partly recycled materials.
Limited to 200 copies, with the first 50 copies coming with a bonus 3″ cd of remixes courtesy of Epic 45, Remote Viewer, Part Timer and Northstation.
Songs
- yorkcitythree
- We Use to Read Books
This record is out of print, but you can listen to it on Last.fm.
Reviews
Norman Records
It’s finally here!! After months and months of waiting The Declining Winter single is here and what a joyful beast it is. The Future Sound of Hip Hop Parts 1 and 2 is a total breathe of fresh air hovering above a stagnant pool of filthy gassy music. We have 2 tracks of pastoral beauty on this 7″ from founding Hood member Richard Adams. Musically it’s very much like Hood with it’s wonky lazy sounding acoustic guitar and a simple drum beat (with nice added dub effect). If that wasn’t enough the bass line bobs along extremely successfully. There’s some nice chinese sounding sounds in ‘part 1 yorkcitythree’ which lift the mood slightly though it lives in a permanent state of falling down around itself as it’s possibly the most shambing thing I’ve heard in a while. It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of music though. Both sides are absolutely glorious and initial copies come with a bonus 3″ CD featuring remixes from Part Timer, The Remote Viewer, Northstation, Epic 45 etc.
Boomkat
Now there’s an eyebrow-raisingly bold title, if ever there was one. Given the sort of personnel involved with this project you suspect there might be more than a hint of irony involved. The Declining Winter is the solo project from Richard Adams of Hood, who calls upon a number of likeminded souls such as his brother and fellow Hood-ite Chris, and Many Fingers’ Chris Cole. The two tracks on this 7″ are beautifully rendered snapshots of a kind of rustic rethink of what hip hop might sound like if you happened to live in Wetherby. The instrumental A-side, ‘Yorkcitythree’ could easily be considered to be a new Hood song, fusing a delapodated drum sound with wistful acoustic guitar arpeggiations whilst flickers of dulcimer add further colour and texture to the mix. Equally beautiful is B-side ‘We Used To Read Books’, a slightly more upbeat affair complete with backwards vocal passages melted into a slow, languid drum pattern and more of that instantly recognisable acoustic guitar work that’s so characteristic of Hood’s mournful compositions. This release comes with a handmade sleeve made from 100% recycled materials and is limited to just 200 copies, each one with its own unique photo on the sleeve. Highly recommended – ESSENTIAL PURCHASE!
Released 18 February 2008. Idlemoor, Bradford’s very own Northerner produces exquisite layered instrumental pieces influenced by Durutti Column, Labradford, Erik Satie, This Mortal Coil and Rachel’s. It’s gentle neo-classical evocations met with haunting electronic lullabies to create the perfect music for staring out of the window to on cold winter days.
Gareth S. Brown, formerly known as The Unpleasants (whom you may recall from Misplaced Pets), has also been a long time member of Domino Records recording act Hood. With influences as diverse as Eastern European folk music, funeral marches and jewellery boxes, Iron Henry is a gorgeous work of layered beauty with nods towards Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Michael Nyman as well as latter day travellers such as Max Richter, Yann Tiersen and Aphex Twin.