Today, London-based singer-songwriter and producer Gareth Donkin has unwrapped “This Winter,” a jubilant holiday original inspired by the cozy spirit of the season. Arriving with a playful music video, the new single showcases Donkin’s distinct sense of melody and his honeyed falsetto, nodding to classics like Wham!’s “Last Christmas” over a rich blend of synths, electric guitar, percussion and sleigh bells.
Watch the “This Winter” Music Video via YouTube
Stream “This Winter”
“Writing ‘This Winter’ was a well-needed break from writing love songs and focusing on the release of my debut album,” shares Donkin. “A song has never come to fruition this quickly for me. I wanted to capture the same feeling my favorite Christmas/winter-themed songs gave me leading up to the holidays; a song with warm and nostalgic sounds tied with rich harmony. After I produced the beat in September (which felt strange), I enlisted the help of my good friend and bandmate Coby Tom who co-wrote the lyrics and played acoustic and electric guitar on the song. I’ve never released anything like this before, but I’m feeling festive and excited to be sharing it in time for the Xmas season!”
“This Winter” caps off a triumphant year for Donkin who released his critically acclaimed debut album Welcome Home this summer via drink sum wtr, a new label formed by A&R Nigil Mack in partnership with Secretly Group, as a part of the newly minted All Flowers Group. Donkin’s insightful coming-of-age collection earned widespread praise from press including Wonderland, FLOOD Magazine, Our Culture Magazine, The Luna Collective, Lucid Monday, KCRW, BBC Radio 6 and Billboard, who described the 23-year-old as a “soul savant.” Welcome Home also received support from Spotify’s New Music Friday, Fresh Finds R&B and POLLEN playlists, plus more.
Born with perfect pitch, Gareth Donkin was already fanatically obsessed with both jazz piano and drums before he turned 12. By the time he headed to the Leeds Conservatoire to pursue a degree in music production, he was already writing and recording his own material at home. Donkin’s first single, “Catharsis,” has racked up more than 1,000,000 streams to date on Spotify, and a series of subsequent releases found similarly organic success including this spring’s groovy, synth-filled “GEEK OUT!” (ft. quickly, quickly and The Breathing Experiment).
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