The Declining Winter is a Britishband based in Yorkshire, led by Richard Adams, the co-founder of the Domino Records group Hood.The band plays a unique form of pastoral pop taking in influences from lo-fi, electronica and post rock with a strong visual aesthetic inspired by the countryside of Yorkshire. They released their debut single "The Future Sound ofHip Hop Parts 1 & 2" on Misplaced Music in November 2007. The record was unique as it is made of mostly recycled materials reflecting the band's keen interest in the environment. This release was promptly followed up by a CD only remix project on Moteer and a debut albumGoodbye Minnesota released by Ireland's Rusted Rail imprint in May 2008. In May 2009, they issued a mini albumHaunt the Upper Hallways on Home Assembly Music. The same label also released an unlikely attempt at a song for the 2010 World Cup and later that year the four track CDr "Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window" emerged on boutique Italian imprint, Secret Furry Hole. After a long period of silence, the band returned to release a 10" Fragment 5 on French label Monopsone in 2013 followed by Lost Songs cassette on Sanity Muffin in 2014. The latter album consists of unfinished recordings rescued by Adams from his crashed hard drive and was later issued as a small run of CDrs. A brand new studio album, Home For Lost Souls, was released in March 2015 on Home Assembly Music, and came with a digital-only mini-album The Waning Mill Chronicles. In August 2015, the band played a rare series of UK dates with a new line-up consisting of Richard Adams, Paul Elam, Mick Harrison and Chris Lanigan. The band then issued "The Leaves in the Lane" a split 12" with Isnaj Dui on the Rural Colours imprint, and a busy 2015 was rounded off with a limited album "Endless Scenery" on Sound in Silence. The band then fell silent as Adams worked with his other project the dulcimer-led instrumental band, Memory Drawings, but a very limited handmade 7" single "Chimneys etc" appeared in 2018, followed by a critically appraised new studio album, Belmont Slope, in September 2018. In 2019, Richard Adams released two near solo records under The Declining Winter moniker. Firstly a collaboration with Leeds-based designers Studio Build and brewing company Northern Brew Co. on a 7" record entitled "UTE", which came with a craft beer of the same name. Then came "Why Clanks" - a short run book and CDr released by the Manchester-based short run print label Paper Piano Press. Adams also released an album of ambient and electronic recordings in 2019 on Sound In Silence under the name Western Edges.
