Gareth Donkin Shares Festive Holiday Original 'This Winter'

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.

“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).

About drink sum wtr: drink sum wtr is a true culture label constructed for creatives, bringing forth unique voices in hip-hop, R&B, and adjacent sounds. drink sum wtr seeks to return to an artist development-driven label approach, swimming against the current in an algorithm-saturated music landscape, and focusing on championing distinctive, art-forward voices.

About All Flowers Group

All Flowers Group is a reassertion of the record label concept, and a constellation of music brands sharing the "same soil, water, and sun" approach that has fostered the success of sister company Secretly Group. All Flowers is driven by decades of shared industry experience, and a desire to give flowers to the best creatives in the game today. Alongside the expanding, imaginative team and roster of Ghostly International, All Flowers Group also includes drink sum wtr, a true culture brand and new label constructed for creatives.

Photo Cred: Simone Thompson