Last night a Mixtape saved my life

The winter season has always been a source of inspiration for songs and sounds of every kind. One classic vein is that of acoustic “winter songs”, stark ballads, often spectral or desolate, the genre whose undisputed master is Leonard Cohen and which over the years has been carried forward by multitudes of disciples, here represented by first-rate artists such as Nick Cave, Bon Iver, Vashti Bunyan, Marissa Nadler, Bill Callahan, Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Sarah McLachlan, Balmorhea and our own Fabrizio De André.

But another winter classic is the fairy tale (more or less Christmas-themed), buried under thick layers of snow, like those of the nostalgic Fleet Foxes, of harpist Loreena McKennitt and of the acrobatic Kate Bush, included in the lineup alongside her brilliant pupil Tori Amos, who dedicated one of her most beautiful and poignant ballads to winter (“Winter”).

The darkwave scene, of course, also found fertile ground in wintry, chilling, desolate atmospheres, through greats such as Cure and Sound, Italian disciples like Diaframma, and later shadow-tinged projects such as Lycia and Jesu.

But even (sophisti)pop hasn't been immune to winter melancholy, from the Eighties strain of Aztec Camera to that of the two following decades, ideally represented by refined acts such as Belle & Sebastian and Broadcast.

Then there are those who have approached wintry themes only sporadically but with excellent results, like the Rolling Stones of “Winter” and U2 in festive mode with their cover of “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”, penned by Phil Spector, but also Enrico Ruggeri with “Mare d’inverno”. And finally there are those who, for purely geographical reasons, live in a perpetual frozen winter, pouring all the poetry of the Arctic lands into their art: from the Icelandic Bjork, Sigur Ros and Ólafur Arnalds, to the Norwegian Bel Canto and Susanne Sundfor.

Binding the whole collection together, like an ideal common thread, is the rarefied electronica of Netherworld, aka Alessandro Tedeschi, one of the key figures behind the polar-themed compilation “Cryosphere”, which marked the debut of his label Glacial Movements.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

06/12/2025