Coldest Winter (song)
"Coldest Winter" is a song by American record producer and vocalist Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song was produced by West, with co-production from No I.D. and Jeff Bhasker. The producers served as songwriters alongside Roland Orzabal, who received a writing credit as a result of music that he wrote being interpolated. In October 2008, the song was previewed via Power 106. An electropop number, it interpolates Tears for Fears' "Memories Fade". In the lyrics, Kanye mourns the death of Donda West.
"Coldest Winter"
November 24, 2008
2008
- Glenwood (Burbank, California)
- Avex Recording (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2:44
- Kanye West
- Ernest Wilson
- Roland Orzabal
- Kanye West
"Coldest Winter" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who often commended its composition. Some focused their praise on West's performance, while numerous critics selected the song as an album highlight. It has been ranked among winter-related best songs lists by multiple publications, including NME and The Arizona Republic. Kanye West performed the song live in 2013 during The Yeezus Tour, frequently accompanying his performances by speaking about Donda's death. An accompanying music video premiered on February 22, 2010, which is soundtracked by a revamped version. Throughout the video, a bride is chased by Grim Reaper-style characters in a forest. Critics mostly gave the visual positive reviews, some of whom appreciated its dark style. Pentatonix covered the song in October 2016, before releasing a music video for the cover two months later.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Musically, "Coldest Winter" is a minimalist electropop number.[9] The production of the song is constructed around "Memories Fade" by Tears for Fears, written by Orzabal, while West delivers an interpolation of its vocal hook on the chorus.[2][6][10] The song features tribal drums, which were created using the Roland TR-909 drum machine and appear on the chorus.[11][12][13] It contains descending synths, mostly accompanying the verses.[12][13][14] Keyboards are also included, contributed by Bhasker,[2] while West utilizes Auto-Tune to sing throughout.[15]
Lyrically, "Coldest Winter" serves as Kanye West's tribute to Donda after he became depressed following her death.[16] A call and response is featured when West sings certain lines, such as "On lonely nights, I start to fade / Her love's a thousand miles away".[12] West also reminisces on memories that he made in "the coldest winter".[17] On the chorus, he repeats the couplet "Goodbye my friend / Will I ever love again?" thrice. To close out the song, West sings the couplet with the alteration of the last line to "I won't ever love again".[12]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
A music video for "Coldest Winter" was debuted via iTunes on February 22, 2010, and shared by American director Nabil Elderkin to his Vimeo page the next day.[32][33] This release marked West's return to the public eye after his outburst at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, which came 15 months after 808s & Heartbreak had been released.[34][35] The visual was directed by Elderkin, who had previously worked with West on multiple occasions, including directing the videos for fellow album tracks "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Paranoid".[33][36] On the day of the former's release, Elderkin informed MTV that the video differed from any previous collaborations, confirming it is "pretty minimalistic", and "slow and very visual".[32] He opened up about "want[ing] to catch the vibe of the song" without being too literal, deciding on this due to the lyrics' heavy closeness to West and how they "go much deeper than the video" through their emotion.[32] The video treatment was written by Elderkin, who called it "a boundary-pushing effort" compared to his past work with West.[32] He further affirmed the two tried a new style for the visual medium that challenged him more especially, as West missed the editing process and only saw the final version.[32] Elderkin also admitted in another MTV interview that West not appearing in the video was funnily his own decision, nor did he want to put him in.[36] The director confirmed West lacked interest in being in the visual for "Paranoid" too and had more appearances until parts were removed, further saying West was fine at the time "with putting out visuals that fit the song" no matter if he is present.[36] Concluding, Elderkin stated that "he's in that place in his life where right now he just wants to make art", and insisted the music video is intentionally open for interpretation.[36]
The visual features a slightly revamped version of "Coldest Winter", similarly to how a new mix of "Paranoid" was used for its music video.[32][33][37] Elderkin defined the version as "more of a haunting one" due to being a remix of sorts, assuming that nobody has heard it before.[32] The director recalled how West "did some really amazing sound work" to the version, revealing he was more involved in its production than that of the original.[32] Rolling Stone's Daniel Kreps said the mix is "gloomier and more foreboding" than the original, while Stereogum writer Gabe Delahaye asserted that it shows "[t]otal beat wraith" from West, who adopts an attitude of "one beat to rule them all!"[33][38]
Synopsis[edit]
A purple color palette is used for the music video,[37] which begins with shots of a bride dressed in white and Grim Reaper-style characters interspersed by ones of a dark, winter forest.[34][36][39] Various shots in the video depict her running through the forest, being pursued by the characters.[33][40][41] The same actions are shown in slow motion as the video progresses, with the woman also looking in varying directions at points.[34][37] She later falls over but quickly stands back up and looks around herself, before running from the Grim Reapers again. The bride continues to run away until she leaps off a cliff, being absorbed by dark forces.[41]
Reception[edit]
The music video was met with mostly positive reception from critics. The staff of Rap-Up branded West's absence as "haunting", elaborating that the video is "equally chilling" to the gloomy song.[39] Ryan Dombal from Pitchfork called the visual "equally bleak" to "Coldest Winter", which he saw as the "starkest track" from 808s & Heartbreak.[37] Furthermore, he compared certain visual features to TV series Baywatch and Tim Burton's film Sleepy Hollow (1999).[37] Reviewing for Idolator, Becky Bain branded the video "awesomely cool".[42] She felt the depiction of West's "own mug" being replaced with "a cleavage-baring, Leona Lewis look-a-like in the spooky, surreal vid" was a smart strategy from him.[42] Expressing a more critical sentiment, Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson found the music video to be slightly "underwhelming"; he showed a preference for West to release new music instead.[40]
Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[2]
Recording
Personnel