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This special limited edition release is in a run of 100 copies, modeled around the classic gatefold vinyl LP. It includes printed front, rear and inner sleeves featuring photography by George Korunov, with design by Andrew Heath. There is also a card sleeve housing a vinyl-effect CDr.

Includes digital pre-order of Hibernation. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released. Belgian ambient artist First Snow of The Year returns to Whitelabrecs with Hibernation, his third release on the label. Recorded between late 2023 and early 2024, the album reflects a period of creative retreat and quiet transformation. As the world outside moved through its seasons, the artist found himself in a state of hibernation.

Erik tells us “There was a stretch where my energy was low, and I spent more time at home, adjusting to life with a one-year-old daughter. It felt like hibernating”. Over time, that stillness gave way to renewal, and these recordings capture the feeling of re-emerging with a new perspective.

The album blends digital and analog elements, combining field recordings, experimental pedal loops, and mic-captured textures. It moves between expansive drone-like pieces (Hibernation, St Wendel) and more structured compositions (Postcards, Sail), with brief interludes in between providing moments of pause. Without a strict concept, the record flows naturally, weaving together different sounds into a cohesive and organic patchwork of textures and moments,

For the first time, First Snow of The Year worked with an external mixing engineer, allowing him to focus fully on the creative process. This shift helped shape an album that feels personal yet open-ended, inviting listeners to experience its unfolding journey in their own way.

With Hibernation, First Snow of The Year presents an album about transition and renewal, born from winter’s quiet and released just as spring begins.

whitelabrecs.com

Whitelabrecs is a record label from Lincolnshire (UK) established in 2016, specialising in highly limited runs of vinyl-effect CDrs and digital-only editions. The label is managed by its founder Harry Towell, who records music as Glåsbird.

The label's discography focuses on contemporary Ambient music, including Drone, Modern Classical and Electro Acoustic.

1. whitelabrecs.com