Steven Wilson's surprise 2023 Christmas single December Skies to get physical release in December

Steven Wilson is to release a physical version of his seasonal single December Skies on December 6

Originally given a low-key release last year through Wilson’s YouTube channel and accompanied by an appropriately AI-assisted video by Miles Skarin, December Skies quickly and quietly racked up in excess of 200,000 views over a few days. The track, originally written as an experiment after a friend challenged Wilson to create a Christmas song, captures the loneliness and reflective beauty of the winter season.

"Just before Xmas last year I was challenged by a friend of mine to write a Xmas song, something I’d never considered doing before," Wilson recalls. "My stuff is way too miserable to make for a joyous Xmas song I reasoned, but with an AI version of myself helping out with some suitably seasonal lyrics, the result was December Skies.

It was swiftly recorded over a weekend with a little help from my buddy Randy McStine on lead guitar and backing vocals, and released online a few days before Xmas 2023. I have to say I’m incredibly pleased with the way it came out, so I’m super happy that it's going to get its moment again this Xmas, and in physical form too!"

December Skies will be available as a limited edition CD and 7-inch vinyl featuring vocal and instrumental versions of the song plus three exclusive Steven Wilson Christmas cards illustrated by Hajo Mueller who also created the front cover. December Skies will also be released in Dolby Atmos and spatial audio on Apple, Tidal and Amazon as well as a standard audio release on all other streaming platforms.

Wilson has also just announced a fourth date at London's Palladium on May 20 as part of his The Overview tour for 2025. Wilson will release his new album, The Overview, ahead of the tour.

Pre-order December Skies.

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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.