Once Upon a Winter

Once Upon A Winter founded in Thessaloniki as the solo Post-Rock/Blackgaze project of Ilias Kakanis. In 2017, the debut album Selective Depression in Chase of the Big Bang was released, drawing significant attention, while in 2018 Once Upon A Winter evolved into a full band, releasing three more albums. Over the years, the band has headlined shows across Greece, and in November 2019 completed its first European tour, with concerts in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. In 2018, Once Upon A Winter opened the Thessaloniki concert of God is an Astronaut in their hometown, and in October 2022, capitalizing on the success of their latest album Void Moments of Inertia, they opened for blackgaze giants Deafheaven in Athens. In 2024, they also supported Alcest at their concert at Gagarin in Athens. In May 2019, the band’s music was featured in the theatrical performance Agenniti Gi (“Unborn Land”), which received a cultural award from the UNESCO Group of Piraeus and Islands. In February 2021, the band performed with the MOYSA youth orchestra at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, in an event organized by the Musicians’ Union of Northern Greece and broadcast on national television. The sound of Once Upon A Winter ranges from classic post-rock with atmospheric ambient elements and deeply emotional melodies, to doom and black metal eruptions with aggressive guitars, while always maintaining a focus on melodic lines at the core.