Bon Iver
Justin Vernon has never shaved and lives in a log cabin with only robins for company and drinks nothing but melted snow and kills deer with his bare hands and feasts solely on their raw meat and plays the guitar with his gloves on and doesn’t understand what electricity is and owns no clothing that isn’t chequered and spends his spare time just, y’know, chopping stuff up.
Or at least that’s what the general public have been lead to believe. The press has really done a good job of building up the myth about how Bon Iver’s debut LP, For Emma, Forever Ago, was created, as if the fact that it was recorded in a log cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin in deepest winter inherently makes it good. It doesn’t. It’s just a nice story. But you don’t need to know it to enjoy said recording. It’s one incredible record.
But here’s the story anyway. Vernon moved to the cabin, owned by his father, after the breakup of not only a romantic liaison with a lady friend but also of his previous band De Yarmond Edison. He was feeling just a tad sorry for himself, and actually a bit ill. For three months he lived there alone, filling twelve hours a day with recording his inmost thoughts and feelings , channelling them in to the nine remarkable songs that make up For Emma, For Ever Ago. He named the new project Bon Iver, a semi-nonsense term shared amongst some friends with whom he used to send letters back and forth, signing them off ‘Bon Iver’. It’s pronounced ‘bohn eevair’, and would mean ‘good winter’ in French if it wasn’t deliberately spelled wrong.
He played and recorded the whole thing himself, the clever so and so. Live however, Bon Iver’s line up is expanded a little, to include Mike Noyce (vocals and guitars), who was Justin Vernon’s guitar student during high school, and Sean Carey (drums, vocals, piano, vibes), who joined the band simply by approaching Vernon during one of his first shows and announcing that he could play and sing all his songs. Bon Iver are also bolstered in a concert setting by the participation of the crowd – from early on, audiences have been encouraged to join in on the likes of ‘The Wolves’ in a deliberate attempt to recreate the effect of the overdubbing on the record. Plus, it’s nice to a have a good communal sing along now and again.
Initially intended as just a bunch of demos, For Emma, Forever Ago was self-released independently towards the end of 2007, but didn’t get a full outing until it was picked up in 2008 by Jagjaguwar in the ‘States and 4AD in the UK. And until the new Blood Bank EP is released in January of 2009, it’s all the Bon Iver you’ll be able to get hold of. Cherish it – most bands never get to be this good.
MYSPACE.COM/BONIVER: Just a couple of tracks, but trust us, that’s all that’s necessary to become more than a little spellbound.
BONIVER.ORG: The official site for Justin Vernon’s project includes a very lovely blog, where he talks about bonfires, and how much he really likes stuff, and what stuff he really likes.
FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO – ALBUM REVIEW: “this is not an album about the landscape, the wilderness or \'the great outdoors\', but an album about all the tedious demons and personal anxieties that, far from being left behind, have a habit of becoming overwhelmingly amplified when you go somewhere to give yourself time and space...” – Sophie Dodds
FOR EMMA – SINGLE REVIEW: “One of the standout tracks on a memorable album, few finer songs will be heard this year...” – Chris Helsen
LIVE REVIEW – LONDON, MAY 2008: “tonight Bon Iver are a three piece, each with a delicate roll to play in this charmingly ramshackle operation. Really, if one of these people f**ked up just a little bit, that’s it, end of show, the trio run off weeping and retire from music...” – Tom Hannan
LIVE REVIEW – LONDON , SEPTEMBER 2008: “Bon Iver not only deserve but suit crowds this big. Makes you wonder… perhaps they’re tapping in to something quite fundamental about human nature...” – Tom Hannan
LIVE REVIEW – END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL 2008: “If everyone takes one musical memory of End of the Road 2008 away with them, the majority will probably take this one...” – Chris Helsen
SKINNY LOVE (LIVE ON JOOLS HOLLAND):
FLUME (LIVE SESSION):