I’ve been currently obsessed with this wonderful group, and now it is one of my all-time favorite bands.
The band was formed in 2006 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. His story still amazes me in some way.
A year ago after breaking apart from his band DeYarmond Edison, and breaking up with his girlfriend, Vernon went to his parents cabin in Wisconsin to hibernate for the Winter and he stayed there for three months. He did not intend to write or record any music during that time, he just wanted to be alone in a cold place; however, his creative instincts could not be sedated.
And, eventually, he wrote and recorded his first album there, a masterpiece called ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’. Vernon played all the instruments during recording and each song was edited with a large number of overdubs, which help the album to keep that ethereal and nostalgic feeling. He must of been feeling all kinds of melancholy because ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ is drenched in a sort of lonely, sad feeling as well. You can almost feel him searching for whatever answers he was seeking, all alone, holed up in a little cold cabin in the middle of nowhere. These feelings are tangible in the lyrics and the acoustic strums of his guitar. With his guitar and his haunting raw voice, Vernon recorded the album by himself using just a very basic small recording set-up, and, as he declared, some other small things that he made or found lying around.
And, eventually, he wrote and recorded his first album there, a masterpiece called ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’. Vernon played all the instruments during recording and each song was edited with a large number of overdubs, which help the album to keep that ethereal and nostalgic feeling. He must of been feeling all kinds of melancholy because ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ is drenched in a sort of lonely, sad feeling as well. You can almost feel him searching for whatever answers he was seeking, all alone, holed up in a little cold cabin in the middle of nowhere. These feelings are tangible in the lyrics and the acoustic strums of his guitar. With his guitar and his haunting raw voice, Vernon recorded the album by himself using just a very basic small recording set-up, and, as he declared, some other small things that he made or found lying around.
When the album was finished, it was almost not released, but then, Vernon gave the album to two of his friends who encouraged him to sent his creation to some labels just as a group of demos. The album was released by Vernon himself and it had a significant positive reception, making Bon Iver quite popular around the net.
After that, Justin Vernon was signing to the indie label Jagjaguwar which gave Vernon’s album a proper and decent release. The album was re-released in 2008.
The listening of the whole album is such an experience, and every time I heard it I feel like I’m in the middle of a snowy woods, watching the freezing sunrise. In my opinion, all the tracks are just brilliant, but songs like ‘Flume’ , ‘Skinny Love’ and ‘ For Emma’ are simply superb and genius. An experience for all your senses.
In January 20 of 2009, was released the EP ‘Blood Bank’, the continuation of ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ which features four tracks, among them, the excellent ‘Blood Bank’ and ‘Woods’.
The label Jagjaguwar said about ‘Blood Bank’ that ‘as much as Emma is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection is about the warmth that gets you through it. You can feel the air move. Like a fire you've been stoking for hours and finally got to sustain itself, the heat blisters your face while your back is frozen solid.’ I totally agree.
This extended play had also a good reception, even arriving to the top of the UK indie chart in 2009.However, and despite his success, Justin Vernon has said that he will be recording his songs and making albums without producers and engineers because, as it is proved, he is capable enough to do it by himself.
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