Bon Iver Biography

Bon Iver (an intentional mis-spelling/adaptation of ‘Bon Hiver’, French for ‘Good Winter’) is the work of Justin Vernon, who spent three months alone in a log cabin in Northeast Wisconsin, living off the land, splitting wood, and hunting for food - a voluntary exile. And although this wasn’t the archetypal spell in the wilderness that many artists seek out, a deliberate scheme to create a ‘masterpiece’, some very special music was born out of the experience. ’For Emma, Forever Ago’ is the unexpected, triumphant result.

Vernon, a former member of Wisconsin quartet DeYarmond Edison, moved into the cabin after the break-up of his former outfit in 2006. He took with him very little of the equipment accumulated in that previous life - just a couple of microphones, a baritone guitar, two drums, a horn, a reverb pedal. These few items, when combined with enough space - physical and mental - allowed the songs that form this record to become far more than the sum of their parts.

Vernon sings almost entirely in a spectral falsetto (at its most poignantly fragile on the closer, ‘re: Stacks’), which opens up a whole new set of associations. It’s a genuinely soulful sound - Vernon admits that he appreciates Sam Cooke, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone and Prince just as much as any Americana or alt-folk artist. The range of comparisons shows the reach of this music – for some, the vocal timbre calls to mind Tunde Adebimpe (of TV On The Radio); for others, the imagery-rich narratives, suggesting so much from so little are reminiscent of Iron & Wine’s ’The Creek Drank The Cradle’.

‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ was originally self-released in late 2007 in a run of 500 copies and sold out instantly. Now, having been picked up by Jagjaguwar in the USA and by 4AD in Europe, the most captivating debut of 2007 will be available to a wider audience. Meanwhile, taking shape amidst the ever-expanding touring plans, is the new studio that Vernon is building up in the woods - measuring, grinding, sawing, smashing until everything fits.