86 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
checkinginonhisteamsofcollaborators,
encouragingtheirwildestwhims,andcollecting
theirideas.Togethertheyassembledteetering
towersofsongs,thentookonthedifficultprocess
ofwinnowingthemdowntothemoremanageable
arrangementsheardoni,i. Onlyoccasionallydid
Vernonengageinwhatmightbecalledtraditional
writing:sittingdownandworkingoutpartsonhis
own.“Iprobablydidthemostwritingon‘Salem’,
justkindofonmyown,”hesays,referringtothe
pensiveanthemthatmutatesintoa pulsating
krautrockoutro.“Therearesomesongshereand
therethatI might’veerectedmorethanothers,but
everysinglesonghada chancetogothroughthis
metamorphosis,likesupercolliding them with
otherpeople’sideas.”
ThatprocesschangedtheDNAofBonIver,most
notablywiththeadditionofitsnewestofficial
member.BestknownasonehalfofWyeOakand
onewholeofFlockOfDimes,JennWasnerwasinviteddowntoSonic
RanchbyCook.Hercontributionstosongslike“Naeem”andFaith”
madea bigimpressiononVernon,whoaskedhertojointheband.
“Hesprungit onme,andI trulyhadnowindofit whatsoever,”she
says.“It’sprobablytheclosestthingtoa marriageproposalI’llever
experienceinmylife!I remembersayingsomethingdorkylike,‘I
promiseI’lldoa reallygoodjob.’It wasoverwhelming,becauselet’s
bereal,hecouldhirewhoeverthefuckhewantedina second.Buthe
alsoemphasisedthathelovedmyother projects and wanted to make
sureI gottokeepworkingonthem.”
“Historically,”saysCook,“Justinmicromanagesdetailstoa crazy
degree,andI absolutelylovethatabouthim.Thatdidn’tgoawayon
thisrecord,andhe’llalwayshavefinalcutonwhateverhe’sworking
on.However,hehasrealisedthatacceptinginputfromotherpeople
willhelpachievethebestpieceofmusicthathecanreactto.I think
theresultsshowinhisperformances.Hewassingingwithoutany
tuningonhisvocals,whichhehasn’tdoneina longtime– noteven
forfun.Heseemedreallyconfidenttosingonthisrecord, which told
mehewasexcitedaboutwhatwashappening.”
Partofit meanshavingtheconfidencetogiveupcontrol,tobe
vulnerable.“You’resupposedtolisten,”Vernonsays.“You’re
supposedtobereadyforcriticism,you’resupposedtobevulnerable.
I wantedtodothesethingsthatI wasonlyabletodoonmyown 10
yearsago,I wantedtodothosethingsinfrontofanyone.That’s a true
vulnerability, and I find that so important these days.”
aboutit is thatit’sona 4,000-acrepecanfarm,so
youwakeupandyoucanseepecantreesformiles
andmiles.Thepropertylinegoesrightuptothe
border.There’sactuallya physicalwallbuilton
partoftheborder,andonpartoftheborderthere’s
nothing.It wasstrange,like,‘Oh, I can just walk
intoMexicorightthere.’”
“You’reina differentheadspacenomatterwhat
you’redoing,”saysBradCook,Vernon’soldband-
matefromDeYarmondEdisonandhisproduceron
i,i. “Youdon’thavemodernlivinganywherenear
you.Cellphonesareuseless.Thatcreatesa lotof
spacetobecreativeandimaginative.Peopleforget
howmuchtheyhavethosethingsinsideofthem
untiltheystepoutofmodernlifefora while.”
Vernon,Cook,anda smallcrewofbandmembers
spentsixweeksatSonicRanch,withdifferent
musiciansandcollaboratorspoppingin
fora fewdaysata time.Thatkeptthings
livelyandopen,establishinga routine
thatallowedthecalendartoblurlike
thehorizonona hotday.“It’swildhow
youcanhavethesameroutineeveryday
andyougetlost,”saysCook.“Youforget
whatdayoftheweekit is.Butatthe
sametimeyouwakeupina greatmood,
you’reexcitedforwhatyou’redoing,
andyouclearyourhead.”
Musicianssetupworkshopsin
variousroomsandbuildingsamongthe
pecantrees,sometimesa mileofbarren
desertbetweenthem,thenwould
gatherintheevenings.Sessionshad
analmostrecreationalfeel,asseveral
teamsworkedtowarda commongoal.
“Wheneverybody’sonthesamepage,youcandoanything,”says
Cook.“Wedidn’tputa lotofrestrictionsonwhata songshouldbe,
butletourimaginationsleadtheway.What I love about this record is
thatit feelssorelaxedinitsweirdness.”
Itwaslesslikea recordingsessionandmorelike“artcamp,” as
Vernondescribesit.“ItwastheBonIverArtCamp.”
AtSonicRanchtheyfurtherdevelopedoldersongsandbegan
writingnewones.Andby“writing”Vernonmeans“editing
improvisations”. He went from one studio on Sonic Ranch to the next,
“It’stimeto
sharethis
thing”:Bon
IverattheAll
PointsEast
festival,
VictoriaPark
London,
June 2, 2019
Above:Wye
Oak’sJenn
Wasner
andBruce
Hornsbyjoin
theBonIver
collective
onnew
albumi,i
BON IVER
GUS STEWART/REDFERNS; DAVID A. SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
