Uncut UK – October 2019

OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 85

Assessionsprogressedandcertainthemes

emergedinthematerial,Vernonfoundhimself

givingmorecontrolovertohiscollaborators,

lettingthemwritemoreoftheirpartsandletting

thosepartsbecomemoreofthesongs.“Itwas

muchmoreabouttryingtogetotherpeople’s

intentionsintothemusic,notjustmyownidea

ofwhattheyshouldbeplaying,”saysVernon.

“Iwantedtogetother people’s true moving

spirit in there.”

S

ONICRanchStudiossitsrightonthe

American-Mexicoborder,a smallstudio

complexona sprawlingpecanfarmin

Tornillo,Texas,abouta 45-minutedrivefromEl

Paso.AsflatasWisconsin,thisis desertcountry,

fullofa wholelotofnothing.Thestudiohas

hostedsessionsbyAnimalCollective,Bandof

Horses,JennyLewisandConorOberstamong

others.Thisis whereVernonandhiscoterieof

collaboratorsdecampedwhenrenovations

forcedthemoutofAprilBase(seesidepanel).

“SonicRanchwasverymuchourhomeforsix

weeks,”saysVernon.“It’soneofthoseplacesI’d

heardaboutforyearsandyears,fromdifferent

engineers,frompeopleinalldifferentcornersof

the music world. One of the interesting things

offersa softchuckle,likehemightactuallybe
proudofthataccomplishment.“Butit’sgoodhere.
It’sbeautiful,andpeopleareona differentspeed.
Sometimestheyneedtobewokenupandshaken
a littlebit.Butit’sbeena goodplaceformetobe.”
Ithasbeen,morecrucially,aninspiringplace,
onethathasallowedhimthecreativeand
mentalspacetomakesomethinglikehisown
personalmusicindustryhere.Heandhisfriends
jam,writeandrecordalmostconstantlyatApril
BaseStudios.That’swherehehasrecordedmost
BonIveralbums;it’swhereheproducedalbums
byTheStaves,KathleenEdwardsandTheBlind
BoysOfAlabama;andit’swherei,isprangtolife
througha seriesofcasualsessions,weird
experimentsandrandomfuckingsaround.
“It’sanecosystem,”saysRobMoose,a
multi-instrumentalistwhoplayedsaxophone
andviolinonthenewalbumandwrote
arrangementsforhornsandstrings.“Justin
hasbeenreallyinfluencedbythedifferent
collaborativestuffhe’sdone,whetherit’sKanye
Westorotherthings.Hewantedtoreplicate
someofthatworkflowfromhip-hopandpop
music.It feelsnaturalfortheretobethiscastof
charactersandthiswholecommunityaround
him,becauseit neverthreatenstocompromise
thevoicethathe’salreadyestablished.Thenew
albumsoundslikeit’sinthecanon of those
previousBonIverrecords.”
Theonlysetprocessformakingtherecordwas
havingnosetprocessatall.Instead,songscame
tolifeindifferentways.Thegentlyanthemic
“Faith”hadbeenbouncingaroundAprilBase
foryears,nearlyendingupon22,A Million
beforeVernoncutit fromthetracklist.BJBurton,
hisfriendandoccasionalco-producer,keptthe
songalive.“Itextedhimonenightandsaid,‘You
gottafinishthissongandputit out.It needstobe
onanalbum.’SoI wenttoEauClairewiththe
agendaofbringinghima mixofthatsongsoI
couldblastit onthespeakers.”Theplanworked,
and“Faith”becamethecentrepieceofi,i.
“Marion”,whichopenswithanacousticguitar
themethatis startlingforbeingsounadorned,
wasrecordedlargelyinonetake,withVernon
playingguitarandsingingandMooseleading
a smallhornsection.Differentelementswere
addedinlatersessions,butthebonesofthesong
remainedinplace.“Wewereallfacingeach
other,”Mooserecalls.“Itwasincredible,because
it wasdonelive.Soit’sanoutlierontherecord,
butit’ssucha beautifulandemotionalstatement.
Amongallthiscollaborativewritingand
recording,there’sthiscentrepieceoftherecord
that happened in more of an old-fashioned way.” GRAHAM TOLBERT & CRYSTAL QUINN

“GIVINGIT

A FACELIFT”

Vernon’sA ril B estudio:

underconstruction...

S

hortlyafterthereleaseofBonIver’s

debut,JustinVernonboughta house

nearFallCreek,Wisconsin,justoutside

ofEauClaire,wherehebuilta studiocalled

AprilBase.Evenmorethanthatremotecabin

wherehemadeForEmma,ForeverAgo, it

hasbecomealmostlegendaryamongfans

andfellowmusicians.Vernonrecordedallof

BonIver,BonIverand22,A Millionthere,in

additiontoproducingsessionsforKathleen

Edwards,TheStavesandTheBlindBoysof

Alabama,amongotheracts.

It’sanoddstructure,a ’70ssplit-level

housethatincludeda largeindoorpooland

a veterinaryclinic.“It’strulyoneofthose

strangethingsthatmakesyouwonder,‘This

wasin EauClaire?’”saysBradCook,who

hasplayedcountlesssessionsatAprilBase

overtheyears.

Whenheopenedthestudio,Vernon

coveredoverthepoolandconvertedthat

roomintoStudioA,althoughovertimethe

acousticsprovedunreliable.Eventuallyhe

andhiscrewwereusingStudioB almost

exclusively,somidwaythroughsessionsfor

i,ihestartedrenovationstoupdatetheroom,

installingnewequipment,andexpandedthe

residentialpartofthehouse.“We’regivingit a

faceliftforthenextera,”Vernonsays,“figuring

out how we want it to be as an arts building.”

“JUSTINIS THE

LEADEROFTHIS

S E M I -VAST

ARTISTIC

COLLECTIVE”

BRUCE HORNSBY

Heavypetal:

Vernonatthe

PioneerWorks

culturalcentre

in RedHook,

NYC,fora Big

RedMachine

performance,

M ay 2019