CARM released the official music video for Land today via YouTube and other social-media platforms. The video features CARM sitting in nature on a stool and seemingly waiting for something, checking his watch over and over again. A symbol no doubt of the times. Bon Iver’s vocals mixed with CARM’s trumpet duetting all throughout make for a calming and nearly nostalgic sound.

While Vernon and CARM have collaborated before on multiple Bon Iver albums, Vernon has made his debut this year as a feature solo artist on many famous new tracks. Japanese House released the single Dionne in August with a feature from Vernon and Swamp Dogg’s Sleeping Without You is Such a Dragg had the pleasure of working with Bon Iver’s lead singer in January at the beginning of the year.

The most famous collaboration Vernon has participated in during the 2020 year however was his work on Taylor Swift’s newest released album Folklore. The fourth track off Swift’s surprise album, Exile, features Bon Iver in a soulful duet that rose to the top of the charts quickly after it’s release.

Vernon has continued to release new singles with band Bon Iver in 2020 on top of the multiple features on other artist’s singles and albums. Bon Iver’s most recent upbeat track, AUATC, has been widely received since it’s August release however there has been no announcements as to whether there will be an album to follow.

Vernon has played live events during the 2020 calendar year in an attempt to campaign for the democratic party for presidential election in the United States of America. He debuted Bon Iver’s new single Things Behind Things Behind Things during a primary event for Bernie Sanders this April and he continues to encourage voting on all social platforms. After the death of the American supreme court judge Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, Vernon wrote and performed a song in tribute to her called Your Honor as part of the For Wisconsin voting initiative event.

Land is now another feature in the long line of work that Justin Vernon has done throughout the 2020 year. Whether it be political, or in Land‘s case, pushing the music industry forward with high quality instrumentation, Vernon is certainly busy despite the global pandemic and it’s setbacks. Vernon’s the front-man of the famous indie band Bon Iver and they are just as busy with scheduled tour dates to perform their latest singles and 2019 album I,I late in the 2021 calendar.

Bon Iver UK and Ireland Tour Dates:

24/10/2021 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
25/10 – The SSE HYDRO – Glasgow
27/10 – Manchester Arena – Manchester
29/10 – 3Arena – Dublin
01/11 – SSE Arena Wembley – London (SOLD OUT)

The residency will be held at Hammersmith’s famous Eventim Appollo- which recently hosted the annual Mercury Prize, seeing Sampha taking home the coveted prize. Justin Vernon and co. will be playing on February 21, 22, 25, and 26.

Very happy to announce new shows in London! pic.twitter.com/tH6IlIEetB

— Bon Iver (@boniver) September 25, 2017

In a post on the band’s official Twitter, Bon Iver confirmed that those who had tickets for the previously cancelled date at Camden’s Roundhouse in February 2017 will be able to get tickets from this Wednesday, as opposed to when tickets go on general sale on October 3.

The band themselves are currently still partaking in a European tour, which sees them playing Blackpool’s Opera House tonight, before heading further North for two dates at Edinburgh’s Playhouse, on September 27, and 28, respectively.

At a gig in Cork, Ireland earlier this month, Vernon was joined onstage by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, who performed ’33 ‘GOD”, and ‘The Wolves (Act I and II)’ with the band. Irish folk singer Fionn Regan also made an appearance, for a rendition of ‘00000 Million’, as well as his own track’Abacus. You can see the full set below.

Vernon has since returned the favour to the national, appearing onstage with the band-who recently released their seventh album Sleep Well Beast, to much acclaim.

However as stated in that article, Justin Vernon and James Blake are frequent collaborators, sharing similar musical tastes and being close friends. But most significantly, Vernon and Blake worked together to release the single ‘Fall Creek Boys Choir’ which enjoyed great success and features Vernon’s trademark vocal harmonies and vocal distortion using auto tune.

Enjoy the single below:

Further collaboration is expected as Eaux Claires (the festival founded by Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner) took to twitter to announce the release of a taping of a select set of songs, released only to those who either attended the inaugural Eaux Claires or those who are set to attend Eaux Claires part deux later this year.

#EauxClairesDeux @EauxClairesWI #eauxclaires Earth will unfreeze it's frozen fist, let slip life again. pic.twitter.com/G75n7LF4vQ

— Mar Mar Superstar (@612MarBrooke) February 6, 2016

Under the track list we can see a new Fall Creek Boys Choir song titled ‘Untitled 2′. Find a full list of songs available on the tape below:

1. “Introduction”
2. Bryce Dessner with So Percussion, Sean Carey, and Justin Vernon – “Music for Wood and Strings (Translucent Remake)”
3. Catsax – “Chrome Walk”
4. “Pay to Play”
5. Shabazz Palaces – “Substance Provider”
6. “How to Enjoy Music”
7. Noxroy (Andrew Fitzpatrick) – “Untitled”
8. Tenement – “Vultures Demo”
9. “Phone Games”
10. Bruce Hornsby – “Reichian Mood”
11. Sam Amidon – “Big Din-Dins Field Recording”
12. Fog – “Selections for Deux”
13. “EXC Radio transmission”
14. LNZNDRF – “Beneath the Black Sea”
15. Kill the Vultures – “Return my Body (Remix)”
16. William Tyler – “Venus in Aquarius”
17. “Strong Man”
18. Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner – “I Find Out”
19. Taggart and Rosewood – “Numbers (Instrumental)”
20. Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld – “Music for Film”
21. Buke and Gase with SO Percussion – “Ancient Remix”
22. Jon Hopkins – “Sleeps”
23. Phil Cook – “I Won’t Crumble With You if You Fall”
24. Charlotte, The Neighbor Kid – “Riverbank”

Side B

1. “Good Music”
2. Tom Wincek – “Untitled (Live at High Noon)”
3. Lisa Hannifin with Katie Fallon and Zoe Randall – “Anahorish”
4. “Prepare Yourselves”
5. Har Mar Superstar Introduces – “Froggy”
6. “Health and Safety Announcement”
7. Tickle Torture – “Warmer Weather”
8. Jack Raymond/Tenement – “Frightening Place for Normal People and Farmers”
9. Senyawa – “Kata” (I think thats what it says)
10. “Robert Louis Stevenson”
11. Richard Reed Parry – “Heaven for Meg”
12. Fall Creek Boys Choir – “Untitled 2″
13. SLOSLYLOVE – “So Sleepy”
14. “Rowdy Rod”
15. Nathaniel Rateliff – “On This Train”
16. “Bass Sound”
17. Bon Iver – “Heaven, Mass (B-Side)”
18. Jon Mueller – Untitled”
19. “Don’t Play So Loud”
20. My Brightest Diamond – “Bronze Head”
21. “Where Are All The Bass Guitars”
22. Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon – “Big Red Machine (Original)”
23. “Good Bye”

Interestingly enough this tape also includes a previously unheard new Bon Iver as well song, titled ‘Heaven, Mass’.

The cover was released during Blake’s appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Residency programme, which was on last night at 10pm. If you are UK based you can listen to the whole show here, which I’d heartily recommend.

Within the show James and Justin spend two hours listening and discussing a wide range of experimental music as well as discussing Vernon’s recent festival success at Eaux Claires.

Eaux Claires enjoyed its inaugural debut as a festival earlier this year in July. Based in Vernon’s childhood home of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner worked together to bring the festival to fruition, personally selecting 41 bands to perform at the festival.

James Blake also hinted that his new album ‘Radio Silence’ will be coming out later this year. He also confirmed that Justin Vernon will be appearing on it; as will Kanye West. Blake discussed the album on the radio show, saying this:

“The [album] I’m writing now, I’ve had more focus doing this than I have before. I’m having more fun. It’s hard to say what will end up on the record, but it’s exciting.”

James Blake will be hoping that his new album will continue his fantastic success he has already achieved in music; with his self titled album being nominated for the Mercury Award in 2011 and his second album ‘Overgrown’ winning the Mercury Prize in 2013.

Now onto the cover itself, which can be listened to here:

Blake delivers the vocals hauntingly well, supported by some virtuoso keyboard playing. A steady bass line holds up the spine of the song, allowing further prominence to be brought forth to the falsetto harmonies of Vernon and Blake. The song, by definition is tragic, however Blake in particular manages to bring another level of tragedy and emotion to it whilst still managing to play tribute to the original version, as seen by the reliance upon vocal harmonies, which was of course Simon & Garfunkel’s defining musical characteristic.

The emotion put forth in the song is further exemplified by Blake’s explanation of why he covered that particular song:

“When Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel wrote this, they said … it was about the breakdown of communication,” Blake explained. “One New Year’s Eve I had a friend of mine sadly pass away, and previous to that, the things he had been saying to me sounded like an attempt to reach out to people. I thought that after that happened this seemed to be the only song that could represent how I felt at the time.” The cover (dedicated to his friend) speaks for itself.”

Vernon and Blake have previous when collaborating; Vernon and Blake worked together on Blake’s EP ‘Enough Thunder’, collaborating on the song ‘Fall Creek Boys Choir’, see below:

Vernon continues his musical ability to seemingly merge and collaborate with a wide range of artists and bring out the best of them; we’ve seen it with The Staves and now we continue to see it with James Blake. This also shows James Blake’s continued growth as a musician, and can only promise bigger and better things from the man in his new album ‘Radio Silence’.

After a brief career as a solo artist, Wisconsin-born Vernon founded Bon Iver in 2007, taking the name from a phonetic play on the French ‘bon hiver’, meaning ‘good winter’. The group achieved significant success with their first album, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, the story of which has become one of modern rocks most well-known folk tales. Despondent and depressed following the breakdown of a relationship and a previous band, Vernon retreated to an isolated cabin in rural Wisconsin for a solitary winter.  The period of self-imposed exile inspired a collection of cathartic indie-folk songs, which Vernon recorded on some aged equipment, and which would become one of the best reviewed albums of the year.

Bon Iver went on infinite hiatus in late 2012, after the release of their successful sophomore album, ‘Bon Iver, Bon Iver’, and Vernon returned to Volcano Choir, a collaboration project with Collections of Colonies of Bees that he had recorded an album, ‘Unmap’, with back in 2009.

Volcano Choir released their second album, ‘Repave’ through Jagjaguwar on the 3^rd September, to positive reviews, and charted at no. 48 in the UK album chart. The band will play the following three UK dates:

November 9^th – Dublin Vicar Street

November 10^th – Bristol O2 Academy

November 11^th – London Barbican

‘Repave’ is out now:

Check out a track, ‘Byegone’, below: