Stereogum just posted “Island IS,” the first single from Bon Iver’s experimental side project, Volcano Choir. A collaboration with his friends, Milwaukee post-rockers Collections Of Colonies Of Bees, the group has an LP due out September 22 called Unmap. It was recorded in November 2008 in Fall Creek, Wisconsin at a studio owned by Justin Vernon and his brother Nate.
As Vernon explained to Pitchfork back in May, “We started collaborating three years ago and just this year we started to realize we had nine or 10 tracks almost done. I sing on it, but there aren’t a lot of lyrics — it’s definitely more on the experimental side of things.”
From Jagjaguwar’s press release:
While entirely a studio record, the collection doesn’t suffer from a digital pile up or over-thinking. Rather, it breathes and convulses in equal measure, radiating an inherent dynamism found only in the voluntary bondage of intimacy. With influences ranging from David Sylvian and Steve Reich to Mahalia Jackson and Tom Waits, it might be more accurate to say the group’s influence is music itself. You can hear it in the care and real love generously applied to each moment of Unmap. With the vibe of some intimate backwoods gospel, plus a spirit of patience and thoughtful repetition, the music of Volcano Choir is as dynamic as it is lovely.
Download it now and help us complete the following statement in the comments: “Island IS” is _______.