Justin Vernon is feeling refreshed, present and excited about Bon Iver's new album SABLE, fABLE. The Wisconsin-based singer, songwriter, and producer is aware that his public persona has not always been that public and is making a concerted effort to be more involved with whatever happens to his music after he's done creating it.
This change has been valuable not only for the artist, but also for us as we recently had the chance to catch up on the phone with him.
Vernon spoke with WYEP’s Joey Spehar about the story behind the album; what it takes to be fully honest with another person; and whether or not he gave his toys intricate back stories. They also discussed HBO’s “The Pitt”, which was fitting, as Joey conducted the interview from the parking lot of Allegheny General Hospital.
A SABLE, fABLE releases on Friday, April 11th.
Joey Spehar: Well, good morning and congratulations on another stellar release. I have not even heard but half of it at this point, but I can already tell it's going to be a favorite this year. So how are you feeling about it?
Justin Vernon: Oh man, I'm feeling like happy, which is not my usual brand, but I'm I'm feeling very pleased, proud, present, all those things very, very happy with it.
Spehar: I think you've done a really phenomenal job of rolling this record out. Like if we put in the effort, it's a really rewarding experience for us as listeners following this story as it unfolds. And I feel like you're really enjoying this aspect of making this record, right? It feels like not just the work of a marketing department.
Vernon: I've traditionally, like for a couple albums there, I kind of kept my head under the sand and I was hiding out. And I think a lot of it had to do with, you know, also prepping a tour and just not having the bandwidth to do it all and to be present and to enjoy it all. And I wasn't enjoying very much of it. But having kind of cleared the decks and just enjoying this part of you know, talking to you, I've actually had fun and leaned into the fact that it's an opportunity to make more art and just be kind of coy and funny and have a blast with it. I've been having a really good time with the team.
Spehar: So SABLE, has been out for a few months now, and we've had a little taste of SABLE, fABLE, but for anybody listening right now who hasn't had the time to study yet, what's the story behind the new record?
Vernon: SABLE is a three-song kind of “The Hobbit” to fABLE’s “Lord of the Rings.” It's its own little story, but it's all part of the same kind of record. And I wanted to put that out and have people digest that because it's its' own little thing. It's a look to the past. It’s a kind of an encapsulation of my identity with this whole Bon Iver guy in a cabin problem for the last 15-16 years. And fABLE kind of marks this transition that I've made my life these last couple of years of finding myself a bit and finding my presence and my joy and my time, my life, you know, my flow. And fABLE’s really about that thing that happens when the sun comes in and things, the direction changes, everything changes.
Spehar: I do really love the concept of SABLE, fAbLE in general, but also very specifically as it's relating to my own life, I'm just a few months away from getting married forever. And I can't help, even as I'm writing these questions, I can help but think about what I need to do to be a great person for this person that loves me. And I think that one of the best ways to show love is to do your best work together with someone honestly. And I don't know you personally, but I feel like you do that. in your professional life for sure, and it brings the best out of people, and it bring the best of a song. So, having said all that, what can you tell us about working with Danielle Haim on the song If Only I Could Wait? I mean, is everything just gonna fall apart eventually anyway?
Vernon: Well, I think what you just described was so beautiful. And it's so true, you know, I I'm not in a long-term relationship. I have not had, you no great luck or track record, been kind of busy and distracted from being the person that I kind of want to be. And I think it takes great courage and energy to be honest, over and over and over again, especially when you're worried, if you don't have a safe space to be on us to fully express yourself. I've been able to do that with music, but I think I put so much of myself into the music that my identity, there wasn't a lot left to be fully honest in my personal life. But it's starting to happen now.
And yeah, I mean, the story, fABLE is a bunch of different stories. Each song is a different story. And the one that Danielle and I sing really is that it's like, It's the story of two people. There's songs that come before it that are kind of talking about the big boom, the big explosion, the big bang of new love. And by that time in the record, the story that we're trying to tell is that spot where, you know, you're connected like two planets, but, you know, one's kind of ready to go forward and to go deeper in. And one's not ready. And that's kind of all it is, it has nothing to do with whether or not two people love each other or have this deep connection. It's more about somehow, you know, this is a lesson that I've learned as a person, somehow two people can love each, the capital T true and still might not be the right time. But I finally started to understand that loving someone is the point. Life is not about learning lessons, but we should always be open to be learning them when they're there.
Spehar Like I said before, we get out of it, what we put in with your work and there's these little bits of information for us to parse if we want to, even down to the iconography and the symbols found in your song titles, album titles, artwork. It's very like, it's very “White Lotus” where nothing is accidental. And I'm not going to claim that I understand it all and I know that we don't have the time to explain it all today. So let me just ask you this, were you always like that? Like, did you give your G.I. Joe's intricate backstories?
Vernon: No, man. I also, I can't take too much credit. I grew up drawing and stuff, but it was really, it wasn't really until I met Eric Carlson, the art director. I mean, he doesn't do everything that we put out, but he's always on the other end of the line. And when I met him, it was like a completion of my visual, of my creative language in the that has become kind of our identity in these last 10 years is really the language that Eric and I have created together, that he's created and kind of completed my thoughts. So I know I did not have G.I. Joe backstories, sadly.
Spehar: Well, you know, there's always time for that. Forever young, you can do it. It's been really fun following your sonic journey through the years, seeing what new tricks you figured out since the last record and all while making this music that is just unmistakably Bon Iver. And it makes me want to know if this is fun for you to like, correct me if I'm wrong, but I picture you in the studio and you just have this huge smile on your face.
Vernon: It's all about self-satisfaction and finding that thing that just, you know, people. I listened to our music, you know, like the old stuff, it scratches an itch that nothing else does. When we're making stuff, especially with fABLE, I wanted to find stuff that made me smile versus, you know, cry. Maybe a happy cry, too.
Spehar: Also, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that you have a magnificent vault, right?
Vernon: There's other stuff. I mean, I don't quite get into completion with a song that doesn't have great promise to be a great song. But I’ve got many things and plans to disseminate them at some point in life.
Spehar: Well, Justin, I appreciate you taking the time to talk today and, uh, you know, speaking on behalf of everyone here in Pittsburgh, I say that we're very excited for this new record and that you should come back here sometime when you get a chance, cause we miss you.
Vernon: Oh, I'd love to be there, man. I appreciate you. Have you seen “The Pitt” yet? What's your feeling on it?
Spehar: I love it. Uh, here's the thing. I'm actually sitting in that space right now. Like we're talking from “The Pitt” hospital parking lot, which is, is pretty wild. I think for a lot of us, you know, to have a TV show made about the city that you are from, I will say they've done a really, really good job. But there was an episode a couple of weeks ago. where one of the doctors was like, “Hey, I need to get to this really well-known fish store here in Pittsburgh” and mispronounced the name. Which was like ugh, you could have asked somebody! But other than that, I gotta say it's really cool. So again, thanks for talking with me today, and we hope to see you back here real soon.
Vernon: Crazy. Well, good luck to your dad and stuff and it's been a pleasure to talk to you, Joey. Appreciate you, man.
