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cover of episode Bon Iver on “SABLE,” His First New Record in Five Years

Bon Iver on “SABLE,” His First New Record in Five Years

2024/10/16
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Amanda Petrusich interviews Justin Vernon, known as Bon Iver, about his new EP, "SABLE," his first release in five years. They discuss Vernon's unique place in music, the personal necessity driving this EP, and the specific grouping of these three songs.
  • "SABLE" is Bon Iver's first new music in five years.
  • The EP consists of three songs, forming a triptych exploring anxiety, guilt, and hope.
  • The songs were written over a period of five years and represent a personal necessity for Vernon.

Shownotes Transcript

Bon Iver is the alias of Justin Vernon, who holds an unusual place in music as both a singer-songwriter in an acoustic idiom and a collaborator with the biggest stars in pop, including Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, and Kanye West. Bon Iver’s new three-song EP, titled “SABLE,” is his first record of his own songs in more than five years. Vernon rarely gives interviews, so this is an extended version of his conversation with the staff writer Amanda Petrusich). They touched on the meaning of “sable,” a word that can refer to mourning and darkness. Vernon is not altogether comfortable with the acclaim he has received. “I’m not, like, famous on the street, *People-*magazine famous, but . . .  there’s been a lot of accolades,” he tells Petrusich. “I was getting a lot of positive feedback for being heartbroken and having heartache and I’ve wondered . . . [if] maybe I’m pressing the bruise.”