Artist's EP: A Spotlight on Independence - How to Write Like Bon Iver
In the late 00’s, Justin Vernon retreated to his father’s log cabin in Wisconsin, asked a friend to drop round some of his instruments and a few recording mics and three months later, recorded and self-released one of the most iconic Acoustic Folk albums of the contemporary era. For Emma Forever Ago, rose to critical acclaim due to Vernon’s extremely stripped back and earnest approach to songwriting and recording. Here’s an insight into how he did it, so you too can follow his techniques to recording and releasing independently.
Approach to Songwriting
Often with song-writing, an artist’s best work is created when they really don’t intend on writing an album filled with chart- topping tracks. In Bon Iver’s case, the split of his previous band of childhood friends, a relationship breakdown and a bout of tuberculosis, were the factors culminating in Vernon’s decision to retreat to the mountains to recover mentally and physically. As advice for unsigned, independent songwriters, it would be pretty dumb for me to say ‘get ill, get heartbroken and go retreat to the countryside and write emotive songs’ just like Bon; however, this approach to songwriting genuinely tends to separate those artists who are more successful from those who aren’t. Taking more time with your songwriting and only writing when you feel like it will improve your creative flow. If you're trying to give yourself a day to complete a song and are suffering from writer's block, you’ll only end up straining yourself to come up with something which probably won’t be that great. A natural process will have a more positive impact on your songwriting. Going away to a different location has proven to work for a lot of songwriters in the industry- even if the intention of the trip is to come back with a complete album. Perhaps give yourself a break from the routine of your life so you get time to reflect on your experiences because if you’re still leading a busy life, this could saturate your ideas for songs.