Archive for the ‘For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver’ Category

- very different ac gtr sound – low quality, boxy
- ac gtr doubled
- no drums or other instruments
- vox, falsetto doubled, hard panned – very clear in contrast to gtrs
- first line descends into full voice
- chorus; some gtr melody
- structure: chord holds between vox lines in the verse, builds expectation
‘This my excavation and to – [hold] day is Kumran’
‘I keep throwing it down two [hold] hundred at a time’
- structure: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, verse 3
stops just as expected 3rd chorus should come
- long after track ambience – gtr knocking, footsteps, beep
KEY IDEAS to plunder
- structure: chord holds between vox lines in the verse, builds expectation
‘This my excavation and to – [hold] day is Kumran’
‘I keep throwing it down two [hold] hundred at a time’
- structure: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, verse 3
stops just as expected 3rd chorus should come

- muted strum 4 count
- all in; ac gtr, bass drums, horns, elc gtr lines soaring/bending
- vox enters, horns drop out
- horns come in to reinforce start of some vox lines
- bvs – falsetto/full voice double, hard panned. response; ‘running on, running on’
- inst break – ac gtr, horns and elc gtr – static noise
- then drums, bass, horn solo join
- ends with chorus chords, no lyrics, wordless vox
KEY IDEAS to plunder
- horns and monophonic elc gtr lines etc. providing chordal harmony
- bvs – falsetto/full voice double, hard panned. response; ‘running on, running on’
- long ending: holding chord, bass line solo, snr/kik on beat, distorted elc gtr, bvs, whistling doubled
- snr doubled loosely; phasing? delayed to drift in and out of time?
KEY IDEAS to plunder
- snr doubled loosely; phasing? delayed to drift in and out of time?
- whistling, doubled
- vox harmonies, wordless, verbed
- gtr and brushed percussion join
- full vox verse – some slipping into falsetto
- melody line doubled by ac gtr
- chorus: ‘So many foreign worlds
So relatively fucked
So ready for us
So ready for us’
bass, ac gtr, snr on beat and harmonised falsetto vox
- ends suddenly – sort of – remainder is labelled a new track
next track continues performances, and harmonic content
KEY IDEAS to plunder
- begin with vox harmonies, wordless, verbed
- ends suddenly – sort of – remainder is labelled a new track
next track continues performances, and harmonic content
- keys or vox or sustained gtr chords cut in & backwards notes
- ac gtr strums (2 strings) on beat, with kik
- vox enter, doubled falsetto
- 2nd verse: drums join (kik snr only)
- vox: doubled and 2 part harmony
- middle: ‘would you really rush out’
strum/beat stops
- call & response: ‘for me now’
- ends with loops of backwards notes and plinky gtr
KEY IDEAS to plunder
- loops of backwards notes and plinky gtr; start and end
- middle: ‘would you really rush out’
strum/beat stops
call & response: ‘for me now’
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a track by track analysis of key productions
to take inspiration from