Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has opened up about his collaborations with Taylor Swift and Charli XCX on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The singer appeared on the talk show, where he discussed his upcoming album ‘sABLE, fABLE‘ and his recent collaborations with Charli XCX and Taylor Swift. He teamed up with Charli on her ‘Brat’ remix album last year for the song ‘I think about it all the time’, and collaborated with Swift on her 2020 album ‘Folklore’ and its followup, ‘Evermore’.
On Fallon, Vernon revealed he sampled Bonnie Raitt‘s ‘Nick Of Time’ for his collaboration with Charli, explaining: “My friend Danielle Haim told me, ‘you should sample ‘Nick Of Time’, and I was like: ‘That’s such a good idea’, because Charli’s song was about running out of time.”
He went on to say he and Raitt “have been friendly over the years”, calling her “my number one” and “the greatest living singer”. When calling her to request usage of the sample, Raiit apparently said “Yep – let’s do it”.
“She had to give us her blessing on using the sample, she was very touched,” Bon Iver shared. “She’s a huge fan of Charli’s – as am I, so it was a really cool experience.”
Meanwhile, he also spoke about his song with Swift, ‘Exile’. He told Fallon watching videos of Taylor Swift’s fans singing ‘Exile’ felt “out-of-body”.
“I sadly didn’t ever get a chance to sing it with her on her tour – she got to come sing it with us – but I saw those clips and I was like, gosh: they sound better than one of me can sound,” he said.
“It was pretty powerful to see that. To hear how that sounded was amazing.”
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver performs as headliner on the North stage during the All Points East Festival in Victoria Park on June 2, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns)
Bon Iver will release ‘sABLE, fABLE’ on April 11 via Jagjaguwar, making it their first full-length project since 2019’s ‘i, i’.
So far, they’ve shared the tracks ‘Everything Is Peaceful Love‘, ‘Walk Home’ and ‘If Only I Could Wait’, the latter of which features Danielle Haim. ‘Things Behind Things Behind Things’, ‘S P E Y S I D E’ and ‘Awards Season’ from the band’s 2024 EP ‘SABLE’ will all feature on ‘sABLE, fABLE’.
NME previously rated ‘SABLE’ four stars: “‘SABLE’ can serve as a reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel, and a reason to push through adversity – to move forward onto a new chapter.”
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