Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon releases ‘Hazelton’, the song that became ‘Holocene’

Bon Iver bandleader Justin Vernon has shared ‘Hazelton’, a solo song he recorded between 2005 and 2006 that later served as a starting point for ‘Holocene’, a track from Bon Iver’s self-titled 2011 album.

‘Hazelton’ and another song from that era, ‘Liner’, were originally released by Vernon on a small run of handmade CD-Rs in the mid-2000s, while he was still in his previous band, DeYarmond Edison.

The two tracks were released on streaming platforms earlier this week. Both will appear on a comprehensive DeYarmond Edison box set titled ‘Epoch’ which is set to arrive later this year. Listen below:

Vernon’s solo recordings arrived shortly before DeYarmond Edison broke up in 2006. Vernon soon recorded what would go on to become Bon Iver’s debut album, releasing ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ in July 2007. Vernon’s former bandmates Brad Cook, Phil Cook and Joe Westerlund went on to form the band Megafaun following DeYarmond Edison’s dissolution.

‘Epoch’ is set to arrive physically on August 18, and September 22 digitally. The box set will feature five LPs and four CDs, including DeYarmond Edison’s two albums (2004’s ‘DeYarmond Edison’ and 2005’s ‘Silent Signs’), live recordings and rare material by Vernon and Megafaun.

It will also include a 120-page book exploring DeYarmond Edison’s history and the origins of Bon Iver and Megafaun, written by music journalist and friend of the band Grayson Haver Currin. Pre-orders are available here. In addition to ‘Hazelton’ and ‘Liner’, other songs from the compilation that have been released so far include DeYarmond Edison’s ‘As Long as I Can Go’ and Phil Cook and Justin Vernon’s ‘Feel the Light’.

Since their disbandment, DeYarmond Edison have sporadically reunited. They played a one-off show as part of SXSW in 2011. In 2016, they united with Bruce Hornsby to contribute a cover of The Grateful Dead‘s ‘Black Muddy River’ to the benefit compilation ‘Day of the Dead’.

Bon Iver released their latest album ‘I, I’ in 2019. In a five-star review, NME said the band’s fourth album saw Vernon draw on the sounds of the band’s three previous records. “Over 12 years the music Justin Vernon has created as Bon Iver has constantly changed, but that doesn’t mean the old sounds have been undone,” it read. “They’ve been repurposed and reused, evolving into something different – but always as compelling as the Bon Iver of yesteryear.”