Biography
Years before Justin Vernon launched his Bon Iver project or witnessed the breakup of DeYarmond Edison, he joined forces in 2005 with Collections of Colonies of Bees members Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, and Thomas Wincek to form Volcano Choir as a side endeavor. The ensemble tracked its debut album, Unmap, inside Vernon’s studio toward the end of 2008. Anticipation ran high for the project because it followed closely on the heels of Bon Iver’s widely embraced 2008 debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, which had resonated strongly with indie listeners. Jagjaguwar Records issued Unmap in autumn 2009. Once the record appeared, Vernon resumed work with Bon Iver on its follow-up, while Thomas Wincek departed Collections of Colonies of Bees to establish the instrumental group All Tiny Creatures. In an extended sequence of exchanges that mirrored the making of Unmap, the participants swapped material across writing sessions spanning November 2010 through March 2013, resulting in the second album, Repave, which surfaced in summer 2013.
Albums
