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Bon Iver’s next is a soul-stirring waltz

Is this the best long-distance collaboration ever?

Bon Iver just collaborated with songwriter and producer Ethan Gruska (best known for his work with Phoebe Bridgers) for a new single titled So Unimportant. The song is a long-distance collaboration, for Sylvan Esso’s Psychic Hotline single series and was written during the pandemic. The track was engineered by Will McClellan and also features strings from Rob Moose and percussion from Blake Mills and Matt Chamberlain. The slow-burn number has a great build-up and some intricate layers. 

“Around March 10th of 2020 Justin (Vernon) was supposed to come to LA and we were going to spend a few days making some stuff. Obviously, that didn’t happen… We all went into lockdown shortly after. About two weeks into deep quarantine Justin and I connected and decided it would still be fun to send each other files and try something remotely. ‘So Unimportant’ was the first thing that came to fruition. Justin and I passed this song and session leisurely back and forth for a while to get it where it is now,” Gruska shared.