Bon Iver Side-Project Sets Release Date

Volcano Choir

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has revealed further details around his experimental side-project Volcano Choir.

According to a statement from Vernon's label JagJaguWar, the band -- which is a collaborative effort with Wisconsin quintet Collections of Colonies of Bees -- predates Vernon's Bon Iver work. It turns out this crew has been writing songs together since the summer of 2005.

The band's debut record, titled Unmap, was recorded in November 2008, when the musicians got together for the weekend to "exorcise their ideas about beauty."

And what might that sound like? "With influences ranging from David Sylvian and Steve Reich to Mahalia Jackson and Tom Waits, it might be more accurate to say the group's influence is music itself," the band's statement decrees.

Vernon also described the sound to Pitchfork back in May, saying, "I sing on it, but there aren't a lot of lyrics. It's mostly choir stuff. It's definitely more on the experimental side of things. It's all really textural and landscape-y."

Unmap is due out on September 22. See below for full tracklist.

Unmap
1. "Husks and Shells"
2. "Seeplymouth"
3. "Island, IS"
4. "Dote"
5. "And Gather"
6. "Mbira in the Morass"
7. "Cool Knowledge"
8. "Still"
9. "Youlogy"