For Emma, Forever Ago
For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut studio album by American indie folk band Bon Iver. It was first self-released in July 2007, and later saw wide release on the Jagjaguwar label in February 2008. The album is principally the work of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, Vernon fell ill with mononucleosis and a liver infection, and grew frustrated with his songwriting and life. He left Raleigh and drove to his father's remote hunting cabin an hour northwest of his hometown, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, hoping to be alone.
For Emma, Forever Ago
July 8, 2007
(Release history)
November 2006 – January 2007
- Hunting cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin
- Fairall, Raleigh, North Carolina (add.)
37:14
The album was recorded at the cabin between late 2006 to early 2007. Vernon abandoned his old songwriting methods and instead focused on wordless melodies that he later set to words, which he felt evoked a more subconscious meaning. The record's lyrical subjects include lost love and mediocrity. His folk-infused songs include heavy choral arrangements, featuring Vernon's falsetto, and horns. He hunted his own food and spent much of his time isolated. Though he did not intend to make an album, he received strong encouragements from friends and decided to self-release For Emma, Forever Ago in July 2007. After several performances and online exposure, he was signed to Jagjaguwar later that year.
For Emma, Forever Ago attracted wide acclaim from music critics, achieving a spot on dozens of end-of-the-year lists, as well as several awards. It became a major commercial success for Jagjaguwar, an independent label, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of over one million units. "Skinny Love" became the album's best-performing single and also went gold. Vernon gathered together several musicians to form a band to tour with. The album's touring cycle lasted two years, ending in late 2009, and visited several countries and music festivals worldwide. In 2020, it was ranked 461 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time.[3]
Release[edit]
After completing the recordings, Vernon returned to North Carolina to play guitar on tour with The Rosebuds, who toured through that spring.[19] It took several months for him to have thoughts on his recordings,[12] which he viewed as potential demos that he would later re-record. However, Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds convinced him to leave them as is, commenting "This is your record."[12] He consulted friends to listen first before deciding to self-release it.[8] He mixed his recordings himself, hoping to send them out to labels who would give him an advance to record a "real" album.[19] While at the cabin, Vernon had written to Kelly Crisp of The Rosebuds, concluding his letter with "bon iver," a misspelling of "bon hiver," which is French for "good winter."[15] Its origins lie in an episode of Northern Exposure, wherein two characters greet one another.[18] Crisp encouraged him to name the project Bon Iver.[8] While on tour with the Rosebuds, he asked to play a small solo set, his first, prior to a performance at that year's South by Southwest (SXSW). Encouraged, more performances followed in New York and in Wisconsin.[11]
For Emma, Forever Ago was first self-distributed on MySpace on June 1, 2007,[29] and gradually became an independent hit throughout that year.[30] My Old Kentucky Blog was the first to popularize the record.[23][31] A release party was held at the House of Rock in Eau Claire on July 8, 2007, marking the album's CD debut.[29] It was a limited run of 500 copies,[31] as Vernon had no idea who would be interested. He intended to send out 100 copies to press outlets.[12] Positive reviews increased within weeks, from music blogs such as BrooklynVegan and Pitchfork.[31] An appearance at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York increased Vernon's popularity among music blogs such as Stereogum,[32] and he began to see offers to release the album from record labels.[23] According to Vernon, major labels were "desperate" to sign him, offering contracts in which he chose the deal. He chose to sign with independent label Jagjaguwar in late October 2007[11] because he liked the label's president, Chris Swanson, who had first opened communication in the summer,[33] and its Midwest roots.[23] 4AD would distribute the album in Europe.[14]
Commercial performance[edit]
Upon its February 2008 release, For Emma, Forever Ago sold 4,000 copies in its debut week. That placed it on several US album sales charts, including at number 182 on the Billboard 200 and a number five entry on the Top Heatseekers chart.[65] Sales for For Emma were "slow-building," according to music publication Billboard, but eventually became a "commercial smash" for Jagjaguwar.[66] The album eventually peaked at number 64 on the Billboard 200 in the issue dated January 24, 2009.[67] Prior to its official release on Jagjaguwar, the album was widely available online. The label offered sales incentives in response, including a free poster with pre-ordered copies, a bonus track on the iTunes Store edition, as well as purchasing a copy required for in-store performances.[65] The album was mostly successful among triple-A radio stations in the US, including many public stations in the Midwest, where the label focused their marketing campaign.[65]
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 42 on the UK Albums Chart; it was later certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies.[68][69] It achieved its largest international success in Ireland, where it debuted at number 16; it was also a top 40 hit album in Flanders,[70] Portugal,[71] Australia,[72] and Denmark.[73] In Australia, the album was eventually certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 70,000 copies, and it was also certified gold by IFPI Denmark, denoting shipments of 10,000 copies.[74]
For Emma, Forever Ago has been a top-selling title on vinyl for many years during the format's revival in the US; it sold over 102,000 copies on vinyl in the first half of the 2010s.[75] "If you'd told me when we put out For Emma, Forever Ago that we would sell almost 100,000 copies on vinyl, I would think that was just absolutely insane," said Nick Blandford, managing director of the Secretly Label Group.[76] Its overall sales were last estimated at 335,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, in June 2011,[77] but the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2013 for shipments of 500,000 copies, and later, platinum in 2017 for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of 1,000,000 units.[78]