For a band that have just release their second album Volcano Choir are not as well know in Europe as they deserve to be. People are aware that former Bon Iver member Justin Vernon heads the band, but their background is still a bit of a mystery. Goldenplec were able to catch up with two members from the band, Chris Rosenau and Jon Mueller, ahead of their gig in Vicar Street on November 9th.

Chris explains how the band came about. “The short version is that our keyboardist Tom ended up meeting Justin socially. He played him a record we were involved with called ‘Customer’ from our band Collection of Colony of Bees. That record really resonated with Justin. He asked us to play a show with his old band called DeYarmond Edison. There was a mutual respect. And from there we toured with them and the earlier versions of Bon Iver.

“Volcano Choir started because we had this idea to start this really stark project with a vocalist. So we gave songs to a bunch of vocalists and Justin was the one who was most excited. From there we screwed around for 3-4 years and that’s what ended up becoming the Unmap record.”

Their second album ‘Repave’ has been extremely well received by critics and fans alike but when they were recording it they didn’t realise just how special it was. “It’s never really possible to know what anybody else is going to think about something you produce. But as a band we were happy with it. It sounded great to us and it was what we were trying to express. We’re all very honoured and grateful for all the attention it has gotten so far. Being able to go out and share that with an audience is great. We are all really grateful” Jon tells Goldenplec.

At only 40 minutes long the album is a bit on the short side. This wasn’t something the band intended. “We have a few more songs that didn’t make it onto the record. As far as the time goes the vinyl format has a limitation to it. We wanted to keep it to 20 minutes a side so the sound quality would be better. Outside the technical aspect we picked the songs that we felt sounded the best together,” Jon said.

With vinyl making somewhat of a resurgence, and some of the band being avid collectors, ‘Repave’ was realistically always going to be produced on vinyl. “We were conscious of having it on vinyl. A lot of us are big collectors especially Justin (Vernon) and myself. We didn’t write for vinyl specifically. It was just something we were thinking of when the album was being edited it was like ‘ok this thing has to fit on this format’,” he added.

It’s pretty well known that the recording process for the first album ‘Unmap’ was chaotic. Things changed somewhat for ‘Repave’ it seems according to Jon. “It wasn’t really any less chaotic. It has taken a bit longer because we have put a bit more focus into it. We have some more developed ideas. ‘Unmap’ was a matter of trying new things out and having some fun and seeing what could happen. With ‘Repave’ we have some very specific ideas that we worked on and built into songs. There was more work on ‘Repave’ but that’s because we knew where we were going with it.”

So what kind of specific ideas did you have for the album? “We had conversations about wanting to make the songs more structured compared to what ‘Unmap’ was. The new songs are still unique in their approach but we wanted them to be more structured. There are still some tracks that are a little loose in their approach but they all still have a cohesive feel among the entire album that maybe wasn’t there with ‘Unmap’.”

The album has some real thought evoking lyrics combined with amazing musical accompaniment. Jon explains the recording process for the band. “Everyone focuses on their on part. But there is input that we may share collectively after something is presented to the group. With the vocals specifically there isn’t much input from others. It’s kind of a singular thing. The songs aren’t necessarily about direct concrete things. They may be to Justin, but I think they are presented ambiguously enough so that each person can walk away with their own interpretation of what those words mean.”

It’s been quite a while since Volcano Choir toured. From talking to Chris and Jon there seems to be a feeling of excitement about getting back on the road. “The shows we did for ‘Unmap’ were an extension of the experiment that was the record. We were trying to figure out how to play the songs live. With ‘Repave’ its more focused. The music and the shows feel like they have more of a production value, which we’re really excited about. We have a great lighting and set designer that’s helping with the shows. We can’t wait. We did a few dates in America recently and it was really good to play the music as much as we could and really get comfortable with it.”

There was a four-year waiting period between the two albums and, while they weren’t all actively writing for that period, there was some sort of work being done at all times as Jon tells Goldenplec. “There were other people in the group that were working on some stuff. Chris was working on some ideas right after we finished the ‘Unmap’ shows. It wasn’t really a diligent schedule. We worked on it when we could. Justin in particular became busy after ‘Unmap’ so he was preoccupied with his own group. We did stuff when we could. When it got to a point when it was far enough along we scheduled some time to collectively get together in the same space and work on getting these songs to a level where we know they can be.”

Volcano Choir fans are hoping they won’t have to wait another four years for album number four but they might have to get used to the idea. “Another album is probably going to be an organic situation. Its not like at this point in time we’re thinking that we need another record out in ‘X’ amount of years. This whole writing process was one of the most fun and satisfying things of my life. I think I can speak for a lot of the band in saying that,” says Chris.

“The last thing we want to do is screw that up. We are just going to approach a new record in the same was as we have in the past because it has worked for us previously. But we do have some new songs that didn’t make it onto the ‘Repave’ record. We need to figure out at some point if they make it onto an EP or another record or if they just sit around. It’s going to be an organic process of whatever we’re comfortable with and what ever works for the music.”

Volcano Choir play a highly anticipated gig in Vicar Street on November 9th. Tickets are still available from usual outlets.