Justin Vernon’s indie folk group Bon Iver have unveiled a brand-new song called Heavenly Father, their first in three years, released on the soundtrack to Wish I Was Here, the upcoming crowdfunded film by actor/director Zach Braff.
Heavenly Father sees Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon looping and layering his vocals to create an electronic choir for a song which is rather upbeat, at least by Vernon’s standards.
Wish I Was Here was made possible thanks to $3 million being raised for the project on crowd-funding website Kickstarter, and it’s clear that Braff is enjoying his creative freedom in selecting music for the film. “As a music lover, nothing has been more gratifying than collaborating on this project with my favorite artists,” he recently told NPR.
Mary Ramos, the music supervisor on Wish I Was Here, has recounted to NPR how she flew to Wisconsin to show the film to Vernon and his brother Nate.
“They were enjoying it and laughing, but at a certain point, they just got quiet,” Ramos said. “When it was over, Justin started humming,” Ramos said. “We talked afterwards about the relationship between Zach’s character and his brother, and Justin and Nate talked a little about their father — all the while Justin kept distractedly humming.
“Eventually, he sang out the words ‘heavenly father’. Before I even left their house, Justin was recording the first version of the song in his downstairs studio. His inspiration was that immediate,” she said.
Bon Iver have also posted the lyrics to Heavenly Father on their Facebook page. Check them out, below, along with the official trailer for Wish I Was Here. The film will be released on 25th July in the US.
Listen: Bon Iver – Heavenly Father
http://youtu.be/A2CbQpo-8CE
Watch: I Wish I Was Here Official Trailer
