Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, The National’s Aaron Dessner Share Two New Songs as Big Red Machine
"Deep Green" and "I Won't Run From It" appear on PEOPLE's Mixtape 1, streaming now
Photo by Graham Tolbert Music News Big Red Machine
Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner have carried the momentum of their respective bands’ acclaimed recent releases—Bon Iver’s 22, A Million and The National’s Sleep Well, Beast, respectively—into something far more unconventional: not only the return of their two-man supergroup Big Red Machine—first for a soccer podcast theme, and then for a full-fledged LP a decade in the making—but also the artist-driven creative collective PEOPLE, who released the first in a series of mixtapes, Mixtape 1, on Thursday. The 17-track collection features two new songs by Big Red Machine, “Deep Green” and “I Won’t Run From It,” off the duo’s debut album, which has rolled out in segments via PEOPLE this summer and is set for an official release at the end of the month in partnership with Jagjaguwar.
In addition to that pair of Big Red Machine singles, which open Mixtape 1, PEOPLE’s new release boasts a couple of eye-catching collaborations, including a new song from Aaron and Bryce Dessner’s guitar duo Red Bird Hollow, as well as features from Kristin Anna Valtysdottir, Ryan Olson, Nico Muhly, Psymun and others.
The mixtape is detailed as followed in a press release:
Mixtape 1 includes “Santa Anges,” based on a work-in-progress by The National and recorded at the 2016 PEOPLE residency in Berlin with Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Alex Ridha, Ben Lanz, Jeremy Nutzman, Justin Vernon, Kristin Anna Valtysdottir, Ryan Olson and Vojtech Havel. “Star Mouth” is a collaboration with Justin Vernon, Ryan Olson, Andrew Broder and Psymun, and on her song “Sister,” French songwriter Mina Tindle is backed by Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett and Bryce Dessner. Icelandic musician Kristin Anna Valtysdottir shares “Clay and Vapour” and “Swan” is a co-write with Lisa Hannigan, Enda Walsh and Aaron Dessner. Red Bird Hollow, Aaron & Bryce’s guitar duo, shares a new song, “Hardest Time.”
PEOPLE’s 2018 gathering is right around the corner: a weeklong residency at Berlin’s Funkhaus beginning on Aug. 12, with the goal being “to collaborate, create new material and dissolve borders.” The event culminates in a weekend of music, with public performances from 160+ artists—including Feist, Jenny Lewis, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Big Thief’s Buck Meek, Damien Rice, Beirut’s Zach Condon, Gordi, Alexi Murdoch, Louie Swain of Parcels and many more—across eight stages and studios, on Aug. 18-19. Limited tickets are still available.
Listen to “Deep Green” and “I Won’t Run From It” below, plus Bon Iver and The National performances from the Paste archives. You can revisit four other singles from Big Red Machine right here while awaiting the album’s Aug. 31 release. Mixtape 1 is now streaming via PEOPLE, Spotify and iTunes.