POWER TO THE 37d03d

TO record his fourth Bon Iver album, confusingly titled i,i, Justin Vernon invited a bunch of friends down to a studio in Texas and let everybody tinker around to create new sounds. He dubbed it the Bon Iver art camp, and that spirit of collaboration extends from his work with People, a consortium of artists, musicians, and other creative folk that focuses on art as art rather than merely content. “The new album is definitely People-centric,” Vernon told Uncut back in September. “All of my thoughts have been about community in the last few years.”

Vernon co-founded People a few years ago with Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and Berlin-based entrepreneurs Tom and Nadine Michelberger. The idea was to promote creative collaboration across a range of platforms and continents, primarily through its streaming service as well as through various festivals and events. In January 2019, People officially changed its name to 37d03d, which might look like a random sequence. But flip this magazine upside down and you’ll see why it’s still pronounced People. The organisation is devoted to upending the industry, along with its own name.

The 37d03d sensibility defined Vernon’s approach to i,i, along with a range of other albums this year. For I Am Easy to Find, The National worked with several female artists – including Sharon Van Etten and Kate Stables – who collectively became a lead singer for the band alongside Matt Berninger. The result was one of their freshest and most compelling albums to date. Bryce Dessner also spearheaded When We Are Inhuman with Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the chamber group Eighth Blackbird. Together they dress up some of Will Oldham’s tunes in modern classical garb. Perhaps the most impressive example of People power in action is Leonard Cohen’s first posthumous album, Thanks For The Dance. To flesh out songs from his father’s notebooks, Adam Cohen corralled a range of artists to perform at the 37d03d Festival in Berlin, including Bryce Dessner, Damien Rice and Feist. Meanwhile, January sees the release of the self-titled debut by Bonny Light Horseman (see p8), whose membership includes Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D Johnson. The partnership grew out of a performance at Vernon’s Eaux Claires music festival in 2018, and most of their first album was also recorded during a weeklong 37d03d residency in Berlin. The possibilities for new connections between artists of different countries, genres and generations suddenly seem boundless.