August 13, 2010 20:30

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon: 'I worked on at least ten songs with Kanye West'

Wisconsin singer-songwriter confirms Hawaiian studio sessions with the rapper-producer

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has confirmed that he has been working with Kanye West in Hawaii.

In an interview with Pitchfork, Vernon revealed that he had recorded vocals on "at least ten songs" with the rapper-producer, including one which samples Bon Iver's track'Woods'.

"That whole first week I was there we worked on the 'Woods' song, which is called 'Lost In The World'," he said. "We were just eating breakfast and listening to the song on the speakers and he's like, 'Fuck, this is going to be the festival closer', I was like, 'Yeah, cool'. It kind of freaked me out."

The Wisconsin singer-songwriter ended up spending three separate weeks in the studio with West, after the rapper-producer invited him back.

"It was the same kind of thing, throwing ideas around," he explained. "There are a bunch of other songs I'd just throw down on, write a little hook, whatever. In the studio, he was referencing Trent Reznor, Al Green, The Roots, the fucking awesomest shit. It made total sense to me."

He added: "I was literally in the back room rolling a spliff with Rick Ross talking about what to do on the next part of a song. It was astonishing. Kanye came back and was like, 'Look at you two guys. This is the craziest studio in the Western world right now!'".

As previously reported, Kanye West's upcoming fifth studio album, which is out on November 15, could also be set to include a collaboration with Beyonce.