4 Albums That Were Written and Recorded in Total Isolation

Writing and recording an album can be a communal experience. It’s often the result of an effort between band members, outside songwriters, and producers. However, a few famous musicians through the years have opted to pen and record their albums in total isolation. We think the results were well worth the effort. Let’s look at four examples!

1. ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ by Bon Iver

Bon Iver’s frontman Justin Vernon admitted that the 2007 album For Emma, Forever Ago was written in total isolation in the woods. Vernon was allegedly struggling to balance being a musician and being able to make a living, so he decided to put all of his creative energy into this particular work. 

He headed to his dad’s cabin in the woods in rural Wisconsin and left with a full album’s worth of material. It took three months and Vernon was proud of the work; though he did describe the whole experience as “lonely” and not entirely pleasant.

2. ‘McCartney’ by Paul McCartney

When it comes to albums that were written and recorded in total isolation, this one is pretty surprising. A big chunk of McCartney’s career had been spent as part of The Beatles at that point. And for many, it was difficult to imagine the master songwriter on his own. However, “alone” is exactly what McCartney needed to pen his debut solo record in 1970.

McCartney took a trip to Scotland and secretly worked on the album for a few months before ultimately doing the same thing again with two more self-titled albums. Sometimes, you just gotta do the thing without telling anyone about it.

3. ‘Visions’ by Grimes

This synth-pop record from 2012 is considered Grimes’ very best work to date. It was also recorded the year prior in a very unconventional way. According to Grimes herself, Visions was recorded in three weeks within Grimes’ apartment. There, she worked on the album in total isolation. 

She said that she didn’t sleep or eat consistently during that period, and used amphetamine drugs to get the album done. She also recorded the whole thing in GarageBand, which should be inspiring to newbie, broke musicians. Equipment isn’t all that important!

4. ‘Nebraska’ by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded the demos that would eventually form the 1982 record Nebraska in his house in New Jersey. This compelling, smart, and somewhat haunting album was birthed out of a desire to go in a whole new direction as a musician. And Springsteen had to go that road alone without help from the E Street Band.

Photo by T Star/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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