The band began as a collaboration between
Bon Iver's
Justin Vernon and members of
Collections of Colonies of Bees. Their debut album,
Unmap, was released on September 22, 2009, reaching number 92 on the
Billboard Top 200 chart. The band toured on the success of this release, with a large string of shows around Japan in November 2010 being their most notable run. Since the band's formation, Jon Mueller (Death Blues) and Thomas Wincek (of
All Tiny Creatures) have left Collections of Colonies of Bees, but continue to be members of Volcano Choir. They have also added Matthew Skemp on bass, who also plays in All Tiny Creatures. It was revealed in a 2014 interview with band members that the name "Volcano Choir" originated from a
vaporizer called the "Volcano". The cover art for
Unmap was created by Adreienne DeBoer, and insert art was illustrated by
Dave Godowsky. Volcano Choir released their second studio album,
Repave, on September 3, 2013, on
Jagjaguwar. The album was recorded at Vernon's April Base studio in
Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Andrew Fitzpatrick from All Tiny Creatures became a touring member in 2013, supporting the album
Repave and is now a member of the band. He then became a touring member of
Bon Iver, supporting the album
22, A Million. Thomas Wincek joined
Field Report in 2014. Volcano Choir's song "Byegone" was used in the 4th episode of the first season of
The 100. The band finished touring in support of
Repave in November 2014, and have since been on hiatus as Vernon focuses on Bon Iver. ==Discography==