Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard have reunited as The Swell Season to share “The Answer Is Yes” ahead of their upcoming summer tour (get tickets here). Stream their first new music together in over a decade below.
As Irglová explained in a statement, the sentimental duet came together during a trip Hansard made to Iceland to connect about their tour, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of Once, the 2007 Irish musical drama in which they starred and featured their original music. The track features frequent Swell Season collaborators Marja Gaynor and Bertrand Galen, as well as contributions from several Icelandic musicians: Tina Dico and Helgi Hrafn Jónsson on vocals, Þorvaldur Þór Þorvaldsson on drums, and Guðmundur Óskar Guðmundsson on bass.
Once the duo began sharing ideas about new music, Irglová set out to write a song they could “sing together each night” and “felt right for the time and place; deeply personal and yet widely universal.” She added that “The Answer Is Yes” is meant to summarize “our journey through the past 20 years, paying tribute to all that once was and celebrating all that now is.”
Hansard said it “became almost inevitable” that they would write new material while preparing for the tour. “Creatively, Marketa’s in a place that reminds me of Joni, where she speaks very honest and clearly,” he said. “Which can be quite intimidating, but is a wonderful contrast to how I write. For me the ideas that bubble up to the surface when we’re together are the ones she’s meant to be part of.”
During the tour, The Swell Season will play a pair of shows in Hansard’s native Ireland before heading to Nashville for a US run featuring dates in New York City, Los Angeles, DC, and more. Grab your seats here.
Irglová and Hansard’s most recent album as The Swell Season, Strict Joy, was released in 2009.
