Posted January 20, 2021 by Jeff in Tunes

Vagabon and Courtney Barnett Collaborate on ‘Reason to Believe’ Cover

Vagabon (Lætitia Tamko) has teamed up with Courtney Barnett for a beautifully rendered cover of sorts of Karen Dalton’s version of “Reason to Believe,” a ballad which was originally written and recorded by Tim Hardin in 1965 and has been covered by a wide range of artists since.

“I recently discovered the Karen Dalton version of ‘Reason To Believe’ for the first time. I became obsessed and so a few days after discovering it, I was encouraged to record a cover of it in my garage,” says Vagabon’s Lætitia Tamko. “The decision to have Courtney sing it with me came after we performed it together live at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day 2020, a month before lockdown. It was fresh in our brains then, so not long after the show, CB came over, and we recorded her parts. Oliver Hill plays slide guitar on it.”

“I’m a huge fan of Vagabon and Karen Dalton, so this was a dream,” adds Barnett. “They both have a voice that absolutely knocks the wind out of me. I really admire Laetitia and am constantly inspired by her songwriting, production and our sporadic FaceTime chats.”

In the fall, Vagabon released a new version of her song “Home Soon” with full orchestra. The tune was featured in the film Antebellum. It was the only non-score song in the movie.

Tamko has been busy throughout the last year, releasing alternate versions of tracks such as “In A Bind (Strings Version),” “Wits About You (Saxophone Version),” and “Water Me Down (Pamcy Remix),” along with a new music video for “In A Bind.” She guest-hosted on the newly launched Sonos Radio, launched a web series with Snail Mail called Young Man Hour, and was interviewed on the Broken Record podcast, hosted by Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond. She also has signed with Elite Model Management.

Additionally, she is featured on the cover and in the pages of Mirror Sound: A Look Into the People and Processes Behind Self-Recorded Music, a book by musician and writer Spencer Tweedy, graphic designer Lawrence Azerrad, and photographer Daniel Topete. It came out in the fall on Prestel.

Vagabon announced a livestream concert taking place on Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. EST. Tickets are available at noonchorus.com/vagabon