The veteran singer-songwriter Denison Witmer has been a friend and collaborator of Sufjan Stevens since 2005, and now the two of them have made a new song together. Stevens produced Witmer’s new song “Older And Free” a beautifully lush piece of indie-folk. The creak of Witmer’s voice contrasts nicely with Stevens’ choir-boy harmonies, and the arrangement of acoustic guitars, strings, and woodwinds definitely has Stevens’ sonic signature. Here’s what Witmer says about the song:

One of the benefits of getting older and knowing yourself is being able to seek out the things that reset you in times when things feel off-balance. For me, alone time is very important. Nature is very important. Moving my body and getting lost in my thoughts has become a must — whether it be running or, in the case of this song, hiking. I wrote this song when I was solo camping for a night at French Creek State Park, not far from my home in PA. During Covid lockdown, my wife and I realized that we would burn out in the responsibilities of our day-to-day life if we didn’t take time to ourselves. The melody and lyrics came to me as I was hiking the Lenape Trail back to my campsite. I have a little classical guitar that goes with me most places, and I wrote the song in completion that evening. I got so attached to the sound that the little guitar ended up being the instrument we recorded the basic tracks with.

Hear the song below.

“Older And Free” is out now on Asthmatic Kitty.