Matt Pond’s songs are ultimately about connection: wanting it, running from it, mourning the loss of it. We all struggle for points of emotional contact, and his words and melodies have deftly chronicled that. Hot off the heels of releasing the title track “The Ballad of the Natural Lines,” Matt Pond PA releases the new track “Korea” today.

Matt expalins: I wrote “Korea” after collaborating with Chris Hansen to score footage of an American soldier overseas in 1959. There was an earnest openness to the film that struck me. It felt as though the camera was searching for something—yet at the same time, it was accepting, fully open to this world across the ocean. We recorded the song in my basement and remotely with an incredible group: Chris Hansen on guitar, Hilary James on cello, Dan Ford and Kyle Kelly-Yahner on drums, and me.

I wanted to incorporate a Korean voice to complete the journey. I connected with Mary Choi through a friend of a friend. Our conversations, first over email and then by phone, focused on the meaning and emotion her words should convey. In the end, she recorded her secret reflections in a closet in her home. Scoring moving pictures from the past reminded me that I have hard drives full of Matt Pond PA footage. So while we were mastering the song, I took a deep dive into our unseen history.

The video was filmed in 2004 by Jeremy Balderson while we were tracking Several Arrows Later and “Champagne Supernova” at Bearsville Studios. Back then, we weren’t used to working with such great gear or in rooms that sounded so good. Everything about the experience felt ridiculous and exciting. As you’ll notice, I’ve never been—and never will be—good at basketball. Sometimes, I don’t recognize myself in my own stories. I can get lost in my head so easily. But when I take a step outside, I’m reminded of the amazing people and places around me.”