VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard drop a new song

Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard have just released a new song called The Answer is Yes. Their first new music together in over a decade is already a hit on Spotify in Prague and Dublin.

People may remember Czech-born Irglová and Irish-born Hansard from the film 2007 drama Once, which featured the Oscar-winning song Falling Slowly. Together, they formed a duo called The Swell Season, but went their separate ways in 2011, with Irglová eventually ending up in Iceland. They got back together last year in March for a six-date tour of the U.S., and more dates are planned for this summer.

Irglová on YouTube called the new song an answer to a prayer. “Glen and I had been talking about releasing new music prior to our upcoming U.S. tour, and I made a wish in my heart to write a beautiful duet for us to sing together. Something that felt just right for the time and place. Something deeply personal and yet widely universal. Something that summarized our journey through the past 20 years, paying tribute to all that once was and celebrating all that now is,” she wrote.

One inspiration for the song is that Hansard was getting married.“So it made its way into the song, probably also largely due to the fact that the chorus chants of ‘yes’ kept reminding me of a person saying ‘yes’ during a marriage proposal, or while standing at the altar,” she wrote.

“I imagined being able to take the energy and enthusiasm of the easiest yes any of us have ever given and bringing it into other, less important yeses of our lives. For anything worth doing is worth doing fully, and no yes should ever be said with half a heart,” she added.

The duo recorded the song in Iceland with the help of local musicians, plus some string parts recorded remotely in Ireland.

“It made sense somehow, for this song to be the first single for us to release. We wanted to open with this kind of positivity and celebration, inviting others to join in our joy. The cover of the single was taken by David Cleary, who also captured all stills photography in Once, and documented our recording process in Iceland,” she said.

The cover features a Claddagh ring, traditionally used as a wedding band in Ireland. “I liked the idea of it resting on blades of grass and wildflowers as if it had been lost or still waiting to be found. The two hands holding a crowned heart is one of the most beautiful symbols I know,” she said.

The Swell Season will play two shows in Dublin on July 13 and 14, and then go to the U.S. for 14 shows in August. No dates have been announced for the Czech Republic.