There are so many surprises in Taylor Swift’s announcement on Thursday morning (July 23) that she will release her eighth album, Folklore, tonight.
Not least is that, after working primarily with pop and country producers for most of his career, he collaborated on 11 of the album’s 16 tracks with Aaron Dessner of The National.
Dessner is best known for being one of the leading songwriters / producers and multi-instrumentalists in the beloved band raised in Cincinnati, as well as producing and writing with Lisa Hannigan, Frightened Rabbit, Mumford & Sons, Local Natives and Sharon Van Etten, among others.
Dessner spoke about his work on the album in a long Instagram post on Thursday, writing that he was “excited and honored” when Taylor hit him in April about writing some songs remotely.
“I had been isolating myself with my family but writing a ton of music in the first few months of quarantine that I shared,” he said. “I thought the song ideas would take a while to come and I had no expectations as to what we could achieve remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a version voice memo from Taylor fully written. of a song: the momentum never really stopped. “
Dessner, 44, said that in the coming months, he and Swift, 30, finished 11 songs, and Swift also brought in one of his recent ace composition / production partners, Jack Antonoff, to work on several more. . “I have seldom been so inspired by someone and it is still hard to believe this has happened; these songs came together at such a difficult time,” said Dessner, who recognized other music collaborators for their help on the project. well.
Among those who collaborated: his engineer Jon Low, his twin brother and fellow guitarist / songwriter and national songwriter Bryce Dessner for the orchestration of several songs, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver who “helped write and sing a beautiful song” titled “Exile” , as well as other friends from his extensive musical tribe, including national drummer Bryan Devendorf.
Plus: Trombonist national tour members Ben Lanz, trumpeter Kyle Resnick and drummer James McAlister, Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman, composer / cellist Clarice Jensen, drummers / drummers Jason Treuting and JT Bates, producer / horn Dave Nelson, yMusic and Bon Iver violinist Rob Moose (who arranged and recorded the strings on “Hoax” and part of “The Last Great American Dynasty”) and contemporary violinist Yuki Numata Resnick.
“I am very proud of all these songs and deeply grateful to @taylorswift for inviting me and trusting in their process,” Dessner wrote. “She is one of the most talented, hard-working, and loving artists I have ever met. There is a palpable humanity, warmth, and raw emotion in these songs that I hope you will love and comfort as much as I do.”
Dessner received a lot of love from his indie and avant-garde community for the unexpected high-profile concert, including congratulations from Richard Reed Perry of Arcade Fire (“Congratulations, friend. I miss you”), Australian folk artist Gordi (“Holy s- -No I can wait to hear it. Congratulations! “), Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold (8 fire emoji), former Walkman singer Hamilton Leithauser (thumbs up), Sylvan Esso (three hearts), and singer / songwriter Pieta Brown (a rainbow), among many others.
Swift stunned fans Thursday morning with the surprise announcement of her follow-up to last year’s success. Lover, explaining that it is a collection of songs “I have poured all my whims, dreams, fears and reflections. I wrote and recorded this music in isolation, but I was able to collaborate with some of my musical heroes”.
Also at midnight, Swift will release the “cardigan” video, which he wrote and directed.
See Dessner’s and The National’s posts below.
