The indie-folk project – which was created remotely, with several hyphens Dessner putting the songs on Long Pond – became Swift’s only album to spend the first six weeks on the Billboard 200. It earned Dessner two nominations for Grammy, both. in the Big Four categories, for the album of the year and the song of the year (for “Cardigan”). He also introduced a new style of composition for Swift: first-person fiction.
On the last night of filming the special (a process that was done while following the CDC guidelines, with a limited crew and COVID-19 testing), Dessner remembers how he, Antonoff, and Swift stayed up until 4:00 or 5 p.m. : 00 am – – Drinking and celebrating the hug more than warm Folklore I received. But in the days that followed, Swift came to stay, and she and Dessner continued to work unexpectedly. Eventually, they had 17 more songs, all of which became the sisters’ album. Always, released on December 11.
“Folklore almost immediately it was treated like a classic or a masterpiece “, says Dessner. “It was raised quite quickly and was a great commercial success, so obviously it’s hard to follow something like that. But one of the things I love [Evermore] is the ways in which [Taylor] he jumped off various rocks. His ability to tell these stories, but also to push what he does musically, is truly amazing. It’s like going to a bumpy course, a master’s program for six months. “
Below, says Dessner Panel all about the work that went into his second album in five months with one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
With Folklore much of the production and arrangements came from a file he had sent to Taylor. You continued to shoot from there or you were Always made from scratch?
Much more of it was made from scratch. After Folklore it came out, I think Taylor wrote two songs at the beginning, which we both thought of for the Big Red Machine, “Closure” and “Dorothea.” But the more I listened to them, not that they couldn’t be Big Red Machine songs, but that they felt like interesting, interesting songs by Taylor. “Closing” is very experimental in this strange temporal signature, but still lyrically felt as an evolution of Folkloreand “Dorothea” certainly felt like she was reflecting on a certain character.
And I, in a way, celebrate Folklore, wrote a piece of music that I titled “Westerly,” where he has the house about which he wrote “The Last Great American Dynasty.” I’ll do this sometimes, just do things for friends or write music just to write it, but I didn’t think it would become a song at all. And she, like an hour later, sent back “Willow” written for that song and that kind of set [things in motion] and we just started filling this Dropbox again. It was kind of like, “What’s going on?”
And then he continued. He wrote “Gold Rush” with Jack [Antonoff] and by the end there were 17 songs and it was only a few months after that Folklore it came out, so it’s pretty wild. We always feel distrustful and like “How is this possible?” Especially because we didn’t have to talk too much about structure, ideas or anything else – it was just this strange avalanche.
Given how the industry is shaking Folklore was, what pressure did this put in this time?
I think because of the way we did it, it wasn’t like producing a giant record or anything, it still had that feeling of home. There may have been a moment or two when I think Taylor was wondering when and how to give up Always, but I think as he got stronger and as each piece came together, he just started to feel, “This is a sister record – it’s part of the same stream of creativity and collaboration, and the stories feel interdependent.”
And aesthetically, for me, Always it is wilder and has more of a band dynamic sometimes. You can feel that her composition emphasizes even more on her, in terms of storytelling and also just this freedom to make the kind of songs that came. When she started writing in a less diaristic way and telling these stories, I think she discovered that she had an incredible wealth of experience and depth in her story, which was quite natural. She could easily make these songs more reflective or blur the lines of what is autobiographical and what is not in interesting ways. It seemed the most natural thing in the world.
Folklore was done entirely remotely, how this process has changed Always?
These were both. Some of them were removed, but then after Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, [Taylor] I stayed quite a long time and recorded a lot. In fact, she wrote “Tis the Damn Season” when she arrived for the first day of rehearsal. We played all night and drank a lot of wine after the discussion on the fire – and we were all drunk enough to be honest – and then we thought he was going to bed. But the next morning, at 9:00 or something, she showed up and said, “I have to sing you this song,” and she had written it in the middle of the night. This was definitely another moment [where] my brain exploded because he sang it to me in my kitchen and it was just surreal.
This music is actually older – it’s something I wrote many years ago and hid because I loved it so much. It meant something to me and it seemed to me that he had finally found the perfect piece. There was a feeling in her and she identified that feeling: that feeling of … “The pain in you, put there by the pain in me.” I think everyone can relate to that. It’s one of my favorites.
Did you watch the Disney + special?
I’m not a big fan of my eyes – but I watched it and found it beautiful. It’s funny, because it was very DIY in a sense; a small and tight crew was there to do it, no one is styling or arranging our hair or anything like that, it’s very authentic. We repeated a little before, but we both – Jack and I – thought about it a lot as we went.
And I think the nice thing is that all the songs could work that way and that’s partly proof of the album’s power. Without big production tricks or choruses or anything like that, the songs stand up, and Taylor just sang them. And staying with them was so much fun. They’re kind of like brothers; they have known each other for a long time, there is this quick humor between them.
You want to do something like that again Always?
I don’t know if you can recreate exactly what I did Folklore. In fact, I haven’t talked to anyone about it. But for me, the songs Always it would be even more fun to sing, because many of them feel like band songs. But that being said, I won’t be disappointed if we don’t – there is no plan right now to do that.
During an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Jimmy asked Taylor about the rumors behind it Woodvale and if a third album follows, which she said is sold out. How do you feel energetically wise?
I think we both feel it was the Mission: Impossible – and we did it. I imagine we’ll make music together in some respects forever, because it was that kind of chemistry and I’m so grateful and grateful for what happened, but I think there’s a lot out there. It’s not just the two albums, there are bonus tracks and two of my favorite songs aren’t even on this record. We’re not pouring into another one now.
I’ll finish the Big Red Machine album – I was very close to finishing it all of a sudden Folklore and Always the vortex has opened up and, in fact, Taylor has been very helpful and involved in that as well – and The National is starting to talk about music and I think he’ll probably take a break. But I’m so excited about any future things we could do – it’s definitely a lifelong relationship. And I would say the same for all the people who worked on these records, including my brother and all those who contributed. It’s a really special legacy.