Aaron Dessner talks working with Taylor Swift: “She’s absurdly talented in a very visceral way”

Big Red Machine and The National member Aaron Dessner has spoken about his collaboration with Taylor Swift on her recent albums ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’.

Speaking to DIY as part of our August 2021 issue, Dessner also delved into the process behind creating the forthcoming album from Big Red Machine - his project with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.

“With ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’, we wrote almost 30 songs, and when you work that hard and you go through that process, you invariably come out of it in good shape,” he told us. “I was learning a lot from her, from her acumen and the way she works. She’s just very down to earth and kind, and absurdly talented in a very visceral way.”

The songwriter and producer spoke of an “electricity” in the room when an idea came together between himself and Taylor, one that “didn’t feel any different than any other creative situation with artists”. “I was just really moved by what was happening, and encouraged by how lovely and hardworking she is,” Dessner added.

Taylor Swift also features on Big Red Machine’s new album ‘How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’, which was made just as the pandemic began to hit last year. “It felt like the world was standing still and time had stopped,” he told us, in our feature. “It really felt like this weird life raft, and we were adrift somewhere outside of the music industry.”

‘How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’ is out 27th August via Jagjaguwar/37d03d. Read the full feature with Big Red Machine in our August 2021 issue, which is out now.