Pop music superstar Taylor Swift knocked some people’s socks off Thursday morning when she reported by means of social media she was releasing another album at midnight. She additionally astonished local music fans when she uncovered two regional musicians added to it, Justin “Bon Iver” Vernon and St. Paul jazz drummer JT Bates.
“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that did happen,” Swift wrote on social media.
She secretly composed and recorded the album, “Folklore,” remotely in the course of recent months: “I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears and musings into (it). I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine.”
In August 2019, Swift released her seventh album “Lover” and, in January, gave the Netflix narrative “Miss Americana.” She had wanted to spend the summer playing six stadium concerts in California, Massachusetts and Brazil and featuring 10 European celebrations. The pandemic constrained her to cancel the celebrations and push back her solo shows to the next summer.
She previously connected with Aaron Dessner of the New York indie rock band the National in April and inquired as to whether he’d be keen on teaming up through the internet. “I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely,” Dessner wrote on social media. “But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song – the momentum never really stopped … I’ve rarely been so inspired by someone, and it’s still hard to believe this even happened.”
Dessner likely helped Swift connect with Justin Vernon, with whom Dessner teamed up on the Eaux Claires festival, which occurred for four summers in Vernon’s old neighborhood of Eau Claire. Vernon and Swift composed the tune “Exile” together, which highlights vocals from Vernon. JT Bates is a prolific drummer who has recorded and performed with a not insignificant rundown of acts including the National, Andrew Bird, Pieta Brown, Bruce Hornsby, Trampled by Turtles and Bon Iver.
Swift composed the remainder of the collection with her regular partner Jack Antonoff and William Bower, a formerly obscure performer who is presumably utilizing a nom de plume. (Swift fans spent Thursday estimating about Bower’s real character, with her sibling Austin Swift, her sweetheart Joe Alwyn and society legend Joni Mitchell among the theories.)
“Folklore” is accessible digitally and on vinyl, CD and tape. Swift is likewise selling constrained release renditions of the collection with eight unique spreads on vinyl and CD for multi week just by means of her site, taylorswift.com.
Swift likewise figured out how to coordinate a video for the main single “Cardigan” and said the shoot was “overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling.”