Aaron Dessner found himself in a new world when he worked with Taylor Swift on her revered new album Folklore. It turns out that she may have found her way into his world as well: In a new Billboard interview, Dessner suggests that Swift may make an appearance on upcoming material from his Big Red Machine project. At the very least, it seems like she offered Dessner her thoughts on it.
Dessner was asked if there was any material of his own that he didn’t want to offer to Swift when they worked together, and he responded, “Definitely. It was more that there were some songs that are specifically one thing or another. The Big Red Machine stuff is quite far along — and actually, Taylor has been amazing [at giving feedback]. I’ve shared all of that stuff with her, and she has been really helpful.”
That prompted a follow-up question about whether or not Swift will be included on a Big Red Machine song in one way or another, and Dessner answered with a laugh, “I can’t really say, so I guess I’ll say neither yes nor no.”
Swift’s album actually offers somewhat of a preview of what a Swift/Big Red Machine collaboration could sound like, as Justin Vernon co-wrote and features on the Dessner-produced “Exile.”
He also talked about his initial approach to collaborating with Swift, saying, “Well, I’ve definitely listened to all her records — I do that from time to time, just binge-listen to certain things — and I could tell she’s a savant. She’s such a performer, but so gifted as a writer. She told me upfront, ‘Don’t try to be anyone other than yourself,’ because she was really gravitating toward the emotion in the music. She didn’t want me to try and be Max Martin or Jack Antonoff. I didn’t go obsess over ‘Shake It Off’ or something. I had a lot of music that I’d been writing when she approached me, and I just sent a folder because she asked. Hours later, [she sent back] ‘Cardigan.’ It was an unusual vein that we struck.”
Read the full interview here.